The Starlet Letter

Book One of The Canary House Mysteries, a tongue-in-cheek historical mystery series featuring amateur sleuths and literary themes.

When a washed-up Ziegfeld Follies star goes missing, can the Van der Beeck twins crack the case without breaking their necks... or losing their hearts?

It's 1931, and the once grand, always eccentric Van der Beecks have taken in borders to make ends meet. Canary House, their rambling Upper West Side mansion, boasts six tenants: a pianist, a poet, an erstwhile diplomat, a psychiatrist, a bootlegger, and a philanthropist who is always short on cash. Life has never been more interesting until a seventh checks into the turret room - Babs Le Roy, a down-on-her-luck Ziegfeld Follies star with more than one skeleton in her cluttered closet.

It's all the twins can do to mind their own business. Nearly eighteen, they only look like angels. Vivian has a nose for trouble and Viola has her nose in a book, but between the two of them, the villain doesn't stand a chance - if only they can find one to spice things up. Then Babs goes missing, and one ransom note, two gangsters, and a handful of red herrings later, the twins find themselves confronted with more villains than they bargained for. Throw in a soft-boiled detective, a handsome sergeant, and a houseful of tenants graced with more whimsy than wit, and you have the makings of a mad-cap mystery that will keep you guessing till the end.