Dr. Kyra Rynerson-Saladino is at the top of her field.  Respected and admired, she's also beautiful, adventurous, and the center of attention.  Unfortunately, her marriage is on the rocks, she's estranged from her father, and pregnant with a child her husband knows nothing about.  It doesn't help that her father is the billionaire Big Jake Ryerson, media-darling and genuine cowboy.

When Kyra is invited to a fundraiser, she jumps at the chance to escape to the remote Galapagos Islands and leave her problems with her husband and father behind.  When one of the attendee's children has an accident, Kyra is asked to fly the man to his dying child in her two-man plane, Babe.  Kyra, an anthropologist with a heart of gold, agrees.  But, the sad-eyed farmer, Luis Acosta, is more than he seems.  Halfway through the flight, Acosta highjacks the plane and Kyra.

Kyra may not want to be Big Jake's daughter, but Jake and Kyra's relationship is all that matters to the ruthless El Pato.  Now Kyra will have to rely on the two people from which she most wanted to distance herself--her father and her husband.  Kidnapped, isolated, and nearly hopeless, Kyra must come to terms with her feelings for her husband, father, and her unborn child.  She will have to find unknown depths of personal courage just to survive. 

Back in Las Vegas, Big Jake Ryerson and Kyra's mother, Billie, have hired Simon Leonidovich, a renowned courier and a bit of a private dick, to deliver El Pato's money and bring Kyra home.  It seems like an easy job--risky, but that's no problem for the daring Leonidovich, and the money promises to be more than he ever dreamed he would have.  But, El Pato seems to know every move taken in Las Vegas.  Big Jake has been careful to make sure that only people necessary to Kyra's exchange are in the know, so is there a traitor in their midst?  Could it be Tony, Kyra's husband, who Kyra believes married her for her money?  Caitlin Wells, Jake's lovely assistant, who has captured Leonidovich's heart?  Leo, the insurance guru who seems to know just a little too much about El Pato's motives, or Charles, Jake's long-time trusted security officer?  There are twists and turns on every page of this Sam Spade meets Ransom  tale.  I admit that I didn't figure out who was telling tales until the secret was revealed in the final chapters. 

BAGMAN is an excellent mystery.  It has action, adventure, high-drama, lots of near-misses for the dashing Leonidovich, and even a bit of romance.  What more could you ask for in urban noir?  This is the ultimate summer read--don't miss a chance to follow Leonidovich's adventures or Kyra's poignant plight in this modern who-dun-it!  Jaye MacLarty has proved again that modern mystery needed be brutally violent or filled with techno-babble.  If you love action, adventure, and mystery, run to the bookstore and pick up your copy of BAGMAN today!