When a television writer is murdered, three women join forces to find his killer After years churning out schlock for television, Rudy Benedict is afraid his job will kill him if he doesn't leave Hollywood soon. He's wrong. He'll make it all the way to New York before he dies. After a few weeks of fruitless work on his new play—an expos� of Hollywood's seamy underbelly—Rudy is found dead on the floor of his apartment, poisoned. The cops are baffled. Who would bother killing someone with so little talent? At first, it looks like the real target was Kelly Ingram, a gorgeous actress on the verge of her big break, but NYPD detective Marian Larch isn't convinced. Looking for answers, the two women reach out to Rudy's mother for help unraveling the mystery—but Mrs. Benedict may have an appetite for murder. The Renewable Virgin is the 1st book in the Marian Larch Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

From Library Journal—Nasty, unethical business tycoon A.J. Strode needs one more block of shares in order to destroy House of Glass. He blackmails three apparently honest stockholders with evidence of past murders, and then arranges for them to choose who will sell and who will go to jail. The three "victims," of course, concoct a vicious plan of their own—one which ultimately involves another murder. Changing points of view, an elegant mansion setting, and standard plot manipulations all lead to a serious, slick production. Despite a few stylistic flaws and a total lack of the comic, this is nearly as good as But He Was Already Dead When I Got There.

Book by Paul, Barbara

When four employees working on a government contract at Universal Laser Technologies are found handcuffed and shot in the eye in Manhattan, Marian Larch must find out what they were not supposed to know. Reprint.

New York City Police Sergeant Marian Larch is on the verge of resigning from the force after a big case leaves her jaded, frustrated and boiling mad at the system. — During a cooling off period at another precinct, she comes to the aid of her longtime friend, actress Kelly Ingram, star of the new Broadway hit, The Apostrophe Thief. Someone is stealing memorabilia—costumes, cups, scripts. Marian just wants to solve the case, quit the force, finger her irresponsible boss and her incompetent partner and then ... what? Holland, her ex-FBI lover, wants her to join his fledgling P.I. firm. Perhaps.

Fare Play by Barbara Paul released on Jun 24, 1996 is available now for purchase.

After a brutal custody case leads to murder, Lieutenant Marian Larch must find the elusive and devious killer, and when the killer violates her personal world, she is plunged into a deadly game where her inner strength and abilities as a cop are tested. Reprint.