French Ghost (Paris Ghost Writer Series)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Paris
Wild Rose Press (January 10, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages

Synopsis

Ghost-writer Melody Layne is stranded in Paris when the over-sexed but unloved French movie star who hired her to produce his memoir accidentally drowns before the interviews begin. It’s a major financial relief when his enigmatic Spanish son re-hires her, but the seductive Carlos Ortega is strangely silent about his reasons for funding a feel-good bio about a father that he clearly despised. There’s enough amour in the air for Melody to ignore this apparent paradox… at least until she uncovers a hidden cache of death threats addressed to the actor. For the French police, the sexy, secretive Spaniard – and sole heir to the actor’s immense fortune – is suddenly a prime murder suspect. Can Melody’s research into the Ghosts of Carlos-Past be enough to save her lover from prison?

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Excerpt

At the Cannes Film Festival:

“Tick tock, tick tock.” Taneesha tapped her watch. “Speeches next, then the movie, so the time for bathroom breaks is now or forever hold your pee.”

“I’m gonna snag us a bottle or two,” said Jason, moving toward the bar. “We’re gonna need it.”

“Isn’t that Ben Affleck over there?” asked Charlene. “He’s so much fun. Let’s sit with him.”

“Don’t laugh too loud at his jokes,” warned Taneesha as they started to shimmy their way through the crowd. “Remember that you’re playing the brave, bereaved bimbo tonight.”

Carlos and I looked at each other. “I think we’re supposed to follow them,” I said.

“I suppose we could do worse,” said Carlos gamely. “I quite liked Argo.”

But before we could make our move, a large wall of shimmering green sequins blocked our way.

“You stinking piece of Spanish shit,” intoned the sweet, husky voice that launched thirty top-ten singles on the French charts. “How does it feel to have ruined my life?”

About the Author

My first jobs after college (incredibly useful art history degree) were in the New York fashion industry (modeling, working for designers). When I gave up on my Greenwich Village walk-up (after realizing that I couldn’t bear to smoosh the cockroaches in my shower because they were a ‘family’), I cut out to Paris where I became Fashion Editor for the English language magazine PASSION.

I subsequently wrote and edited the gourmet destination guide LA BELLE FRANCE for fifteen years while freelancing for the NEW YORK TIMES Travel section, various in-flight magazines, and guide books (GAULT MILLAU, VIRGIN, ZAGAT). From 2011 – 2012, I wrote screenplays for the PBS travel series CUISINE CULTURE.

The cinema figures in FRENCH GHOST are loosely based on stars I’ve interviewed (and been groped by); the restaurateurs in Book 2 (FRENCH TOAST) are drawn from the lovely, often impractical, chefs I met through LA BELLE FRANCE.

I suspect that Book 3 will toss Melody Layne into the cut-throat Paris fashion scene. May the Gods of Ghosting have mercy on her soul…

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