The Soap Opera Slaughters (Hilary Quayle Mysteries)

The plot of the popular daytime soap opera "Riverday" was melodramatic to be sure, but, as detective Hilary Quayle and her sometime lover Gene discover, it's not nearly, as tangled -- or as deadly -- as the drama its stars are acting out in real lifts.

First, the unclad body of the show's head writer is found on the street in front of the television studio. Then the director yells, "Action!" and the leading villainess is poisoned, appropriately enough, in the middle of a deathbed scene. And when the show's producer is discovered lying in a pool of blood with his head bashed in, the east and crew are suddenly fearing for something besides the show's ratings. Namely their own lives.

Before the cameras can roll again, Hilary and Gene must separate fact from fiction -- and egos from alter egos -- to learn who on "Riverday" is hiding behind a mask of tragedy ... and murder!