It's been a while since Helen Hawthorne left St. Louis to start a new life under an assumed name. On the run from her money-grubbing ex-husband Rob, she has taken various dead-end jobs to make ends meet. Her latest position as a saleslady at a high-end consignment shop named Snapdragon has her rubbing elbows with the elite women in Fort Lauderdale. It's not the most desirable position, but at least it pays the bills.

As she tries to make nice with the local ladies, Helen and her quirky boss Vera stumble upon some tantalizing scoop concerning a powerful developer named Danny Martlet and his cute, Barbie doll wife, Chrissy. As tempers begin to flair, Helen does her best to stay out of the mix as she watches her own neighbor and even the county commissioner get caught up in the melee.

Just when she thinks the worst has passed, Chrissy is found dead at Snapdragon hanging by a scarf in the dressing room. To make matters worse, Helen's ex-hubby is back on the scene demanding unpaid alimony that he definitely does not deserve. As if things aren't complicated enough, Detective McNally, who has a bone to pick with her from the past, is assigned to the case. Within a blink of an eye, Helen goes from being an innocent bystander to the top of the suspect list.

HALF-PRICE HOMICIDE is ninth installment in The Dead-End Job Mystery series by the award-winning novelist Elaine Viets. Once again, her spicy and spunky heroine Helen takes the bite out of being unappreciated and underpaid as she tries to solve her latest caper. With lots of twists and turns plus a comical cast of characters, HALF-PRICE HOMICIDE is a bargain hunter's dream.