Dead by Happenstance: a Tony Del Plato mystery
Publisher: Compass Point Mysteries
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Format: Trade Paperback
Number of pages: 326
Table of contents: title: As the summer of 1943 begins, M.G.M. publicity chief Howard Dietz brokers a deal for; title: Tony Del Plato to work again with Paramount Pictures. The job comes as a direct request from cinematographer Steve Hardin. Their assignment takes them to the Mayan ruins of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where Hardin is to film second-unit footage for a B-movie. All goes smoothly enough until the actors' stunt-doubles arrive and an inexplicable murder takes place. Once again helping to unravel the motive is Paramount actress Marjorie Reynolds, who had hoped for a vacation simply relaxing and spending time with Tony.; title: In a parallel story, Patty Drury, the high school girl and history buff who is minding Tony's son back home, helps prove a local legend to be true and earns herself a brush with fame—and crime.