The Rich and the Dead: A Novel (Lila Day Novels, 1)

To solve the crime of the century, she'll have to go back in time.... Welcome to Star Island, where Miami's wealthiest residents lead private lives behind the tall gates of their sprawling mansions. It's a blissful escape from the hot and dirty city—or it was, until New Year's Day 2015, when twelve of the most powerful people in the world were found murdered in the basement of a Star Island mansion. The massacre shocked the nation and destroyed the life of investigator Lila Day. Her hunt for the Star Island killer consumed her. But the case went unsolved, resulting in her dismissal from the Miami PD. Now, three years later, life hands Lila an unexpected second chance: reclusive billionaire Teddy Hawkins approaches Lila and asks her to solve the case. But how do you investigate a crime when all the leads have long ago gone cold? The answer, Teddy tells her, is to solve the case before it happens. He's going to send Lila back in time. With nothing left to lose, an incredulous Lila travels back to 2014, determined to find the Star Island killer once and for all. But as she goes undercover among the members of Miami's high society, she finds herself caring for—and falling for—people who are destined to die that fateful night. Now she must either say good-bye or risk altering the future forever. From Booklist On New Year’s Day, 2015, all 12 members, but only the members, of the Janus Society, an exclusive, secretive philanthropic club, convened at a member’s gated villa on Star Island, accessible only by boat from Miami Beach. All were murdered, execution style, creating a locked-room mystery that stumped Miami’s best detective, Lila Day. Three years later, in 2018, the dispirited and discredited Lila is fired from her hotel-security job. She is ripe for taking an offer from Teddy Hawkins, a billionaire inventor, to reopen the Janus case—but with a twist. Hawkins, a friend of the victims, pays her to use his newly invented time machine to travel back in time to live among the victims in the months before the murders, hoping that she will be able to identify the killer before he kills. And so Lila Day becomes Camilla Dayton, a rich newcomer to the Miami moneyed set. Fancy cars, posh pool parties, and glittering nightlife are the veneer shielding the sinister purpose of the Janus Society. Although the means for solving the crime seems forced, the combination of mystery, evil, glamour, and light science fiction makes for an engrossing series debut. --Karen Muller Review Time travel, glitz, and a colorful cast of characters collide in what is surely the most inventive whodunit of the year! (New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub) [R]efreshing and intelligent, The Rich and the Dead is a fine-tuned, fast-paced thriller by a new name in the game. Be careful taking this début book with you on the train. You just might miss your stop. Totally absorbing. (New York Journal of Books) “Exciting debut...well-crafted thriller.” (Publishers Weekly) “The combination of mystery, evil, glamor, and light science fiction makes for an engrossing series debut. (Booklist) “Spector’s debut establishes an engaging, time-traveling heroine. ” (Kirkus Reviews) In exclusive Star Island, Miami, money and power can't protect you... In collaboration with branding powerhouse Alloy Entertainment comes a thrilling new series featuring a former Miami PD detective on the hunt for a mass murderer, who must face the past she thought she left behind. On New Year's Day 2015, twelve powerful, wealthy people were found deadshot in a lavish Star Island estate. In 2018, the murderer remains at large. As a detective and lead investigator on the case of the century, Lila Day was consumed by her hunt for the Star Island Killer. But that was before she was pushed out from the force, and her life unraveled. Years later, down on her luck and no longer a police officer, Lila is approached by mysterious billionaire Teddy Hawkins. He has a job for her, he sayssolving the Star Island murders. Lila laughs. After all, how do you solve a crime when all the leads have long grown cold? The answer, Teddy tells her, is to be there before it happened. He is going to send her back in time. With nothing left to lose, Lila travels back in time to 2014, determined to stop the Star Island killer once and for all. There's one catch: she must gather the evidence to bring the murderer to justice in her own time, without trying to save anyone. Easy enough, until she starts to care for the people who are destined to die. Now Lila must be willing to say good-byeor risk setting into motion events that could change the future forever. On New Year's Day, 2015, Twelve Of The World's Most Influential People Are Found Murdered In The Basement Of A Mansion. Investigator Lila Day Is Unable To Solve The Crime And Her Life Unravels--until Three Years Later When She Meets A Reclusive Billionaire Who Will Send Her Back In Time To Solve The Mystery Before It Happens.