I’m in the process of sending my work in progress off to some writing contests and more agents and I’m still stumped regarding a title. I’m looking for title ideas so please let me know if you have one.

My novel is a soft-boiled, amateur sleuth novel about family, friendship, divorce, plagiarism and revenge set in Boston. Samantha Monroe is a 31-year old soon to be divorced writer. Well, she’s written and sold her first romance novel and while most everyone she knows is happy for her, Rick, her soon to be ex-husband is embarrassed. He’s an assistant English professor at a local university and he needs to publish something of his own soon, very soon. Samantha and Rick Monroe are working on their divorce when Rick’s graduate assistant and lover, Ariella Fantini, is murdered. Sam’s life takes an unexpected turn when she is considered the leading suspect.

Sam is out of town when the murder takes place and is just about the only person who could not have committed the murder. Now Ariella’s father, mob boss on the run Dominic Fantini, makes Sam an offer she doesn’t know how to refuse, solve the murder of his daughter. Sam agrees to do some investigation in the English Department as she still has some close contacts there, particularly the department chair, Arthur Churykian, who has encouraged her writing. It doesn’t take long for Sam to put together a list of potential suspects that includes a jealous ex-boyfriend, someone who was plagiarizing Ariella’s writing, and even Rick, her soon to be ex.

As Sam makes her inquiries, things heat up; a former student of Rick’s tries to pick her up, another student is murdered, Sam’s home is ransacked and she sells her second novel. The Boston police detectives, the English department chair, the mob boss and his ever present bodyguard, Sam’s friends and her older brother feel that Sam’s inquiries are leading to some serious harm for Sam and they do their best to keep her out of harm’s way.