Dead Man of the Year — Stephen Hawley Martin

Brian Durston left a bright future at a big Madison Avenue agency to join his uncle's medium-sized firm because his uncle promised him a stake in the business. The future looked bright until Brian discovered his uncle slumped over his desk with a bullet through his brain. The cops think it's suicide, which means his uncle's life insurance won't pay, and Brian won't inherit the money to buy his uncle's share. Who benefits? The surviving partners. So Brian decides some investigating is in order. Meanwhile, the agency's largest account goes into review, and Brian must pull out the stops to save it, or there won't be much agency left. In steps the beautiful and enigmatic copywriter, Nickie D'Agostino. She wants to help Brian save the account and find the killer. But wait, could she be the one who did it? A romance tortured by suspicion follows, and a frantic race to find the murderer before Brian's share of the business reverts to the surviving partners, or worse - he joins his uncle in the afterlife.