Tinseltown’s awards season is in full swing, and everyone is obsessed with dressing up, scoring free swag, and getting invited to the biggest awards shows of the year. But when celebrity publicist Lyla Davis is killed, the festive mood comes to an abrupt halt.

Apprentice private eye Dayna Anderson thinks she’s uncovered the killer. Unfortunately, what starts as an open-and-shut case turns out to be anything but. Diving deeper into the investigation, Dayna gets a backstage look at gossip blogging, Hollywood royalty, and one of entertainment’s most respected awards shows–all while trying to avoid her own Hollywood ending.

Dayna Anderson doesn’t set out to solve a murder. All the semi-famous, mega-broke actress wants is to help her parents keep their house. So after witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she pursues the fifteen-grand reward. But Dayna soon finds herself doing a full-on investigation, wanting more than just money–she wants justice for the victim. She chases down leads at paparazzi hot spots, celeb homes, and movie premieres, loving every second of it–until someone tries to kill her. And there are no second takes in real life.

In this “tense, twisting mystery” and “absolutely can’t-put-it-down read” (Megan Miranda), no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead in the Bronx–except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.

“I found out my sister was back in New York from Instagram. I found out she’d died from the New York Daily News.”

When the body of disgraced reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her 25th birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. It’s a tragedy, certainly, but not a crime.

But Desiree’s half-sister Lena Scott knows that can’t be the case. A graduate student at Columbia, Lena has spent the past decade forging her own path far from the spotlight, but some facts about Desiree just couldn’t have changed since their childhood. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. So why is no one listening to her?

Despite the bitter truth that the two haven’t spoken in two years, torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their father, Mel, a wealthy and influential hip-hop mogul, Lena becomes determined to find justice for her sister, even if it means untangling her family’s darkest secrets–or ending up dead herself.

“A riveting, read-through-the-night thriller.” –Liv Constantine

“Equal parts charm and heartbreak, with razor-sharp insights on class, race, and family.” –Laura Lippman

“Smart with twists you never see coming.” –Walter Mosley

“Domestic suspense for the Instagram gen. #lovedit.” –Lori Rader-Day