Local romance writer Vernell Lindsay has organized a convention for romance writers and would-be romance writers in the small town of Clearview, Texas. Sheriff Dan Rhodes thought his biggest problem, or biggest embarrassment, concerning the convention would be obtaining an autograph of cover model/hunk Terry Don Coslin for his wife, Ivy. Terry Don hails from Clearview and has lots of adoring fans, but Sheriff Dan isn't one of them.

Unfortunately, the romance convention causes Sheriff Dan all kinds of problems. Before the conference starts, an anonymous caller, stating that they represent a local radio station, begins phoning local women and telling them that they have won a date with Terry Don. Much, much worse, just as the convention gets underway, Henrietta Bayam, a local romance-wannabe writer and former girlfriend of Terry Don, is found dead in her room.

Sheriff Dan discovers that Henrietta was writing a mystery, not a romance. And after reading the manuscript, Sheriff Dan can think of a number of locals as well as a number of people in the romance industry who might want to see Henrietta shut up permanently.

Is it a cliché to portray romance writers as lying, backbiting bitches with relatively little talent? Yes. Can it be funny? Yes. Should the author have let this one rip? Yes. Did he? No.

I think the author shouldn't bother trying to portray Sheriff Dan as someone who has no preconceptions about romance writers when he obviously does. In his, or rather the author's, own words, “[H]e was dealing with a group of women who were liars by profession, or who wanted to be."

Frankly, I don't see the point of trying to play this one straight or even slightly toned down. The best parts of this story are the over-the-top stuff. The women fighting over Terry Don or suggesting murder plots to Sheriff Dan. Actually, I think the whole story should have been authors and would-be authors accosting Dan with their fantastic versions of what might have happened.

That would have been entertaining. As it is, A Romantic Way to Die is a slow-moving, simple mystery that took more time to solve than seemed necessary - and this is not a long book. My advice? Think twice.

--Judith Flavell