Renee Patrick

Los Angeles, 1937. Lillian Frost has traded dreams of stardom for security as a department store salesgirl . . . until she discovers she's a suspect in the murder of her former roommate, Ruby Carroll. Party girl Ruby died wearing a gown she stole from the wardrobe department at Paramount Pictures, domain of Edith Head. Edith has yet to win the first of her eight Academy Awards; right now she's barely hanging on to her job, and a scandal is the last thing she needs. To clear Lillian's name and save Edith's career, the two women join forces. Unraveling the mystery pits them against a Hungarian princess on the lam, a hotshot director on the make, and a private investigator who's not on the level. All they have going for them are dogged determination, assists from the likes of Bob Hope and Barbara Stanwyck, and a killer sense of style. In show business, that just might be enough. The first in a series of riveting behind-the-scenes mysteries, Renee Patrick's Design for Dying is a delightful romp through Hollywood's Golden Age.

A Lillian Frost & Edith Head Novel

Design for Dying

Los Angeles, 1938. Lillian Frost, social secretary to movie-mad millionaire Addison Rice, and her friend Edith Head, costume designer for Paramount Pictures' wardrobe department, again become partners thanks to an international scandal. As Lillian and Edith unravel intrigue that extends from Paramount's fabled Bronson Gate to FDR's Oval Office, only one thing is certain: they'll do it in style"--

Dangerous to know

Sleuthing duo Lillian Frost and Edith Head investigate a behind-the-scenes scandal in this delightful Golden Age of Hollywood mystery. 1939, Los Angeles. Lillian Frost is shocked when her friend, glamorous costume designer Edith Head, hands her the script to a new film that's about to start shooting. Streetlight Story is based on a true crime: the California Republic bank robbery of 1936. Lillian's beau, LAPD detective Gene Morrow, was one of the officers on the case; his partner, Teddy, was tragically shot dead. It seems the scriptwriter has put Gene at the centre of a scandal, twisting fact with fiction - or has he? With Gene reluctant to talk about the case, the movie quickly becoming the hottest ticket in town, a suspicious death on the Paramount studio lot and the police reopening the investigation into Teddy's death, Lillian is determined to find answers. Can Lillian and Edith uncover the truth of what happened that fateful day and clear Gene's name?

Script for Scandal

1940, Los Angeles. Hollywood's famous gossip columnist, Lorna Whitcomb, has summoned sleuthing duo Lillian Frost and Edith Head to her office. Tipster Glenn Hoyle has been murdered and Lorna's 'leg man' Sam Simcoe is the LAPD's only suspect. Sam is sure Glenn had uncovered an explosive story. Was it just idle gossip, or could it explain his murder?

Renee Patrick

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