Lillian Frost first appeared in Design for Dying and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Lillian.

What is your name?
Lillian Frost.

How old are you?
I live in Los Angeles, so I suppose I should lie about that. But I also gave up on being an actress a while ago, so . . . twenty-three. (OK, twenty-five.)

What is your profession?
I’m a department store clerk turned social secretary to Addison Rice. Mr. Rice is a retired businessman who moved to Los Angeles because of his mania for movies.

Do you have a significant other?
I like to think so.

What is his name and profession?
Gene Morrow. Detective with the Los Angeles Police Department and boxing fan.

Any children?
None at the moment.

Do you have any siblings?
I’m an only child.

Do your parents live near you?
My mother passed when I was little, and right around then my father went out for cigarettes and never came back. I was raised by my uncle Danny and aunt Joyce. They live in New York City, where I grew up. I wish they were closer.

Who is your best friend?
Violet Webb. She’s a sensational singer. She just caught on with a dance band!

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I don’t have any of my own, but my landlady has a snooty Burmese named Miss Sarah Bernhardt. She pretty much runs the place.

What town do you live in?
The city of dreams, Los Angeles, California. I came here from New York to make it big in the pictures, but it only took one screen test to find out I’m no actress.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
An apartment, in a building owned by a former Ziegfeld showgirl, Mrs. Quigley. I’m lucky enough to be able to rent two flats, the smaller one for storing my clothes. Believe me, I’m no fashion plate. But when you work for a millionaire, you need to look good at all sorts of different occasions.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I have an armchair by the window where I like to read or nap. Mostly nap.

Favorite meal and dessert?
My favorite meal is whatever is on the table in front of me. Meat loaf if you’ve got it. For dessert I’ll have a slice of chocolate cake with some vanilla ice cream on the side. Nothing too fancy needed.

Favorite hobby?
I love going to the movies, especially when I can settle in for the night and see the whole shebang. Cartoon, newsreel, short subject, and a double feature.

Favorite color?
Blue, especially royal blue.

Favorite author?
I love Daphne du Maurier. Have you read Rebecca? I hear they’re going to make a movie out of it! And I just read a fabulous book about crashing Hollywood called I Lost My Girlish Laughter by Jane Allen. One of the funniest books about the picture business – I think it’s really about David O. Selznick – that’s also a swell love story.

Favorite vacation spot?
Vacation? What’s that? Whenever I can, I like to go back home to New York City. I love the excitement on the streets there, and being able to walk for miles.

Favorite sports team?
The Hollywood Stars baseball team, pride of the Pacific Coast League, and I’m a fan only partly because it’s owned by actual Hollywood stars like Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Movies, of course!

Amateur or professional and whom do you work with?
Strictly amateur. I work with Edith Head, who is the lead costume designer at Paramount Pictures. What a mind she has! And she knows everyone who’s anyone in Hollywood. Plus I get all the fashion tips I can handle.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I have a cup of Mrs. Quigley’s high-octane coffee and go to Mr. Rice’s estate. Social secretary work means I’m often answering correspondence, making phone calls, and helping to plan Mr. Rice’s next big party. Any chance I get to slip over to Paramount and visit with Edith, I will take. You never know who’s going to be in her office. After work, it’s off to the movies and then to bed. Where I typically dream about movies.

Script for Scandal is the third book in the “Lillian Frost and Edith Head” mystery series, released January 1, 2020.

Sleuthing duo Lillian Frost and Edith Head investigate a behind-the-scenes scandal in this delightful Golden Age of Hollywood mystery.

1939, Los Angeles. Lillian Frost is shocked when her friend, glamorous costume designer Edith Head, hands her the script to a new film that’s about to start shooting. Streetlight Story is based on a true crime: the California Republic bank robbery of 1936. Lillian’s beau, LAPD detective Gene Morrow, was one of the officers on the case; his partner, Teddy, was tragically shot dead.

It seems the scriptwriter has put Gene at the centre of a scandal, twisting fact with fiction – or has he? With Gene reluctant to talk about the case, the movie quickly becoming the hottest ticket in town, a suspicious death on the Paramount studio lot and the police reopening the investigation into Teddy’s death, Lillian is determined to find answers. Can Lillian and Edith uncover the truth of what happened that fateful day and clear Gene’s name?

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About the author
Renee Patrick is the pseudonym for married authors Rosemarie and Vince Keenan. Rosemarie is a research administrator and a poet. Vince is a screenwriter and Editor-in-Chief of Noir City, the magazine of the Film Noir Foundation. Both native New Yorkers, they currently live in Seattle, Washington. Script for Scandal is the third Lillian Frost and Edith Head mystery.

To learn more about the Keenans, visit their website at reneepatrickbooks.com.

All comments are welcomed.