Dead-end job mysteries

Author Elaine Viets kicks off this funny and fresh cozy series, about a woman on the run from her ex, with a rollicking tale of crime and vanity in the shadow world of wannabe molls. When unlikely sleuth Helen Hawthorne flees St. Louis, she fetches up in Fort Lauderdale, suddenly surrounded by the beautiful and the Botoxed. They all shop at the same place, Juliana's, the overpriced boutique where Helen works. And they're all looking for a wealthy...

Helen Hawthorne has just found her new calling as a telemarketer, and before long she's disrupting dinners all over the country. But during a phone survey to the home of Henry Asporth, she's the one who gets an earful when she overhears an argument, followed by a scream - and then dead air

The Superior Club is where Fort Lauderdale's wealthiest - and snobbiest - come to play. But for Helen Hawthorne, it's all work and no play. As a customer care clerk, it's her job to cater to the clients' every little whim and take care of their every little problem. But Helen has a very big problem of her own. After an acrimonious reunion with her ex-husband Rob, she ends up belting the bum in the mouth - which invites suspicion when Rob goes ominously...

Tired of living life on the lam, Helen Hawthorne goes back to St. Louis to clear her name of alimony evasion so she can finally marry the man she loves. But she still has to pay the bills, even if it means working at a consignment shop where the designer duds are to die for--literally. Secondhand clothes. First-degree murder. At Snapdragon, the high-end designer consignment shop, Helen is at the beck and call of snobby--yet frugal--customers. That...

To catch a jewel smuggler on a luxury yacht, Helen needs to pose as the ship's new stewardess -- but between serving drinks to the snobs, scrubbing floors and cleaning up after seasick passengers, she's starting to miss dry land almost as much as she misses Phil. While Helen is cruising to the Bahamas, Phil has his own job cut out for him. He's trying to catch a sexy gold-digger who may have killed her elderly new husband for his fortune. His talents...

The one thing celebrity Trish Barrymore and her no account accountant husband, Mort, can agree on in their bitter divorce is shared cat custody. But when Mort is found brained by a mahogany cat tower, and Justine, their pedigreed Chartreux show cat, goes missing, Trish calls on Helen and Phil. Despite a ransom note from the catnapper, Trish is still the prime murder suspect in the eyes of the police. As they await the post Mortem, it's up to Helen...

"From the national bestselling author of Checked Out, PI Helen Hawthorne must pose as a painter at Fort Lauderdale's famous Bonnet House Museum to catch an artful killer.... STILL LIFE The art world is a happening place--but a brush with death shouldn't be in the picture. Unfortunately, that's just what happens to Helen Hawthorne and her friend Margery. While touring gorgeous Bonnet House, a mansion turned museum, they observe a painting class and...