Diane Kelly's "Death, Taxes, and Cheap Sunglasses"

A former Assistant Attorney General and tax advisor, Diane Kelly inadvertently worked with white-collar criminals. Lest she end up in jail, Kelly decided self-employment was a good idea. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her award-winning Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown's Citizen Police Academy, she also writes the hilarious K-9 cop Paw Enforcement series.

Here Kelly dreamcasts an adaptation of Death, Taxes, and Cheap Sunglasses:

Death, Taxes, and Cheap Sunglasses is a humorous story in which investigators from the IRS Criminal Investigations Division go after people committing various forms of tax evasion. The main targets in this book are members of a violent drug cartel and people operating so-called charities but who are actually using the nonprofits as a shady way to cheat Uncle Sam.

The primary character is IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway. While Tara is small, standing only five-feet-two inches, she makes up for her lack of stature with determination, smarts, and more than a little sass. I could see several people in this role. Amy Adams would be a great choice for this role. She’s the perfect combination of wide-eyed innocence and beauty, but accessibility, too. I’ve enjoyed all of her movies, but especially liked her in American Hustle. Emma Stone comes immediately to mind, too. I loved her in Zombieland. I could also see Emily Blunt playing Tara. I loved the bad-ass role she played in Edge of Tomorrow.

Nick Pratt is Tara’s boyfriend and a fellow special agent. A former linebacker on his high school football team, Nick is physically formidable. But he’s no dumb jock. He’s got a clever mind and shares Tara’s determination to see that justice is served. I’d love to see David Walton in this role. He plays cocky characters well, and is definitely attractive while still maintaining a down-to-earth type of charm. I love him in the TV series About a Boy.

DEA Agent Christina Marquez is a feisty Latina-American woman who is built like Barbie but, like Tara, is a force to be reckoned with. I could see Salma Hayek or Jessica Alba playing Christina.

The main bad guy in this book is a drug lord known as El Cuchillo, or the Knife. I could see Danny Trejo, better known as Machete, in this role, or Willem Dafoe, who does villains so well.

There’s a pair of kooky redneck cousins in this books, with beards that would rival those of Duck Dynasty. I see Zach Galifiankis and Russell Brand in these roles.

Visit Diane Kelly's website, blog, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

Coffee with a Canine: Diane Kelly & Reggie, Junior, and Brownie.

--Marshal Zeringue