Fashion Victim

November 11, 2002
Fashion stylist Dallas O'Connor is up to her eyeballs in designer clothes, rock divas and murder in her third racy whodunit (after 2001's Designed to Die), set on a Caribbean island. Having taken up residence in a rambling castle, Dallas sets to work creating the look for a debut video starring rising girl group Fate of Paradise. Green's own experience in the world of fashion helps her name-drop from Guess to Gucci and to paint a sizzling and sometimes sordid portrait of life in the fast lane. During an early morning run, Dallas discovers a body washed up on the beach, but it vanishes before she can convince anyone else that it was more than a figment of the pot she'd smoked the previous evening. Later, Dallas finds a group photo that includes the very much alive corpse. Threats via a voodoo doll, a frightening poisoning and relational difficulties among the singers threaten the shoot. Dallas recognizes a late-arriving band member as an undercover FBI agent and former boyfriend, whose very presence signals her that the Filipino mafia may be somehow mixed up in what's happening. Add another dead body, a super-sexy Latino chef and an array of dishes to rival those in Bon Appetit, and you've got a recipe for excitement. Green seems to have thought of everything: secret passages, secret lovers and secrets to die for. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers eagerly awaiting Dallas's next adventure.