Deadly Dues: A Lulu Malone Mystery

Look out for Lulu Malone, one smart and sassy young cougar in the fickle urban jungle of television. A "Doggie, Doggie, Bow Wow" commercial her tenuous claim to fame, Lulu and several actor friends have been asked to meet with their obnoxious union rep Stan in his HAMS (Honourable Association of Minstrels and Singers) office. Problem is, he's lying on the desk with a knife in his back. Not that he didn't deserve it. Every person present had a reason for killing him. Closing the door quietly, they retreat to their favourite bar and plan a proactive strategy before the corpse is discovered. Lulu played a sleuth in "Darling, Detective," so she's the impromptu captain in a ship of bungling fools. The classic pacing of screwball comedy keeps the laughs coming. If the body isn't disappearing and popping up somewhere else, someone has it in for Lulu, because she's a target of a mysterious and persistent attacker. Can a garden gnome be a murder weapon? Can "dimple" be a verb? You better believe it. Then in a cruel blow, Lulu's best friend Horatio is "dog"napped. Can she really trust her scatterbrained agent Mitzi? What happened to Stan's secret cache of money? Hanging out with Lulu is a trip in itself and could have been scripted by Janet Evanovitch or Linda L Richards. She's gutsy, self-effacing, and ready to summon a convincing dimple faster than Shirley Temple after a triple espresso. When she's not dodging murderous lugs, Lulu is looking for something to eat (a parsnip pie perhaps) or shopping at thrift shops, turning a sawbuck into a million-dollar wardrobe. For counterpoint as a straight man is the hunky police detective, too sensible to take Lulu seriously. Linda's career in the entertainment industry gives her the chops to pull off this caper, sliding in nearly new Manolos spike heels first with an unspilled glass of chardonnay. Stay tuned for her next adventures in TRASHING THE TRAILER.

Linda Kupecek introduces Lulu Malone in her new mystery DEADLY DUES and you will fall in love with this irrepressible character from the first page. Lulu is an actress whose career has fallen into the toilet so deep that she is reduced to crisping fries at McDonald's to feed her dog, Horatio. She shares her dilemma with a group of friends who've landed in the same sinking boat. Her anticipated summons for better times comes from her union representative, the very man whose behind-the-scenes maneuvering created the blacklisting against Lu and her friends. They arrive at HAMS at the same time with the same hopes. When the elevator deposits them on the fifth floor they discover Stan Pope with a knife in his back. Ever valiant to self-preservation they close the door on the murder scene without reporting it to the police. During the night Stan's body is removed from his office leaving everyone wondering who is the killer and body snatcher. For Lulu, her world gets worse and more confusing when a thug is murdered in her home and her dog disappears. Are friends really friends? Who would hate a louse enough to kill? Join the crowd at Murphy's and travel with Lulu through thrift shops to remain well-dressed for auditions that never occur. DEADLY DUES is sprinkled with a sly wit that will have you laughing out loud at the allusions to current culture, fashions, and the world of professional entertainment. Lulu and her friends will fill the void left by the late Charlotte MacLeod and Donald E. Westlake. Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.