Murder at Hotel Cinema

April 21, 2008
Last seen in Craig's debut, Murder at the Universe
(2007), hotelier Trevor Lambert is now general manager of Hotel Cinema, “Hollywood's spectacular new boutique hotel,” in this splashy follow-up. When Tony Cavalli, Hotel Cinema's overbearing owner, offers superstar Chelsea Fricks $150,000 to appear at the hotel's opening and dive from the penthouse balcony into the swimming pool, Chelsea agrees to take the plunge. But when Chelsea remains at the pool's bottom, Trevor dives in and makes a heroic but futile effort to save her life. Was it a publicity stunt gone awry, suicide or murder? When the body reveals stab wounds, LAPD Det. Stavros Christakos develops a list of suspects that starts with Chelsea's abrasive publicist, Moira Schwartz. This fast-paced puzzler shines with droll wit and hotel-savvy details.

June 1, 2008
The last thing hotelier Trevor Lambert wants is another management position at a hotel. Still reeling from the death of his fianc'e in a plane crash, he is hiding out in Vancouver and wallowing in self-pity. But when his friend Shanna Virani calls with an offer to manage a renovated hotel in Hollywood, he reluctantly accepts and relocates to Los Angeles. The new hotels owner wants to create a trendy spot and invites the hottest starlet, Chelsea Fricks, to the opening. When she dies diving into the shallow end of the pool from her balcony, the tabloids assume that it was a publicity stunt gone wrong or a suicide. The stab wounds prove that it was murder, but the detective assigned to the case is more interested in celebrity spotting than crime solving. After the hotel staffers are treated as suspects and the opening party turns into a publicity horror story, Trevor turns investigator. What results is an amusing romp through Tinseltown, written by an actual hotel manager.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)