Savage garden - Denise Hamilton

Eve Diamond has been looking forward to a date at the theatre with her new man, Silvio Aguilar. But when the play's beautiful and notoriously unstable lead actress, Catarina Velosi, fails to appear, Eve learns that Silvio and the missing woman share a complicated past. A messy scene at Catarina's house suggests she may have been abducted - or worse - and when it becomes clear that Silvio is no stranger to the actress's home, or her bed, Eve must stifle her own feelings of betrayal and fight to clear his name. She knows Silvio is innocent...doesn't she?

Summoning her journalist's skills and steeling herself for further revelations, Eve approaches the players in Catarina's personal tragedy, including Alfonso, the actress's sometime lover and director, and the high-strung and evasive Marisela Reventon, Alfonso's jealous wife. Is one of them hiding something that might lead Eve to the truth? And who is responsible for attacking her in a darkened street and threatening her life?

Frequently compared to Raymond Chandler, but with a sleek, modern veneer, Denise Hamilton cuts a swath through the diverse streets of Los Angeles, revealing both the glory and the corruption pulsing through the city.