Death Was In The Picture

In 1931, while most of Los Angeles is struggling to survive the Depression, the business of Hollywood is booming. And everyone wants a piece. The movies have always been cutthroat and, as girl Friday Kitty Pangborn is about to find out, thats more than a metaphor.

Kittys boss, private detective Dexter Theroux, has been asked to help leading man Laird Wyndham prove his innocence. The actor was the last person to be seen with a young actress who died under very suspicious circumstances, and the star has fallen from the big screen to the big house. Wyndhams a dreamboat, but that isnt the only thing that has Kitty hot under the collar. Dex has already signed a client---one whos hired him to prove Wyndhams hands are not as clean as they look.

Mixing Hollywood glitz with hard-boiled grit, Death Was in the Picture captures the essence of life in Depression-era Los Angeles: a world where times are tough, talk is cheap, and murder is often just one scene away.

Praise for Death Was the Other Woman:

“For something really snappy---a dandy, old-school, hard-boiled detective story, told from the point of view of a tough PIs equally tough secretary---go no further than Linda L. Richardss Death Was the Other Woman.” --Seattle Times

“Richardss spot-on portrayal of 1930s California---the tumultuous social and political atmosphere, the fashions, the vernacular---make this a must-read for palookas, mooks, and twists with enough spondulix to spare for some rip-roaring, hard-boiled literary escapism.” --The Chicago Tribune

“Honoring the noir tradition while turning it on its head, Richardss richly detailed period portrays a world in which lifestyles, whether high or low, become an elaborate defense against a harsh environment in which there is only one final act, and the trick is to determine the time the curtain falls.” --Booklist

“This is a great period piece with action aplenty and nostalgia-evoking characters. Kitty is a delight, and fans of Megan Abbotts noir crime novels will enjoy it.” --Library Journal

Linda L. Richards is the editor and cofounder of January magazine (www.januarymagazine.com) and a regular contributor to The Rap Sheet (therapsheet.blogspot.com). She lives near Vancouver.