Christmas, Joyce

A Better Class of Murder (Lady Margaret Priam Mysteries)

For the first time ever, Lady Margaret Priam and Betty Trenka join forces--to solve a high-tech Manhattan murder among the very rich.

To her delighted surprise, suburban sleuth Betty Trenka finds herself ensconced in a luxurious New York City hotel--preparing to investigate the wealthy, ruthless computer entrepreneur Gerald Toth for her country neighbor, Ted Kelso. An expert tester of software programs, Ted has been offered a suspiciously large sum to approve Toth's top secret new brainchild.

But a murder on a foggy Connecticut beach ups the ante especially when an unmarked computer disk is found at the crime scene. Suddenly Betty and her newfound friend, the elegant Lady Margaret Priam, are surfing the social scene for a cunning killer--and playing real-life computer games where death is only a mouse click away. . . .

Mourning Gloria (Lady Margaret Priam Mysteries)

LOOK WHO'S BACK IN TOWN. . .
None other than notorious Gloria Gilpin Forsythe Anton--with a fresh face-lift, a new husband, and plans for a major social comeback. But Gloria is riding for a fall--a fatal one--down the back stairs of an old East Side mansion, that she's turned into a lavish designer showhouse.
Elegant society snoop Lady Margaret Priam is troubled and intrigued by this mysterious blueblood tragedy, which mimics another tragic death in the same setting forty years ago. Is one of Gloria's best friends in fact a deadly enemy? Has Gloria riled up her ex-husband? Or has the unquiet past claimed another victim? Lady Margaret goes fishing, and in the shark-infested waters of the New York social swim she lands herself a killer. . . .

Death at Face Value (Betty Trenka Mystery)

Retired businesswoman Betty Trenka figures that typing the memoirs of a famous artist could be fun. That is, until she meets the ruthlessly vain Crispin Abbott and the bikini-clad blonde who shares his luxuriously remodeled farmhouse in rural Connecticut. These two are clearly not your typical neighbors.

Betty senses trouble even before her old school chum, former supermodel Viola Roman, comes racing up from Manhattan to escape the harsh light of publicity after being linked to a murder. Yet nothing prepares Betty for the violence about to explode in her own backyard.

So instead of a few soothing weeks spent typing Crispin Abbott's outrageous memoirs, Betty is up to her keyboard in a deadly investigation, tracking down a killer....

Going Out in Style (Lady Margaret Priam Mysteries)

DEATH IN THE FAMILY

Rich and stylish Dianne Stark has it all: good looks, wealthy husband, cute baby, Fifth Avenue apartment. So why is she suddenly restless and anxious, hinting at secret troubles?

Lady Margaret Priam suspects her friend is the victim of an overactive imagination. But when Dianne's look-alike sister is murdered, Lady Margaret decides to do some mannerly snooping. As she canvasses her social connections--including Dianne's current men friends--and searches for a shadowy ex-husband, she meets a Dianne she never knew. And exposes a criminal where she least expects it. . . .

Downsized to Death (Betty Trenka Mystery)

IT'S A CRIME THE WAY THE OFFICE IS RUN THESE DAYS.

Between the murder of frail Mr. Takahashi, who owned the greenhouse near Betty Trenka's home, and the stroke that incapacitates her retired boss Sid, Betty's not in the best of spirits.

So when Sid Junior asks her to clear out his father's files, she starts packing, glad to be able to help Sid Senior, the only man she's ever loved. But the feeling of unease that pervades the office is unnerving. Betty can't help wondering why people are so interested in her little assignment. Perhaps the crammed files will provide the key--under M for murder. . . .

Mood to Murder (Betty Trenka Series, 4)

DANCE TILL YOU DROP . . . DEAD!

It's spring, the daffodils are blooming, and the kids at East Moulton High are all revving up for their May Day prom. But Betty Trenka, temping in the principal's office, feels uneasy.

If only the other kids didn't pick so often on fourteen-year-old Tommy Rockwell, who already takes too much grief from his divorced parents. If only Tommy wasn't so friendly with sinister odd-job man Brad Melville and Brad's witchy soulmate, Raven. As hidden forces gather strength around her, Betty's uneasiness turns to dread--and the horror looming over the May Day festivities in the high school gym begins its inexorable unfolding. . . .

More Murder, They Wrote

Dying Well: A Lady Margaret Priam Mystery (Lady Margaret Priam Series)

A CRIME DE LA CRÈME

Everybody who is anybody is bending an elbow at Dr. Dale Reeve's fiftieth-birthday bash. But Lady Margaret Priam is uneasy--the glittering crowd includes not only Dale's wife but also his mistress; not just his spoiled children but his wife's lover as well. Not to mention her beautiful new secretary, the instigator of this glamorous affair, a wild Texas filly with a penchant for kicking up trouble all over Manhattan.

Lady Margaret's fears are quickly justified. For even before the birthday cake is cut, someone will take a shortcut to death, off the terrace and down-down-down to fulfill a killer's devious wish. . . .

Suddenly in Her Sorbet

Formal dress and a sharp eye were de rigueur Thursday last, when Helene Harpennis, the busiest fundraiser in the social register, hosted a gala charity ball.
Who could have guessed that the grandest of dames would fall victim to poisoned sorbet? Police detective Sam de Vere suspects several of the elite guests, but lovely Lady Margaret Priam, the ex-aristocrat, knows her close-mouthed class won't confess much to him.
Hot on her own trail of clues, savvy Lady Margaret enlists the reluctant aid of throneless Prince Paul Castrocani, as she keeps one well-heeled step ahead of de Vere and gains his advantage -- in more ways than one.

Forged in Blood

When Lady Margaret Priam and Betty Trenka take a Roman holiday, they discover a masterpiece of murder.

A European vacation with her new friend, Lady Margaret Priam, is an excellent opportunity for suburban sleuth Betty Trenka to expand her horizons. They plan to visit the Priam ancestral home in England, venture to Rome to see priceless works of art, and stop by the villa of an Italian prince where a rarely seen painting by Raphael is kept under lock and key. It should be a grand trip—but sinister powers are at play.

Soon after their arrival in Rome the amateur detectives find themselves embroiled with an artist and an art dealer who appear to be involved in the notorious art of forgery. Now they are plotting a way to infiltrate the Villa Carolina—hoping to steal a helpful glimpse of the Old Master’s work. And when a body turns up in a fountain at the estate, it becomes clear to Betty and Lady Margaret that murder never takes a holiday. . . .