Murder in Three Quarter Time: A Crystal Ballroom Mystery: 2

Head judge Vivian Marchetti came to the Golden Slipper Championship with a secret - and left down a staircase with a broken heel. Jo Reyes has spent her life keeping the Crystal Ballroom on its feet - the dance school her grandmother built, the championship it hosts, the twenty-four steps of its grand staircase worn smooth by forty years of quicksteps and tangos. So when the ballroom's imperious head judge is found dead at the bottom of those steps during the masquerade gala, Jo knows the fall that killed her was no accident. The police see a tragic slip. Jo sees a stage full of suspects: a judge hiding bribes, a rival with an old grudge, a charming partner with debts no one talks about - and a manila envelope that vanished into a locked office the night Vivian died. When the locks go on and the sponsors start to pull out, Jo has one week to learn which of her guests danced with murder. A witty, fair-play whodunit set against the glitter and grift of competitive ballroom dance - where every clue is planted, every suspect keeps a secret, and the last dance is a confession.