A Deadline for Murder — Valerie Frankel

WANDA'S A CLOTHESHORSE, A FLIRT, NOBODY'S FOOL--AND THE SLICKEST PRIVATE EYE ON 'NEW YORK'S MEAN STREETS!

Wanda Mallory, P.I., is the tough-talking, chain-smoking, funky-chic owner of the Do It Right Detective Agency in Times Square, New York City. Wanda's heart belongs to "Mama;" her pearl-handled .22, and to her cat Otis.

But she's always ready for a good time, and a good cause -- like finding out who strangled her friend and former employer Belle Beatrice, the bitchy, gorgeous publisher of the women's soft-porn magazine Midnight. According to Belle's prophetic will, Wanda has a week to catch the killer -- with a half a million dollars for motivation if she meets the deadline.

From trendy Soho restaurants to the gritty bars of Times Square where Belle's Swedish stud fiance finds consolation, Wanda and her photographer-sidekick Alex Beaudine heat up the city, looking for an X-rated murderer who's leaving hard-core clues. Clues such as obscene black balloons and erotic poems that are terrorizing the staff at Midnight. Wanda and Alex are one step ahead of the police in a race for time and money -- to catch a killer before he strikes again!