Naked Once More

Jacqueline Kirby, spirited librarian-turned-romance writer ( Die for Love ), returns to lightheartedly skewer the publishing world in the latest from the prolific Peters, who as Barbara Michaels also writes romantic suspense novels. Outspoken Jacqueline wins a competition to write the sequel for a major bestseller whose author, Kathleen Darcy, has been declared legally dead seven years afer disappearing in the Appalachian hills near her home. But soon Jacqueline, ensconced with her word processor in Kathleen's home town, begins to have accidents paralleling those that once befell Kathleen. While writing on deadline, Jacqueline must also figure out who's after her and, of course, determine what really happened to Kathleen Darcy. Among those she suspects of more recent murder are Kathleen's pompous brother, a handsome former suitor, an ex-lover, another romance writer with an ego to match her oversized body, and a greedy literary agent. Thankfully Jacqueline's forthright manner earns her more friends than enemies as she risks mortal danger to unmask the culprit with panache and mastery remarkably similar to Peters's own. Major ad/promo; author tour. (Sept.)