Book description
Charley Fairfax-heiress, theatrical producer, newlywed-has every
intention of living happily ever after with her tall, dark, and
sarcastic husband Jack. The only mysteries she faces are which play to
choose for next season and how to decorate her dining room. But when
Jack is hired to investigate a suspicious death at a San Francisco
software company, it quickly be-comes clear that high-tech has some
low-life elements. The only way Charley knows how to help Jack involves
doing something no-body thought she would ever do. Charley needs to get
a job. It might be a problem that Charley and her band of irregulars
from the repertory theater learned every-thing they know about the
workplace from a production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really
Trying, but that doesn't stop them from going undercover to find a
killer. And even though she's only had one day's training in corporate
double-speak, Charley isn't worried. Faking it has always been her
strong suit. Charley and Jack are starting to get the hang of this
marriage thing. If only people would stop talking about babies,
introducing them to decorators, and trying to kill them, they might even
get to take a honeymoon. In San Francisco, theatre producer Charley
Fairfax and her spouse private investigator Jack meet Morgan Stokes, CEO
of Zadkan, for lunch. Before the meal Charley pleads with Jack not to
take a case involving computer geeks like Stokes. Ignoring his beloved
Jack agrees to investigate who murdered his fiancee Clara Chen the
firm's brilliant Vice President of Client Knowledge (a more interactive
technical support cell). Charley persuades Jack to let her go undercover
as an employee at Zadkan though his heiress wife cannot use a computer
beyond turning on the CPU and monitor. However, even though she does
speak the vernacular of the office, everyone assumes she is a genius
though no one knows at what. When someone tries to kill her, Jack
panics; when their families talk about infants Jack goes into cardiac
arrest, but never loses sight of keeping Charley safe while uncovering a
killer who has murdered again. Mindful of a modern day Thin Man due to
the interplay between high society Charley and cynical Jack, HOW TO
SUCCEED IN MURDER is a fine investigative tale. The whodunit is cleverly
devised as the audience will wonder who the culprit and why. However,
this fun mystery belongs to the newlyweds and the eccentric theatrical
cast who turns Jack upside down and flattens Nob Hill. Margaret Dumas
holds a Master's Degree in English Literature, which led her
unsuspectingly into a career as a technical writer and computer software
executive. Her first novel, Speak Now, was short-listed for the 2003 CWA
Debut Dagger award. Dumas lives in the Bay Area, where she splits her
time between working on her next novel and searching for the perfect
cocktail.
