Press releases

Elaine Viets’ new Dead-End Job Mystery:
Murder with Reservations

Elaine’s sixth Dead-End Job mystery, Murder with Reservations, is out in hardcover May 1 from NAL. In this novel, Helen Hawthorne, the woman on the run, works as a hotel maid. Murder with Reservations lets you look behind those hotel room doors and see how America really lives on vacation. Read this book, and you’ll never again sleep on a hotel bedspread or use the coffeepot.

This is the book Helen Hawthorne fans have been waiting for. Her ex-husband tracks her to Florida, and Helen has to face her fate. Will she go to jail?

Elaine’s sixth Dead-End Job mystery is a seriously funny look at South Florida life and minimum-wage work. Publishers Weekly calls this "rollicking fun and felony tempered with a dash of Nickel and Dimed."

Also, for paperback lovers: Murder Unleashed, the fifth Dead-End mystery, will be out in paperback  May 1 from Signet ($6.99. ISBN: 978-0-451-22108-7).

Murder with Reservations: A Dead-End Job Mystery
By Elaine Viets
NAL Hardcover. $21.95
ISBN: 0-451-22111-7
On sale May 1, 2007

From Publishers Weekly

Clubbed to Death: A Dead-End Job Mystery Elaine Viets. NAL/Obsidian, $21.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-451-22394-4

In Viets's sprightly seventh Dead-End Job mystery (after 2007's Murder with Reservations), intrepid Helen Hawthorne, now a "customer care" clerk at the snobbish Superior Club in Golden Palms, Fla., is dismayed to run into her money-hungry ex, Rob, in the club parking lot. When Rob, who's now married to a wealthy club member known as the Black Widow because her last five husbands have died mysteriously, tells Helen he fears for his life, the unsympathetic Helen hits him. Fellow club employees witness their fight, and one of them, Brenda, almost succeeds in getting Helen fired. Later, the authorities view Helen as a prime suspect after Rob disappears, a possible murder victim. When someone beats Brenda and a philandering plastic surgeon to death with Brenda's seven iron, Helen has a lot more to worry about. The romantic ending will leave fans eager for the next installment in this superior cozy series. Author tour. (May)

Murder with Reservations: A Dead-End Job Mystery
Elaine Viets. NAL, $21.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-451-22111-7

Yuppie-turned-menial-job-hunter Helen Hawthorne, still on the run from her deadbeat ex-husband, is keeping a low profile with backbreaking work as a maid at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in Viets's humorous and socially conscious sixth whodunit (after 2006's Murder Unleashed). Helen's sister warns her that her ex, Rob, is hot on her trail, determined to hunt her down and claim his settlement money, but the heads-up doesn't alleviate Helen's fear and anger when she spies Rob checking in at her place of employment. Her postmarital troubles soon take a backseat to the main mystery, though: six months earlier, a bank robber checked into the Full Moon and supposedly stashed his loot ($100,000) somewhere on the premises before he was killed in a shootout. Helen's co-worker Rhonda goes missing, and a new cleaning guy shows up who's a little too cute to be true before Viets ties it all together for some rollicking fun and felony tempered with a dash of Nickel and Dimed. (May)

The Great $500 Book Giveaway For Murder with Reservations: A Dead-End Job Mystery

In Murder with Reservations, Helen Hawthorne works as a maid at a Florida tourist hotel. She has a book full of funny stories about her hotel. But we want to hear your stories.

You can win a $250 gift certificate from your favorite bookstore to celebrate the kickoff of Elaine Viets’ new Dead-End Job Mystery, Murder with Reservations.

You can also designate your school, library or other institution to win the gift certificate.

The contest has two categories. Enter either one.

1. Your Funniest Experience as a Hotel Guest

2. Your Funniest Experience as a Hotel Employee (Maids, valets, servers, front-desk staff and other hotel and motel employees or former employees are eligible.)

 The name of the hotel will NOT be used in either category.

 The contest closes June 30, 2007. Winners will be announced July 15, 2007 at www.elaineviets.com

The Great $500 Book Giveaway Rules 

1. E-mail your entry to Elaine Viets at eviets@aol.com.
Mark the Subject line, Funniest Experience as a Hotel Guest or Funniest Experience as a Hotel Employee.

a) Include your name, address, daytime and evening phone numbers and e-mail address.

b) Include the name, address and phone number of your designated bookstore.

2. The winner in each category gets a $250 gift certificate to the local bookstore of his or her choice.

3. No purchase is necessary. Decision of the judges is final. Void where prohibited by law.

Murder with Reservations: A Dead-End Job Mystery
By Elaine Viets
NAL Hardcover. ISBN: 0-451-22111-7

Press releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Catherine Milne at the Penguin Group
Catherine.Milne@us.penguingroup.com

Download this press release in PDF format

Elaine Viets goes to the dogs!

Author’s special offer with Pets Are Worth Saving
 (PAWS) helps save animals

In honor of her hardcover debut, MURDER UNLEASHED:  A Dead-End Job Mystery (NAL Hardcover Original; May 2, 2006; $19.95), national bestselling author Elaine Viets has generously offered to personally donate $1 to PAWS for every copy of MURDER UNLEASHED sold between now and May 20th on the Barnes & Noble website (bn.com) and at select Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) stores.

The $1-a-book offer has special meaning for Viets, who worked at the Bone Appetit Dog Boutique and Posh Paws Grooming Salon in Fort Lauderdale as research for her forthcoming mystery novel, which takes place at an upscale boutique for dogs. Viets has actually worked all the dead-end jobs featured in her acclaimed mystery series, just like her character Helen Hawthorne, the part-time sleuth who’s always struggling to pay the bills.  Over the years, Viets has worked as a dress store clerk, phone book proofreader, telemarketer, babysitter, bookseller, and weed-puller at 50 cents a bucket.  While researching her latest Dead-End Job mystery, Viets befriended a real life rescue dog-turned-supermodel named Lulu (pictured with Viets above) who helped inspire the story of MURDER UNLEASHED.

Another one of Viets’ former jobs is Barnes & Noble employee—she once worked as a bookseller at her local Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida.  Now, Barnes & Noble is participating in Viets’ special $1-a-book offer through bn.com, with all the money going to PAWS (pre-orders are accepted). 

A number of IMBA stores are also participating—and continue to sign on board—with the option of donating Viets’ hard-earned cash to either PAWS or the local animal charity of their choice:

• Mystery Lovers Bookshop (Oakmont, PA)
• Creatures ‘n Crooks (Richmond, VA)
• Murder by the Book (Houston, TX)
• Raven Bookstore (Lawrence, KS)
• Murder on the Beach (Delray Beach, FL)
• Mystery Bookstore (Los Angeles, CA)
• Aunt Agatha’s (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Clues Unlimited (Tucson, AZ)
• Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego, CA)
• Aliens and Alibis (Columbia, SC)
• Jim Huang’s Mystery Company (Carmel, IN)

“Animals and bookstores naturally go together,” says Viets, a true animal lover, to bookseller participants, “I know many of you have bookstore cats or other animal companions.” 

With the support of Barnes & Noble, a selection of IMBA stores, and her fast-growing fan base, Viets will unleash her donation to PAWS (along with various local animal charities) upon receipt of her first royalty check.

To learn more about Pets Are Worth Saving (PAWS), go to this page.

  Books and Short Stories

Dead-End Job series with Helen Hawthorne

CLUBBED TO DEATH 
Obsidian hardcover. $21.95. 978-0-451-22394-4 (May 2008)

KILLER CUTS
Obsidian hardcover. $22.95. 978-0-451-22686-0

*MURDER WITH RESERVATIONS
New American Library hardcover. $21.95. 978-0-451-2211-7 (May 2007)

*MURDER UNLEASHED
Signet paperback. $6.99. 978-0-451-22108-7 (April 2007)

*MURDER UNLEASHED
New American Library hardcover. $19.95. 978-0-451-21840-7 (May 2006)

JUST MURDERED
Signet paperback original. $6.99. 0-451-21492-7 (May 2005)

DYING TO CALL YOU
Signet paperback original. $6.50. 0-451-21332-7 (October 2004)

*MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS
Signet paperback original. $5.99. 0-451-21081-6 (December 2003)

*SHOP TILL YOU DROP
Signet paperback original. $6.50. 0-451-20855-2 (May 2003)

Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series

THE FASHION HOUND MURDERS 
Obsidian paperback original. $6.99. 978-0-110-114836-5 (November 2009)

MURDER WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS 
Obsidian paperback original. $6.99. 978-0-451-22548-1 (November 2008)

ACCESSORY TO MURDER
Obsidian paperback original. $6.99. 978-0-451-22258-9 (November 2007)

HIGH HEELS ARE MURDER
Signet paperback orginal. $6.99. 0-451-21988-0 (November 2006)

DYING IN STYLE
Signet paperback original. $6.99. 0-451-21679-2 (October 2005)

Francesca Vierling series

DOC IN THE BOX
Dell paperback original. $5.99. 0-440-23620-7 (2000)

THE PINK FLAMINGO MURDERS
Dell paperback original. $5.99. 0-440-22445-4 (1999)

RUBOUT
Dell paperback original. $5.99. 0-440-22444-6 (1998)

BACKSTAB
Dell paperback original. $5.99. 0-440-22431-4 (1997)

Nonfiction

HOW TO COMMIT MONOGAMY: A lighthearted look at long-term love
Andrews McMeel hardcover. $18.95. 0-8362-2723-9 (1997)

Short Stories

"Death of a Condo Commando," 
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (May 2009)

“Vampire Hours”
MANY BLOODY RETURNS, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, $24.95. ISBN 976-0-441-01522-1. (2007) Ace Books.

“After the Fall”
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. (January/February 2006)

* “Killer Blonde”
DROP-DEAD BLONDE. Signet paperback original. $6.99. 0-451-21444-7. (February 2005)

“Blonde Moment”
Mystery Writers of America presents SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart M. Kaminsky, Berkley Prime Crime hardcover. $23.95. 0-425-19652-6 (August 2004)

* “Wedding Knife”
CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthology. Quiet Storm hardcover. $24.95. 0-9749-6080-2 (2004)

* “Red Meat” and * “Sex and Bingo”
Reprinted in THE WORLD’S FINEST MYSTERY AND CRIME STORIES, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg. Forge hardcover. $29.95. 0-765-31146-1. (October 2004)

* “Sex and Bingo”
HIGH STAKES, Signet paperback original. $5.99. 0-451-21018-2 (September 2003)

* “Red Meat”
Mystery Writers of America presents BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, edited by Lawrence Block. Berkley Prime Crime hardcover. $23.95. 0-425-19035-8 (2003)

Books on Tape

DOC IN THE BOX
Read by the Author
Americana Audio. $25. 1-58807-051-4 (2000)

THE PINK FLAMINGO MURDERS
Read by the Author
Americana Audio. $25. 1-58807-052-2  (2000)

RUBOUT
Read by the Author
Americana Audio. $25. 1-58807-053-0 (2000)

BACKSTAB
Read by the Author
Americana Audio. $25. 1-58807-054-9 (2000)

* nominated for or won an award

Awards

Lefty Award (2008)

            Funniest Mystery of 2007
            “Murder With Reservations”

Agatha Award (2005)

            Best Short Story published in 2004
            “Wedding Knife” in the CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthology

Anthony Award (2005)

            Best Short Story
            “Wedding Knife” in the CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthology

Nominations

Agatha Award (2007)

Best Novel
“Murder With Reservations”

Anthony Award (2006)

Best Short Story
“Killer Blonde”  in the “Drop-Dead Blonde” anthology

Anthony Award (2004)

Best Short Story
“Red Meat”  in the Mystery Writers of America anthology, “Blood on Their Hands,” edited by Lawrence Block

Lefty Award (2007)

Best Humorous Mystery published in 2006
MURDER UNLEASHED: A Dead-End Job Mystery

Lefty Award (2004)

Best Humorous Mystery published in 2003
SHOP TILL YOU DROP: A Dead-End Job Mystery

Agatha Awards (2004)

Best Novel
SHOP TILL YOU DROP: A Dead-End Job NoveL

Best Short Story
“Red Meat” in the Mystery Writers of America  anthology, "Blood on Their Hands,” edited by Lawrence Block.

Best Short Story
“Sex and Bingo” in the HIGH STAKES anthology

Anthony Award (2004)

Best Short Story
“Red Meat” in the Mystery Writers of America  anthology, "Blood on Their Hands,” edited by Lawrence Block.

Barry Award (2004)

Best Paperback Original
MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS: A Dead-End Job Novel

Lefty Award (2004)

            Best Humorous Mystery published in 2003
            SHOP TILL YOU DROP: A Dead-End Job Novel

Macavity Award (2004)

Best Short Story
“Red Meat” in the Mystery Writers of America  anthology, "Blood on Their Hands,” edited by Lawrence Block.