As Dead as It Gets — Cady Kalian

Maggie Mars used to be a journalist on the East Coast, but now she's come to LaLa Land to make a name for herself as a screenwriter... and maybe live her fantasy of someday meeting Jack Nicholson.

When Maggie's dear mentor Roger, the Executive Director and Chief Negotiator for the Creative Artist's Union, is found dead in a bathroom, it makes big time news--especially when it's revealed that he was wearing a ladies' silky red garter belt and bra.

Maggie is determined to find Roger's killer. She's got a ton of help at hand, including two boyfriends (one current, one former), and her father, who is a former professor of chemistry with a penchant for blowing things up in the name of inventing Something Cool. And then there's the main character in Maggie's never ending screenplay, who seems to be, literally, taking on a life of her own. She's everything Maggie isn't: tall and shapely, with a mouth like a sailor and a taste for adventure.

As Maggie digs deeper into Roger's past, she realizes she was one of the few people who actually liked Roger--the list of folks who had it out for him is longer than the reception line at Grauman's during a premiere.

And if Maggie isn't careful, she could be the next hot item in the news...as the latest victim.