Reporter-turned–television executive Robin Hudson is living it up at New York’s legendary Chelsea Hotel—until murder gets her down in award-winning author Sparkle Hayter’s dazzling comic mystery After a neighbor’s electric wall-hanging short-circuits and sets Robin Hudson’s East Village apartment building on fire, the TV newswoman and her cat are forced to temporarily relocate. Their new digs are in the Chelsea Hotel, home to bohemian artists both famous and infamous. But people have a habit of dying on Robin—this time literally. Who shot controversial bad-boy art dealer Gerald Woznik? His wife tells the world he was a great connoisseur and a real bastard. The heiress he was living with calls him a misunderstood genius. With suspects coming out of the woodwork, Robin is drawn into a homicide investigation that forces her to brave the downtown scene: guerrilla performance artists, fiery revolutionaries, handcuffed nuns, and the ex-lover of her current beau. She must scramble to find a missing woman and track the last stops of a modern-day underground railroad before she loses her life—and her last chance for romance. The Robin Hudson Mystery series is a winner of the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective. The Chelsea Girl Murders is the 5th book in the Robin Hudson Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Sarah Brandt is shattered when she learns that a woman has inquired at the Daughters of Hope Mission for Catherine, the abandoned child she has taken as her daughter. The woman claims she was Catherine’s nursemaid, and is now acting on behalf of the girl’s mother to reunite them. Unwilling to simply hand Catherine over to a complete stranger, Sarah asks Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to investigate. But when he goes to interview the woman at her tenement in Chelsea, he finds she has been murdered. Though her death leaves Sarah’s claim to Catherine unchallenged, her sense of justice compels her to work with Malloy to find the killer. Their search takes them from the marble mansions of the Upper West Side to the dilapidated dwellings of lower Manhattan and into the deepest and darkest secrets of Catherine’s past. And while Malloy helps Sarah determine the fate of the child she loves, he faces a challenge of his own—and his decision could change both their lives forever…

A Pulitzer-nominated author presents a heartbreaking true-life thriller that follows the disappearances of Chelsea King, a popular high school senior, and 14-year-old Amber Dubois, both of whom, beloved by their families and friends, met a brutal fate at the hands of a predator hiding in plain sight. Original.

The Chelsea Murders (1978) was Lionel Davidson's seventh novel, earning him the Crime Writer's Association Gold Dagger Award and prompting the Daily Telegraph to declare, 'Lionel Davidson is one of the best and most versatile thriller writers we have.' A terrifying, grotesque figure bursts into a young art student's room. Head covered with a clown's wig, face concealed by a smiling mask, it wears the rubber gloves of a surgeon. The girl is seized, chloroformed, suffocated and - horrifyingly - beheaded. This is only the beginning of a series of murders terrorising London's fashionable bohemia. The police target three avant-garde filmmakers. One of them is mocking the other two, and openly taunting the police as well. But which of them is behind these appalling crimes? Fast paced, terrifying and gripping, this is a page-turning thriller from a master.

Arthur Ellis Award Winner: The “flat-out funny” first mystery in the series featuring a newly single reporter trying to clear herself of murder (Publishers Weekly). Meet Robin Hudson. Dumped by her husband, she’s been demoted to third-string reporter at New York’s All News Network. Her downstairs neighbor thinks she’s a hooker. Louise Bryant, her finicky cat, refuses to chow down on anything but stir-fry. Now Robin’s being blackmailed by a late-night caller who knows her childhood nickname and other personal stuff, like whom she gave her virginity to. What could be worse? Being the prime suspect in the bludgeoning death of her mystery caller—that’s what. In life, he was a PI who had the skinny on everyone. Now, while Robin is undercover investigating a suspicious sperm bank, she must also find the killer and clear her name. In her downtime, she’s amusing herself with her hot new boy toy, who may not be Mr. Right but could be Mr. Close Enough. When someone else is murdered, Robin races to break the story before she makes headlines again—as the next victim. The Robin Hudson Mystery series is a winner of the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective. What's a Girl Gotta Do? is the 1st book in the Robin Hudson Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

On Halloween, TV news producer Robin Hudson takes a deadly stroll down memory lane in award-winning author Sparkle Hayter’s profoundly funny mystery, which Janet Evanovich hailed as “sexy, irreverent, and wacky” Things are looking up for Robin Hudson. She’s been promoted, her nonmonogamous love life is cruising along, and her cat is making decent money as an advertising spokesfeline. It’s time for a girls’ night out. And what better night than Halloween? Bad decision. Robin plans to meet up with her gal pals and her new intern, Kathy, in a Times Square bar. But Kathy doesn’t show. According to a phone message, she’s trapped in a married man’s closet. Turns out Kathy was chasing a story for Robin. As Robin and her posse track Kathy’s last movements, they find strategically placed notes that refer to Robin’s teenage past, when she and her best friend, Julie, were class outcasts, also known as the cootie girls. Now an evening of trick or treat turns into an encounter with real and present danger as Robin is plunged into a morass of money-laundering mobsters, mayhem, and murder that could get a nice girl killed. The Robin Hudson Mystery series is a winner of the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective. Revenge of the Cootie Girls is the 3rd book in the Robin Hudson Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Reporter Robin Hudson gets the scoop on a DOA OB/GYN in this “hilarious, keenly written romp” from the author of What’s a Girl Gotta Do? (Entertainment Weekly). A nice girl like Robin Hudson never expected to find herself at an S&M club, but as a third-string reporter for a tabloid TV news show, she must pursue all the sleazy leads her jerk boss hurls her way with a smile on her face—at least on camera. But this time the story hits close to home. Robin’s always thought a person has to be a little sadistic to become a gynecologist, but when her new OB/GYN is shot through the heart and handcuffed to his office chair, a matchbook from an S&M establishment is the only clue. Much to the delight of Robin’s muckraking boss, the not-so-good doctor had his hands in all sorts of sordid activities. But Robin, on the other hand, is having a hard time whipping up any enthusiasm to interview the dominatrix who runs the club. It’s also the worst time for her Bible-toting Aunt Mo to visit New York City—aka Sodom and Gomorrah—to set Robin on the straight and narrow. Aunt Mo is convinced the streets aren’t safe—and maybe she’s right. A sniper is taking potshots at anxious All News Network anchormen, and it’s starting to look like the target practice is connected to the dead doc. Now, it’s up to Robin to dodge the bullets—not to mention Aunt Mo—and get the killer in her sights. And then she needs to find a new gynecologist! Nice Girls Finish Last is “a rollicking blend of deftly aimed satire and neatly plotted murder mystery” from award-winning author and former CNN journalist Sparkle Hayter, winner of the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective as well as an Arthur Ellis Award for best first mystery novel (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The Robin Hudson Mystery series is a winner of the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective. Nice Girls Finish Last is the 2nd book in the Robin Hudson Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.