The Revenge of Kali-Ra

"Steady, old chap," said the inspector. "I know you've had a scare, but it's all quiet now."

"Too quiet," said Raymond Vernon grimly. "Kali-Ra is here. I know it!"

Suddenly, Nick heard a shattering crash and a woman's terrified scream. He nearly dropped the book in his hand. He must stop reading these damn Kali-Ra thrillers; they were beginning to seem real. But then he realized he had heard an actual scream outside the mansion doors...

Super-bankable, way-hot movie star Nadia Wentworth has found her dream role: the all-powerful, eternally beautiful Kali-Ra, Queen of Doom-one of pulp fiction's most famous characters. Even better, no one stands between Nadia owning all the rights to the Kali-Ra novels. As far as Nadia's assistant, Melanie, can tell, Kali-Ra's creator, dissolute 1920 s novelist Valerian Ricardo, left no heirs. So, it seems that no power on earth can stop the return of Kali-Ra-or prevent Nadia from gaining untold profits and worldwide mega-stardom...

That is, until a cast of mysterious characters descend on Nadia's exotic Beverly Hills mansion-putting the level-headed Melanie in a scenario weirder than anything even she's ever seen. Nick Iversen, Valerian's great-great-nephew from Minneapolis, wants the truth about his dubious heritage. The writer's wacked-out widow, Lila, hungers to spread the "divine power" of his words and control his new fortune on the earthly plane. Haplessly sleazy lawyer Quentin Smith is out to claim the profits of Kali-Ra for his unscrupulous employer. And the mysterious Callie might have a more sinister connection to her Valerian Ricardo's creation than anyone can guess.

Determined to uncover the truth about Ricardo's legacy, Melanie attempts to untangle a web of events as fiendishly difficult as any Kali-Ra herself could devise. But from the moment one of Nadia's unwanted guests turns up stabbed and dangerous forces-including obsessed Kali-Ra Internet fans-stalk the scented night, Melanie must put her own final cut on this deadly script. Even if she must confront the most terrifying perils of celebrity ego, big-studio moviemaking-or the unholy powers of Kali-Ra herself...