Photo finished

This sparkling series launch from Brecher (the Nantucket Candle Maker mysteries) introduces struggling photographer Liv Spyers, who lives in a basement studio next to her grandparents' West Village locksmith shop, where she sometimes helps out. One morning outside the shop, she runs into Regina Montague, the owner of New York's premier photography studio, who needs a key made. After admiring the photos on view in Liv's studio window, Regina offers her a job taking pictures at the Holiday Ball held at the Pierre Hotel, the original photographer having quit at the last minute. Liv seizes this opportunity of a lifetime, but during the ball she discovers Regina hovering over the bloody body of millionaire venture capitalist Charlie Archibald. Her career may be doomed unless she can clear Regina of murder charges. Photos Liv took at the elite event may point to the real killer. Meanwhile, an antique safe in her grandparents' shop holds an important clue to the murder. Distinctive characters complement a well-paced plot that takes several unexpected twists and turns. Brecher has upped her game with this superior cozy. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)

A Manhattan photographer finds murder at a high-society ball. Liv Spyers can't believe her luck when big-shot commercial photographer Regina Montague finds her way to Carrera Locksmiths, her grandparents' West Village key shop, located upstairs from Liv's struggling portrait studio. Regina, who wants to have a new key made, is also one shutterbug short for an important assignment documenting the doings at tonight's debutante ball. After checking out Liv's modest portfolio, the photography powerhouse agrees to let Liv fill in for her missing employee, and Liv spends the night happily snapping shots of New York's rich and famous. Unfortunately, she also gets to see them sniping and trash-talking each other. So when she finds the corpse of Charlie Archibald, managing partner of Lion's Mane Capital, she knows that there are plenty of folks on-site who might have wanted him dead. Unfortunately, the police zero in on a single suspect: Regina. Since Liv can't believe that her benefactor, who'd retched and grown pale when one of the debs scratched her hand on something sharp, could have inflicted the bloody wound that killed Archibald, she starts her own investigation. She's helped by Harry Fellowes, an insurance appraiser she meets in the cutest meet-cute in New York. Whether she and Harry will click is debatable: There are complications. But there's no doubt that Liv will crack the case: It's a snap. Despite a flurry of long-shot coincidences, Brecher's series debut is right in focus. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This sparkling series launch from Brecher (the Nantucket Candle Maker mysteries) introduces struggling photographer Liv Spyers, who lives in a basement studio next to her grandparents' West Village locksmith shop, where she sometimes helps out. One morning outside the shop, she runs into Regina Montague, the owner of New York's premier photography studio, who needs a key made. After admiring the photos on view in Liv's studio window, Regina offers her a job taking pictures at the Holiday Ball held at the Pierre Hotel, the original photographer having quit at the last minute. Liv seizes this opportunity of a lifetime, but during the ball she discovers Regina hovering over the bloody body of millionaire venture capitalist Charlie Archibald. Her career may be doomed unless she can clear Regina of murder charges. Photos Liv took at the elite event may point to the real killer. Meanwhile, an antique safe in her grandparents' shop holds an important clue to the murder. Distinctive characters complement a well-paced plot that takes several unexpected twists and turns. Brecher has upped her game with this superior cozy. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)