Murder, mystery, money and the movies - expect all that and more in Pamela Hart's new crime novel An A-List for Death.
To celebrate the release of the book this month, Australian Community Media has seven copies of the novel to give away to lucky readers, thanks to our good friends at HarperCollins.
The book follows TV researcher Poppy McGowan, who is caught up in a tabloid frenzy after being photographed with rock god Nathan Castle.
But it's what got her into that situation in the first place that is even more shocking; finding Nathan's elderly mother Daisy - a one-time glamour girl and best friend of Poppy's aunt Mary - bleeding and unconscious in her bathroom.
With the media hot on her heels, Poppy must done a wig and go to ground to avoid detection - but she feels far from safe after there's a murder in her street and her own boyfriend is tied up in the investigation.
Author Hart (who is well-known for writing under the name Pamela Freeman) first introduced Poppy in her previous book, Digging Up Dirt.
"She's trying to decide if she's really in love with Tol Lang, whom we met in Digging Up Dirt, so she's contemplating the future a little more," she said of the character.
"And, in this book, she's responsible for her indefatigable Aunty Mary as well as coping with the fallout for Patience Carter, the teenage girl from the last book, so we probably see a little more of her serious side - but not too much!
"There's a lot of my late Aunty Pauline in Aunty Mary, so I admit there were a few tears when I was writing her scenes; I was very fond of her. She was a fantastic role model for a girl growing up in the suburbs - a woman who forged her own path and ran her own business in the '60s and '70s was pretty rare. And she wore gorgeous hats!"
Hart said she worked hard to build the tension and humour in the novel, a difficult task when the mysterious murder doesn't take place for "quite a while".
It took less work to build the world around Poppy.
"Poppy's job is my old job at the ABC. Poppy's little house is my old house which I renovated from the ground up (I went back to bare bricks and dirt), and I come from a big Catholic family, just as she does," the author said.
"But I do love research... I can get caught down a rabbit hole of research very easily."
Hart said she loved that readers were embracing the 'cosy crime' genre.
"When the world outside is difficult, as it's been for the last few years, it's great to be able to pick up a book and know that the author won't betray you with violence and tragedy and viciousness," she said.
"A good cosy crime is enthralling because of the characters and the mystery, but it's also uplifting; good triumphs, you're not asked to confront violence or sex on the page, and you can read it knowing that everything will turn out right at the end.
"Australian cosies are a little freer with swearwords and not so religiously-inclined as the American versions, and certainly don't respect rank or class as British ones often do, but they keep that promise to the reader: come read me and you'll end up feeling better."
Australian Community Media has seven copies of An A-List for Death to give away to lucky winners.
For your chance to win, simply fill out the form below and tell us in 25 words or fewer who your favourite fictional female crime-solver is and why.
Entries close midnight Tuesday, June 21.
Please read the terms and conditions.
