Melodie Johnson Howe: 5 books

The new Diana Poole crime thriller takes our amateur sleuth deep into Southern California's underworld to uncover the mystery of a diamond-encrusted scorpion—and the reason for the murders that follow in its wake. Diana Poole’s last movie was a flop, but she earned enough money to fix up...

“City of Mirrors is deftly written and smart. On top of that, it is entertaining as hell.” —Michael Connelly   Running out of money, Diana Poole is forced to go back to the only work she knows: acting. Her much-loved husband and movie-star mother have died, and now Diana is over...

Edgar Award Finalist: After a suicide, two oddball female sleuths investigate a coin collection that is anything but small change. Maggie Hill’s life has become temporary. Her marriage was temporary, her jobs are temporary, and if work doesn’t pick up, her time in California might be temporary,...

A former supermodel takes a fatal tumble, and only the unlikely duo Claire and Maggie can say who pushed her Women like Cybella are not destined to survive their fifties. Her looks long gone, the ex-supermodel takes a leap down a stairwell—an apparent suicide that lands her on the front page...

A forty-year-old actress tries to make a comeback—but death keeps getting in the way Diana Poole was the last of the starlets. A vibrant blonde with a quick wit and sharp intelligence, she was on her way to the top when Colin Hudson changed her mind about being famous. He was the finest screenwriter...