A bloody hotel room. A missing friend. A body lying in her apartment. With her fiancé wounded and suspects circling, Sydney Lockhart must outwit a killer before the next curtain falls —and she’s center stage.
Private investigator Sydney Lockhart has faced crooked politicians and cold-blooded killers—but nothing quite prepares her for murder at the historic Faust Hotel.
It’s 1953. The carpet is plush, the cocktails are cold, and the crime scenes are unfortunately plentiful. A bloody hotel room, a body along the banks of the Guadalupe River, and a suspiciously well-informed police chief land Sydney squarely in the interrogation hot seat. With her fiancé and partner, Ralph Dixon, recovering from a gunshot wound, Sydney must navigate the case with unexpected reinforcements: plucky Lydia LaBeau and irrepressible Cousin Ruth Echland—currently masquerading as a Miss Texas contestant and far more interested in evening gowns than evidence.
Winners will be selected on September 18, 2026
