Baker, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan
(U.K.), once again explores the fashion world’s dark side in her absorbing second crime novel (after Fashion Victim
). When supermodel Scarlett Ulrich disappears in Toyko, where diminished fame has led her to work as a bar hostess, Scarlett’s half-sister, Luella “Lou” McCartney, turns for help to her friend Annie Anderson, fashion features editor for Handbag
magazine who’s on assignment in New York City. Lou and Scarlett share a father in industrialist Rufus Ulrich, “a modelizer” (e.g., “a sad bastard who only shags models”). Complicating matters are Annie’s troubled love life, her editor’s demands and her fear that Scarlett may have been murdered by the Roppongi Ripper, who’s killed several Western blondes. Annie’s search for Scarlett in Tokyo uncovers some surprises, testing her allegiance to her fashion features over hard news and her friendship with Lou. Along the way, Baker illuminates the plight of “old” teen models working in a fickle, youth-obsessed industry. (Aug.)
