April 2, 2001
In another delightful cozy (after 2000's Hanging Hannah), Jane Stuart and her tortoiseshell cat, Winky, are back just in time for a light spring read. After three years of adjusting to her husband Kenneth's death, raising son Nick as a single mom, and building her literary agency, Jane has finally decided to take a vacation. The anticipatory joy of thinking about white sandy beaches is cut short by the arrival of Kenneth's arrogant and snobbish cousin, Stephanie, who announces that she's moving to Jane's small town of Shady Hills, N.J., to work for her Wellesley roommate, Faith Carson. Faith and her husband, Gavin Hart, have relocated their publishing company to Shady Hills. The illustrious Faith, whose fairy-tale first marriage to Prince Ravi of Ananda ended with his tragic assassination, is the talk of the town. Stephanie, however, suspecting something is amiss at Carson and Hart, asks Jane to go undercover to see what she can find out. Jane unearths more than she bargains for as events in Shady Hills escalate from burglary to murder, and Stephanie becomes one of the victims. With the support of her boyfriend, police inspector Stanley Greenberg, and some help from Winky, Jane gets some answers in a startling conclusion. In addition to a congenial cast of diverse characters, a realistic heroine with a vivid sense of humor and a lovable cat, Marshall offers provocative insights into the world of literary agents and vanity publishing.