Synopses & Reviews
The return of blue-blooded fashionista Pauline Cook, whose search for a missing friend leads her from an iconoclastic book group to the deepest and most unfashionable reaches of the Far East.
Back in Chicago after a disastrous European love affair, socialite Pauline Cook finds her finances nearly depleted, her co-op a shambles, and her best friend mysteriously missing—vanished along with Pauline's cat. Though Whitney Armstrong's husband offers a substantial reward for the return of his lost wife, Pauline can't help suspecting that his grief is merely an act. But it's a shocking suggestion by a member of Whitney's book club that really gets Pauline moving—halfway around the world, in fact, to Thailand . . . in spite of a psychic's warning of terrible danger.
In Asia, a morass of dark motives and deadly corporate intrigues await the intrepid globe-trotter. And all the high society connections in the world aren't going to ensure that Pauline makes it home alive. . . .
Review
“OConnell portrays the lives of the phenomenally wealthy with humor and a fondness for Pauline, who in a rare moment or two rises above her social status to attain a momentary flash of the heroic.” Library Journal
Review
“Spiked with suspense, romance and satirical jabs at high society, this Dominick Dunne-meets-Mary Higgins Clark adventure is a readers treat, delicately wrapped with literary allusions.” Michigan Avenue Magazine
Review
“Among the least expensive ways to while away a few days of the recession...a rich romp not only through Chicagos Gold Coast, where this fictional murder mystery unfolds, but also through the sometimes-cringe-inducing, sometimes hilarious “problems” of the old-money set.” Chicago Sun-Times
Review
“OConnell writes with a stiletto, drawing blood with every description of the moneyed, once-moneyed, and would-be moneyed in her newest romp of high living and mayhem. OConnell can be sharply comical and deadly serious; its great fun to tag along with her and Pauline on their wild ride.” Sojourner
Review
“A smart and urbane mystery set in Chicagos high society.” Today's Chicago Woman
Review
“Brimming with witty observations about the well-heeled and the machinations of greedy businessmen, this sophisticated romp takes the daring amateur sleuth all the way to Thailand and Vietnam.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Readers will find themselves warming to this improbable high-society sleuth who challenges our assumptions about what a mystery heroine should be like.” Booklist
Review
“Ms. OConnell is...a hell of a storyteller, a master of plot, [and] a tart observer of the social scene.” Frank McCourt
About the Author
Catherine O'Connell divides her time between Chicago and Aspen, and sits on the board of the Aspen Writers' Foundation. A graduate of the University of Colorado School of Journalism, she is also the author of Well Bred and Dead.