The Masque of the Red Dress — Ellen Byerrum

Behind the Masque of Murder Fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian has never seen such a gown. The dress is crimson, flowing, fabulous, and infamous. The actress who first wore it on stage died on closing night--playing Death in The Masque of the Red Death at a Russian emigre theatre. Is the notorious red dress cursed with bad luck? Or is the truth even stranger? It's up to Lacey and her so-called ExtraFashionary Perception to find out once and for all. If the Red Dress of Death doesn't get her first. Assaults, burglary and murder follow this stunning gown wherever it goes. But who would want it enough to kill for it? Crazy theatre people? Costume collectors? Or even Russian spies? In Washington, D.C., Lacey discovers, spycraft and stagecraft seem to have much in common. Shadows and deceptions lead her and the Red Dress into a macabre dance with an assassin--and a masquerade with death.