Former New York darling turned amateur sleuth Madeline Vaughn-Alwin is once again thrown into a colourful yet deadly web of secrets, lies and soirees to die for!It's the week of Fiesta in Santa Fe and Maddie is looking forward to enjoying the celebrations.
But as 'Old Man Gloom' Zozobra goes up in flames, so too do Maddie's hopes for a carefree life . . . Human remains are found in the dying embers of Zozobra, and then Maddie and her dashing beau Dr David Cole find a body washed up in the arroyo at the edge of town.
Soon identified as Ricardo Montoya, a wealthy businessman and head of one of the most affluent families in Santa Fe . . . the plot starts to thicken. While his beautiful wife Catalina and her complicated children seem less than heartbroken at his untimely demise, and with many disgruntled locals crawling out of the woodwork, Maddie is surrounded by suspects.
With the celebrations of Fiesta continuing around them, Maddie and her 'Detection Posse' get busy infiltrating the best parties and hobnobbing with old and new faces - but can they bring the murderer to justice before they strike again?
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Excerpt
They spun to face Zozobra, glowing white in the darkness. “He does look fearsome, doesn’t he?” she said. “But soon all that work will go up in smoke.”
“What glooms are you getting rid of, then, Maddie?”
“It doesn’t matter. It will all soon be gone!” She just wished she could be rid of all her friends’ troubles as easily. “Tonight is just for fun.”
“I entirely agree.” David held her even closer, and she closed her eyes, certain that no moment could ever be finer than this, ever be more perfect.
A burst of drums, deep and primitive, as if it came from deep inside the earth itself, louder and more enthusiastic than strictly in tune, flashed into the night, and Maddie and David faced the dais, arms linked together. Witter Bynner, the local poet and bonne vivant, costumed in a black robe, led a procession of musicians, chasing children clad as red “glooms.”
“Burn him! Burn him!” The shout went up into the purple-black night sky, eager, full of laughter, touched with just a bit of anxiety. Maddie glanced around at the faces of her friends, barely lit with the few torches planted around the garden, and shivered.
Everyone was still shouting, dancing, when a burst of fireworks exploded over their heads, a sparkling bouquet of red, green, blue, and gold. The light shimmered on the giant puppet up on his dais, ghostly white in his long paper skirt, except for a shock of bright red and green hair. His enormous eyes, painted black and ringed in scarlet, stared down at them wrathfully, his immense bat ears flapping in the breeze.
As a bell tolled, Maddie reached for David’s hand and held onto it tightly. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, making her smile.
Zozobra’s long arms fluttered upward, his red-painted slash of a mouth opening and closing, emitting a rough growl. A group of Maddie’s artist friends, who also fancied themselves musicians, started pounding their drums and blasting their trumpets from the shadows. It was all very enthusiastic, but very out of tune, and combined with Zozo’s growling it was deafening. Maddie laughed, and let go of David to clap her hands over her ears.
“Burn him!” the cry went up again. “Que la fiesta!”
Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen--a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject...)
She's never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Santa Fe with two rescue dogs, a wonderful husband, and a very and far too many books and royal memorabilia collections.
When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network--even though she doesn't cook.
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