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Renee Patrick

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Design for Dying: A Lillian Frost & Edith Head Novel (Lillian Frost & Edith Head, 1) Hardcover – April 19, 2016

by Renee Patrick (Author)

4.2 274 ratings

Book 1 of 5: A Lillian Frost and Edith Head mystery

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Los Angeles, 1937. Lillian Frost has traded dreams of stardom for security as a department store salesgirl . . . until she discovers she's a suspect in the murder of her former roommate, Ruby Carroll. Party girl Ruby died wearing a gown she stole from the wardrobe department at Paramount Pictures, domain of Edith Head.

Edith has yet to win the first of her eight Academy Awards; right now she's barely hanging on to her job, and a scandal is the last thing she needs. To clear Lillian's name and save Edith's career, the two women join forces.

Unraveling the mystery pits them against a Hungarian princess on the lam, a hotshot director on the make, and a private investigator who's not on the level. All they have going for them are dogged determination, assists from the likes of Bob Hope and Barbara Stanwyck, and a killer sense of style. In show business, that just might be enough.

The first in a series of riveting behind-the-scenes mysteries, Renee Patrick's Design for Dying is a delightful romp through Hollywood's Golden Age.

Book 1 of 5

A Lillian Frost and Edith Head mystery
Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Forge Books
Publication date

April 19, 2016
Dimensions

5.78 x 1.06 x 8.46 inches
ISBN-10

0765381842
ISBN-13

978-0765381842
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A champagne-flavored frolic of a first mystery set during Hollywood's golden age. This is sure to delight fans of old Hollywood and Turner Classic Movies." --Library Journal

"A beguiling champagne-cocktail-of-a-crime-novel. Supporting parts played by Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck, and Preston Sturges will make every seasoned cinephile swoon. Design for Dying is a delight." --Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author

"Vibrant, stylish and crackling, Design for Dying is both a gift to devotees of Golden Age Hollywood and a mystery-lover's delight. It's a delicious cocktail, one you won't want to end." --Megan Abbott, bestselling author

"A delightful cocktail of a mystery - equal parts sweet, tart, and effervescent...a read covered in movie magic stardust." --Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times-bestselling author

“A complex environment for sleuthing replete with possibilities and an exciting sense of the glamorous, gossipy, and creative world of cinema’s golden age. The warm working relationship that develops between Lillian and Edith will leave readers eager to see more of their adventures.” –Publishers Weekly

“Design for Dying reads like a dream, one in which classic Hollywood does a dance with old-school crime fiction. It’s spiced with famous faces and features a beguiling newcomer, Lillian Frost, who's destined to be a star in her own right. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore―so it’s a good thing Renee Patrick is here to write ‘em.”―Eddie Muller, Shamus Award-winning author of The Distance and host of Turner Classic Movies’ Noir Alley

About the Author

RENEE PATRICK is the pseudonym for married authors Rosemarie and Vince Keenan. Rosemarie is a research administrator and a poet. Vince is a screenwriter and a journalist. Both native New Yorkers, they currently live in Seattle, Washington.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Forge Books (April 19, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765381842
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765381842
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.78 x 1.06 x 8.46 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,811,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11,510 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #15,142 in Historical Mystery
- #40,042 in Women Sleuths (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 274 ratings

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About the author

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Renee Patrick

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Renee Patrick is the pseudonym for married authors Rosemarie and Vince Keenan.

You may have seen them on Turner Classic Movies, introducing movies on Noir Alley with host Eddie Muller.

Their novels feature Lillian Frost, a transplanted New Yorker with a boundless love of the movies and a single lousy screen test to her credit and Edith Head, the real-life costume designer who, over the course of a career spanning seven decades, would be nominated for more Academy Awards than any other woman.

The books have been finalists for the Agatha, Anthony, Left Coast Crime, and Macavity Awards.

When not immersing themselves in Hollywood's glamorous Golden Age, Rosemarie is a research administrator and Vince is a screenwriter and a journalist. Both native New Yorkers, they currently live in Seattle, Washington.

THE SHARPEST NEEDLE (2020). Lillian and Edith assist Marion Davies when the actress receives poison pen letters highlighting an embarrassing event in her past.

SCRIPT FOR SCANDAL (2019). As old murders spawn new ones, Lillian and Edith race to find the true story behind a script that claims Lillian's boyfriend masterminded the robbery that led to his partner's death.

DANGEROUS TO KNOW (2017). At the request of Marlene Dietrich, Edith and Lillian search for a missing musician and find themselves embroiled in a scandal that extends from Paramount’s Bronson Gate to FDR’s Oval Office.

DESIGN FOR DYING (2016). Featured on NPR's 2017 Summer Reading list. Set in 1937, Lillian and Edith investigate a mystery that pits them against a Hungarian princess on the lam, a hotshot director on the make, and a private investigator who’s not on the level.

Visit reneepatrickbooks.com for more.

Follow Renee Patrick:

Twitter: @rpatrickbooks

Instagram: reneepatrickauthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReneePatrickAuthor

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

274 global ratings

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Renee Patrick Has Designed a Fun Debut

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

I’ve long been fascinated with Hollywood and the movies, so any time a mystery set in old Hollywood crosses my radar, I take note. I don’t read them, but I take note. I changed that with Design for Dying, the debut mystery from Renee Patrick, and I’m very glad I did.

It’s November 1937, and Lillian Frost has landed a job at a department store in Los Angeles. She came to Hollywood from New York thanks to winning a contest for a screen test. Her acting ability was about what she expected, but she is determined to stay in California.

Trouble walks into her store one day in the form of two homicide cops. They are investigating the death of Ruby Carroll, Lillian’s former roommate. When Lillian recognizes the dress that Ruby was wearing as a costume from a movie, she finds herself crossing paths with Edith Head, the costumer at Paramount Pictures even if her name isn’t on the big office in the department. The two women are curious what happened to Ruby. Might Lillian’s knowledge of Ruby and Edith’s knowledge of Hollywood help the police solve the crime?

Having lived in Southern California for the past 20 years, I thought I’d feel right at home in the setting right away. It took me a few chapters, but that’s just because of how much the area has changed in the last 80 years. It wasn’t long before I was fully immersed in this place at that time.

And make no mistake this is a book set in Hollywood. Real people rub elbows with our fictional characters. I don’t know as much about Hollywood history as I would like (for example, I’d never heard of Edith Head before), especially this period, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed a few cameos, but that doesn’t matter because I had fun reading these fictional appearances of the people I did know.

But this book isn’t just Hollywood. In fact, it never forgets that it is a mystery first. The book actually starts with Lillian finding out that Ruby is dead, and we then get to know Ruby via a few memories that Lillian shares and the investigation. It works well to pull us quickly into the story. There are a couple of nice twists to things before we reach the end. While I had my eye on the villain, I loved how the clues came together, and the climax was a lot of fun.

As I stated earlier, I can’t state for sure who in the cast of characters is real and who is fictional, but I honestly don’t really care. Everyone came alive on the page for me, and the real and fictional rubbing elbows was much of the fun for me. Lillian is our first person narrator for the book, and while she uncovers a few of the clues and is involved in the majority of the action, at times she is the sidekick for Edith. It’s a good sleuthing partnership that brings to mind some of the classic pairings of the genre.

My only hesitation is how the police treated Lillian. Yes, they explain it in the course of the story, but it still doesn’t quite ring true for me. But I was having so much fun this was a very minor point.

Design for Dying bring Hollywood history to life while weaving a fun and tangled mystery. I’m completely hooked and can’t wait to visit this dynamic duo again.

10 people found this helpful

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Daniel Cate

Fun new historical mystery series

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

Design for Dying is the first book in the Lillian Frost & Edith Head mystery series by author Renee Patrick. I hadn't heard much about this series until just recently when the third book was released. Reading the synopsis for that book piqued my interest in this series and I decided to start at the beginning with book #1, just to see what I thought of it.

I was familiar with Edith Head and all of her accomplishments in Hollywood but I didn't know a lot of personal information about her and the idea of a series set around the Golden Era in Hollywood was too interesting to pass up. I really enjoyed this book. I loved Lillian Frost as a character, she had a great attitude, seemed to be realistic, and didn't want anything to just be handed to her. I also enjoyed her sense of humor and found myself really rooting for her throughout the book. I enjoyed the parts of the story where Edith Head made appearances and especially enjoyed the ending, when the mystery was resolved. I also enjoyed the guest appearances of Hollywood icons, Bob Hope and Barbara Stanwyck, and thought that both characters added a lot to the story. I thought this was a solid mystery, and enjoyed my journey through the story with Edith and Lillian trying to figure out who the murderer was. I definitely plan to read more books in this series!

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Amazon Customer

Fun read about Hollywood in the 30s!

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

I totally loved this book! The only thing that would have made it better would have been illustrations of the fashions described in the book. I found myself checking out the designers and costumes online. Will definitely keep up with this series.

Lillian Frost has gone to Hollywood with visions of becoming a star after winning a minor beauty contest back in New York. She quickly realizes that she isn't going to make it and goes to work in a department store.
But her life changes dramatically when her roommate from her former boarding house is killed. She and Ruby parted on bad terms (Ruby had sticky fingers) and the police question Lillian about this. She doesn't remain a person of interest long, but she quickly becomes an interested person, particularly after she ids the clothes Ruby was wearing when killed.
In short order, she finds herself working with the legendary Edith Head to discover the killer.

The authors did a good job on being historically accurate with the series and it was fun to read about Hollywood in the 30s.

One person found this helpful

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hachiko

Dying for more Edith Head

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

I chose this book because I love old Hollywood. And Edith Head as a main character. Charming!!! However I was a bit disappointed that she was not as well written into the mystery as Lillian. I wanted to learn more about the movie business (especially the wardrobing department) through her eyes. However, the book was fairly well written. I can't say I was as engrossed with it as I had anticipated. But that doesn't mean I would pass by the second book in this series. The who-done-it was quite a surprise.

3 people found this helpful

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asineth

Classic pulp mystery!

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2017

Verified Purchase

So much fun. Renee Patrick (aka, husband and wife writing duo) successfully captures the fun and lingo of the near 40s Hollywood light hearted noir, and I could not be more thrilled that I finally have a new mystery series I can enjoy, and allow for a short break from re-reading all the Erle Stanley Gardner series.

First person, classic Hollywood noir. We meet Lillian Frost the day she learns her ex-roommate was murdered. As the police fumble around (sorry Morrow, it's true) Lillian, formerly a very brief Hollywood hopeful, and her new BFF Edith Head (yes, that Edith Head) scramble around to unscramble the clues in a truly Thin Man fashion --complete with the big reveal at the end. It's great pulp, the two main characters are developed and enjoyable and (most importantly) rarely do anything truly stupid.

The mystery itself was great; not too obvious, not too jumbled. I was able to figure things out before Lillian and Ms. Head, but not much before. Lets the reader feel smart without getting bored, a very difficult line for a pulp mystery novel to walk!

4 people found this helpful

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