Perilous Plot — Jean F. Capron

It comes as a devastating blow to Francine McAllister when her longtime buddy and writing partner announces that he's abandoning her for another woman and coauthor -- her best friend! Luckily, her agent provides a timely diversion: a chance to collaborate on a true crime story with Casey Malone. After one long look at the disarmingly handsome detective, Francine agrees to join him in his investigation.

She soon finds out, however, that real murder is a far cry from the young-adult mysteries she used to write. For one thing , Fran's suspects never leaped off her pages to attack her, and for another, she never fell in love with the characters solving the crime! She and Casey grow even closer trying to expose the brutal killer, and as danger mounts, Fran only hopes that in one crucial detail, their story will remain true to fiction: In her books, there was always a happy ending...