With only 30 days to find the real killer…
Rick and girlfriend Laura risk their lives tracking key suspects who had motives to kill…

The Zen Man: Semifinalist Best Indie Books 2012
Until a horrific murder lands private eye Rick Levine in the slammer on first-degree charges…
Rick and girlfriend Laura risk their lives tracking key suspects who had motives to kill…
“Move over Sam Spade, Nick and Nora; make room for a Denver who-dun-it, Colleen Collins’s The Zen Man. Brilliant and fast-paced writing. I couldn’t put it down.”
~ Donnell Ann Bell,
award-winning author of The Past Came Hunting
The story of Rick & Laura before THE ZEN MAN
Winner, 2015 Aspen Gold
“I loved every word of The Zen Man.”
~ Delores Fossen, USA Today bestselling author
“Move over Sam Spade, Nick and Nora; make room for a Denver who-dun-it, Colleen Collins’s, The Zen Man. Brilliant and fast-paced writing. I couldn’t put it down.
~ Donnell Ann Bell, award-winning author of The Past Came Hunting
“He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.” ~Raymond Chandler
To celebrate Raymond Chandler’s birthday (July 23, 1888), here are some recipes inspired by the writer called “the icon of noir fiction” by the L.A. Times.
Apparently nobody has created an angel food cake […]
Continue Reading →A Pet Is Lost Every Two Seconds
I recently read that in the US, a family pet is lost every two seconds. That’s astounding, and yet within our own neighborhood we see lost pet signs posted nearly every week. According to the National Humane Society and the National Council of Pet Population Study and Policy, […]
Continue Reading →(Excerpt from Secrets of a Real-Life Female Private Eye by Colleen Collins)
When we started our private investigations agency back in 2003-2004, we invested a chunk of money in equipment upfront. We were starting on a shoestring […]
Continue Reading →"Great humor. Great dialogue. Author did a great job of establishing the relationship between Rick and Laura. It never overshadowed the mystery, but it made the book truly multi-dimensional."
~New York Times best-selling author Dorien Kelly
"A real page turner. I enjoyed this book full of suspense and surprises. I have never read this author before but will look for her next surprise."
~C. Phillips
Westword Magazine: "For These Married Denver Detectives, Truth Is More Fun than Fiction"
Pursuit Magazine: "When Does Surveillance Become Stalking?" by Colleen Collins
Cold Case Squad: "Cold Case: Bullets in the Field" by Colleen Collins & Shaun Kaufman
Novel Rocket: "Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make at a Crime Scene" by Colleen Collins
"I loved The Zen Man and really had fun catching Rick and Laura's first case in the prequel, The Ungrateful Dead. These novels have everything I love in a mystery: smart dialogue, a flawed hero, a little romance and a great plot. Murder at a coroners conference? What could be more fun!"
~ Nancy Warren USA Today Bestselling Author of The Toni Diamond mysteries