In Hollywood, all the stars, the top directors, the studio tycoons and, of course the rock stars have replaced their first wives with the younger, newer, hotter model. Everywhere she looks, glitz-writer Nikki Tyler sees trophy wives. Some of them are even her friends… but that doesn’t mean she wants one of them to send her their manuscript and ask for help placing it with her publisher. Still, Hollywood is all about connections and favors–Nikki figures she owes it to her friend Tamara to at least look at the project which turns out to be a story of blackmail and murder among the trophy wives of Beverly Hills. Nikki doesn’t see much hope, but when Nikki finds Tamara’s murdered body, she suspects someone thought the book’s sins were more than its lack of literary merit. Nikki sets out to uncover the truth behind Tamara’s death–while tooling around Beverly Hills in her Bentley. Interviews with rock stars in rehab, a divorce lawyer who delivers results for men dumping troublesome wives (so they can marry a younger trophy), a secretive cult-like religion that’s attracting Hollywood’s top talent and Nikki’s developing relationship with the detective assigned to the case (a detective who has an interesting secret past) make her investigation a lot of fun. Author John Kane gives us a fun look at modern Beverly Hills where wealth and beauty survive in a continuing struggle, where Hollywood’s top names crave attention while fleeing from too much of it, and where just about anything can be bought at a price. Kane humanizes his sleuth, Nikki, by giving her a son she adores, an ex-husband she still gets along with, and a frustrated ambition as a one-time actor. He scatters his clues carefully–giving the reader what they know to solve the mystery, but providing plenty of challenge as well. SOMEBODY IS KILLING THE TROPHY WIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS is Kane’s first mystery. I hope to see more. A hilarious, dishy, and incisive look at the dark side of having too much California sunshine. This comedy/mystery romp could change your life if you stop laughing for a sec and start heeding its morals. Yes, there are some morals! – Michael Musto, La Dolce Musto, The Village Voice.
