The Sleeping Lady

Rae Sullivan and her partner Thalia Holcombe own an upscale home decor shop in San Francisco, but Thalia likes to live dangerously. In The Sleeping Lady by Bonnie C. Monte, Rae has been running the shop while Thalia has been on a purchasing trip to France.

When Thalia returns she confesses it hasn't all been shopping. She has been having an affair with Etienne who runs an import-export shop in Paris for the past three trips. Showing real gall and making her a thoroughly unsympathetic character, she invites Etienne, his wife and son to help celebrate her husband Garrett's birthday.

Days before the party, Thalia receives a note that says, I know about your affair. Prepare to pay. When the second note appears with a demand for money and detailed instructions as to where to leave the money, Thalia is convinced she can outwit the blackmailer. She is also positive it is Marcel, an employee at Etienne's business.

Rae tries to coax her out of going to the drop spot, but Thalia is sure she can outsmart the

blackmailer. Unfortunately that does not turn out to be the case, when her body is found near the bench the next day in Golden Gate Park. The police believe her death is the result of a routine mugging especially when the find a homeless man with a diamond tennis bracelet Thalia was wearing.

Shocked and blaming herself for letting Thalia go alone, Rae knows this was not the case and decides she needs to solve the murder, leading to a shocking conclusion.

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