Dallas socialite Cissy Blevins Kendricks wants her sometime-sleuthing daughter Andrea to look into the mysterious death of her friend Bebe, who died soon after moving into a swanky retirement community. Andrea wants no part of her mother's social whirl, but she has no choice when more well-heeled widows turn up dead.

kud - zu \kud-zü\ (n): a ubiquitous vine/weed found in Southern climes that, left uncontrolled, will grow over any fixed object in its path, including trees, power lines, and the entire state of Georgia.

deb-u-tante \de-byu-tänt\ (n): a young woman making a debut into society, easily spotted in white dress and pearl necklace. Common names include Muffy, Bootsy, and Bunny. Eadie Boone is no shrinking violet. An artist and former beauty queen

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"Recently jilted by his fiancée, David Gray, Earl of Ravenport is not in the market for a wife. Even if Gray didn't have his hands full renovating his crumbling country house, it would take more than a bold marriage proposal from a headstrong young beauty to thaw his frozen heart. Gray is confident that spending a week at his ramshackle estate will change her mind about marriage, but every passionate moment he spends with her tempts him to change...

"Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone: to identify and locate her biological father. But the answers Sawyer found during her debutante year only left her with more questions and one potentially life-ruining secret. When her cousin Lily ropes her into pledging a mysterious, elite, and all-female secret society called the White Gloves, Sawyer soon discovers that someone in the group's ranks...

"Orphaned heiress Olivia de Vere should have the world--or at least the men of the ton--at her feet. But when she's thrown out of a young ladies' academy, Olivia doubts she'll ever find someone who will love her, rather than her bank account. To make matters worse, her dissolute cousin Felix is determined to marry her against her wishes. A virtual prisoner in her guardians' London townhouse, Olivia can't help but develop a tendre for her neighbor,...

The young ladies of the Fairchild family have just learned that their stepfather has absconded with their late mother's fortune. Ava, the eldest, decides to take matters into her own hands and hunts down the notoriously wealthy rakehell Jared Broderick, the Marquis of Middleton and heir to a dukedom. Much to her shock and delight, the marquis sweeps her into a whirlwind romance and proposes marriage. But after their passionate wedding night, Ava discovers...

Self-made civil engineer Geoffrey Brookhouse has unexpectedly inherited the dukedom of Greenwood. With the London Season imminent, Geoffrey hires Elegant Occasions to orchestrate his timid sister's debut. Lady Diana Harper, spirited fashion expert, proves more than he bargained for. Suddenly, Geoffrey's sister is emerging from her shell, and he is beleaguered with social invitations and gossip. Worse, Diana is attempting to transform him into a presentable...

"A young military widow, Eliza Pierce is enjoying both freedom and financial success as part of Elegant Occasions. When her late husband's best friend, Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead, hires Elegant Occasions to help another young widow of an officer become part of high society, Eliza wonders why. Is the woman a relative? Or is she the earl's mistress and her adorable toddler his child? If so, why does he take Eliza in his arms every chance...

As a viscount's heir, Rafe Wolfford is obligated to take a wife someday. But she must be the right sort of wife--not too independent, and not inclined to delve into his escapades as a spy. The forthright, perceptive Lady Verity is altogether the wrong choice. But Rafe's courtship is merely a ruse to discover whether Verity or anyone else associated with Elegant Occasions is leaking crucial information to the French. That mission is all that matters--until...