A Backroom Murder

In A Backroom Murder, readers are transported back to the Hollywood of the early 1960s. Author Irene Mattei sets the stage with a nostalgic atmosphere, signaling the transition from Old Hollywood's big-star glamour to the modern era. While the television industry is quickly building its dominance over the movie biz, tech companies are also experiencing a boom-particularly West Electronics. But something strange is afoot at the thriving company, and it's more than the typical office tedium.

Mattei introduces us to a wide cast of characters working at West, which is bursting at the seams due to growth. From stressed-out secretaries to colleagues tangled up in unseemly affairs, there's plenty of fodder for drama in the workplace. Unfortunately for the protagonist-a sharp and inquisitive temp worker named Sara-the dead body of one of the employees is found on the premises shortly after she arrives.

As everyone else scrambles to establish their alibis and deal with the fallout, Sara uses her natural instincts to piece together the puzzle surrounding the shocking homicide. It's the internal worlds and interactions of Mattei's deeply defined characters that keep readers in thrall to the very end.