Smash Cut — Steven Womack

The head of a sleazy international film studio becomes tangled in corrupt Louisiana politics in Womack's fine second mystery to feature public relations expert Jack Lynch. When Pearl Bergeron, the head of Louisiana's state film commission and the governor's daughter, challenges millionaire filmmaker Andrew Kwang's bid to turn a failed nuclear plant outside New Orleans into a major studio, Kwang calls on Lynch for help. Kwang becomes a suspect when Bergeron is found beaten to death, so Lynch simultaneously investigates the victim's unsavory lifestyle while employing damage-control tactics for his cool, calculating client.