The Belvedere Club — Nicola Trwst

Marin County California, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, boasts home to The Belvedere Club, an exclusive woman's club that makes Augusta National Golf Club look like a community center. High on a hill overlooking the majestic San Francisco Bay, Old World charm mingles with New World money while perfumed doyennes hide secrets and share tasty gossip. Tree-sitters need not apply. Haylee Macklin, journalist with Washington DC's District Dispatch, interviews the club's Chanel clad president and other society page matrons for a tell-all exposé. But Haylee turns up dead. Her dearest friend, Briana Kaleigh, photojournalist for the same daily, dashes across the country braving a snowstorm, a high-strung poodle, and the cultural divide to find the killer. When Briana uncovers an internet porno ring, she leads the police astray, almost closing the homicide investigation for good. Briana first alienates the Buddhist sheriff working the case, but gradually wins him over with her Irish charm. After many dead-ends and a second murder, the only hope to find the killer is a blind bag lady spouting clichés.