Publisher, Blackstone Audiobooks (May 2006)

NOTE: RETAIL EDITIONS are packaged in attractive, compact cardboard or jewel-case shrink-wrapped boxes, with full-color art.

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A brand new voice that’s entirely convincing straight out of the gate. One of the best debuts I’ve ever seen.” —Lee Child, NY Times bestselling author of One Shot

"Read's plot crackles and pops, but her characters steal the show. This is sure to be loved by fans of comic mysteries, but don't be surprised if Tom Wolfe readers are equally smitten by Read's venomously witty portrait of a fallen WASP." —Booklist (Starred Review)

Madeline Dare, a tough-talking, shotgun-toting ex-debutante, is not your average detective. Syracuse, New York, her current home, isn’t where she thought she would be at age twenty-five. She was born into high society and had visions of an upper-crust life. But when true love called, in the form of her handsome machinist husband, Dean, she couldn’t resist. But when she discovers mysterious circumstances linking her favorite cousin to a murder twenty years ago, she begins investigating, and what she finds may just kill her.

About the Author: CORNELIA READ was born in New York and subsequently raised in Big Sur, California. Her childhood mentors included Sufis, surfers, single moms, Black Panthers, Ansel Adams, draft dodgers, and striking farm workers. Today she lives in Berkeley, California with her husband and two daughters.

About the Performer: HILLARY HUBER is one of the most successful voice talents in Los Angeles. For Blackstone Audiobooks, she has read A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir, Going to Bend by Diane Hammond, and Season of the Snake by Claire Davis.