While their husbands are out making money, making deals, and making . . . whatever, the trophy wives of New Falls are slipping not so quietly into middle age. Lauren, Bridget, Dana, and Caroline pretend to each other that their only problems are parties, plastic surgery, and which Mikimotos to buy. But behind the closed doors of their gracious homes there are broken hearts and broken promises . . . the stuff that gossip is made of. And the newest dish du jour is a whopper! The husband of one of their oldest friends, who dumped his wife for a newer model—a sexier, flashier, sleeker hairdresser—is found dead, his ex-wife, Kitty, standing over him . . . holding the smoking gun. Kitty claims she's innocent, and there are plenty of women around town who might want the rat dead. Now it's up to the women to discover where in their high-priced suburb a killer is hiding, and which good little wife has done something very, very wicked. When a former friend is charged with the murder of her ex-husband, the pampered trophy wives of tony New Falls, New York, are shocked, but really, they haven't seen much of her since she was dumped for a newer model. In this community, your status depends on who your husband is, and these middle-aged gals fight tooth and claw to maintain their looks. But Vincent DeLano's murder causes the friends to question the rigid codes they live by. Lauren married a much older widower, and acquired his many children. Bridget is tired of playing the part of the sexy French woman who adds a little fillip to their group. Caroline is the grande dame, and Dana has the most normal life, although she is obsessed with finding Vincent's killer. All have secrets they'd rather not share, and most were involved with Vincent one way or another. Drake's mix of women's fiction and a high-society mystery critiques an elite but troubled world with humor and eerie precision. Hatton, Maria A wicked and fabulously fun peek into the desperate lives of the rich and the snobby - New York Times bestselling authorauthor Rachel Gibson New York Times bestselling authorauthor Rachel Gibson New York Times bestselling authorauthor Rachel Gibson New York Times bestselling Rachel Gibson While their husbands are out making money, making deals, and making . . . whatever, the trophy wives of New Falls are slipping not so quietly into middle age. Lauren, Bridget, Dana, and Caroline pretend to each other that their only problems are parties, plastic surgery, and which Mikimotos to buy. But behind the closed doors of their gracious homes there are broken hearts and broken promises . . . the stuff that gossip is made of. And the newest dish du jour is a whopper! The husband of one of their oldest friends, who dumped his wife for a newer model—a sexier, flashier, sleeker hairdresser—is found dead, his ex-wife, Kitty, standing over him . . . holding the smoking gun. Kitty claims she's innocent, and there are plenty of women around town who might want the rat dead. Now it's up to the women to discover where in their high-priced suburb a killer is hiding, and which good little wife has done something very, very wicked. Abby Drake is a Mayflower descendant and has one sister with whom she's kept lots of secrets. She's the author of Good Little Wives and Perfect Little Ladies . Drake lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, but enjoys wandering off from time to time. Good Little Wives By Abby Drake HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Abby Drake All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061232213 Chapter One It started because of a facelift. A second face-lift, actually. Caroline Meacham, after all, was now fifty-two, and her first cosmetic surgery had been twelve years ago, a fortieth birthday present from her husband, Jack. Or for him, Dana's husband had chuckled back then at the thought that one of the trophy wives was beginning to tarnish in visible places. Dana gripped the stem of the champagne flute. She stood with several ladies, semicircle, arced around Caroline, extolling the delicate work of Dr. Gregg (his first name, not his last, for none of the wives called him Dr. Rathberger). "A teeny tuck here . . . another one here . . . ," Caroline explained to the women she'd invited for cracked crab and conversation at Caroline and Jack's palatial home in New Falls, New York. She'd dubbed the meeting her rite-of-spring luncheon for her fifty closest friends, though there was no doubt the real reason they'd gathered was to view the new lift. "And my lips," Caroline continued. "Remember how thin they'd become?" The women—Dana, Bridget, Lauren, and three others Dana knew Caroline deemed unimportant—nodded as if they truly remembered Caroline's pencil mouth. "Well, Dr. Gregg—the man is sheer genius—took a touch of fatty tissue from the cheek of my butt, and see how he plumped up my lips?" She outlined the edge of her upper lip with the tip of a lightly frosted, manicured fingernail. She smiled. "Amazing," Lauren s