Literary agent Jane Stuart runs afoul of the most hated person in the publishing industry, Tina Vale, in Marshall's sparkling fifth entry (after 2002's Icing Ivy
) in this cozy series notable for its wry insights into today's book scene. Jane's professional and personal lives coincide when a local hotel hosts both a Romance Authors Together (RAT) conference, where Tina, the new vice president of Corsair Books, is due to receive an award, and a cat show, in which Jane's cat Winky is competing. When Tina fails to show up for her award, it's discovered that she's come to a shocking end—electrocuted in her bathtub with one of her prize antique toasters. Since Tina had been plotting revenge on Jane for stealing a lover years earlier, suspicion naturally falls on Jane, who must out of self-preservation pursue an assortment of other suspects, including authors and editors, with reason to toast Tina. Cat lovers will be delighted to find that Winky and her litter of kittens, newly born in Icing Ivy
, are thriving. (Nov. 4)
FYI:
Like his fictional sleuth, Marshall heads his own literary agency.
