The numbers don't lie. Someone wishes they would.

Alec is good at his job. Exceptionally good. So when a routine review of a client's accounts reveals vendor payments that don't connect, shell companies that barely exist, and a money trail that leads somewhere no honest business should go — he can't let it go. That's not how his mind works.

What starts as professional due diligence becomes something more dangerous than Alec bargained for. But he's not the kind of man who walks away from a problem just because it pushes back.

Balancing the Books is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — a character study and financial crime thriller that reveals the quiet determination beneath Alec's accountant exterior.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

She thought she knew what their partnership was. She's about to find out how much she didn't.

Punch-Girl is in the early days — no Punchcycle, no spare suit, and a growing frustration that her work isn't making a dent. Central is the voice in her ear, always calm, always one step ahead. But when he directs her to a location before anything has happened, the questions she should have been asking all along come rushing in.

How does he know what he knows? How long has he been watching? And what exactly does it mean to have someone in your corner?

The Voice in the Ear is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — a tense, revealing look at the partnership at the heart of the series, and what it costs to protect someone without their full knowledge.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

Some nights, they just want dinner.

Alec and Jessica have a favorite restaurant. The name is absurdly long, the décor is charmingly mismatched, and the owner treats them like family. So when an elderly couple shows up on the wrong night expecting a 50th anniversary celebration, and the whole strip mall quietly conspires to give them one anyway, Alec finds himself coordinating aminor miracle — one knocked-over sauce bottle at a time.

Dragon Lotus Garden is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — warm, funny, and unexpectedly moving.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.