With half a bagel in her teeth, a cup of thick black from the taqueria in hand, Rio Cruze swung onto the LA Metro, and elbowed into a seat. Propping the coffee between her khaki-trousered knees—after years with the LAPD, a basic uniform was the easiest way to dress—she dug out her phone and skimmed through multiple texts, until she reached the one in all caps.
Holy Crapola, Meyer was shouting for heads to roll. Panic time. . .
She couldn’t lose this job. Associate producer of security—she snorted at the studio’s title for her—paid enough for the very first home she’d ever known, and left her a little extra to help kids, as she’d been helped while growing up. Foster children had it rough.
She texted her assistant and had him searching the internet before the Metro rolled into Burbank. A brisk walk and she arrived at the towering historic gates of famed Xanadu Studios—well, once famed. She waved her ID card at the gate and dashed into the admin building, nearly knocking over XRM’s tubby CEO. Meyer was an all-right guy. After she’d saved him from a shooter, he’d had the sense to realize she had his best interests in mind.
She might be good, but she wasn’t a time traveler. “How the fudge do you think I can find this Magic Man in two days when we’ve been looking for a week?” she shouted, racing for her office.
“He’s two weeks late! This place goes bankrupt if we don’t finish by deadline,” he shouted back. “Wave your magic wand!”
Right—call in her contacts, work the network, track down anyone who might have had dealings with a special effects tech who hadn’t been seen in twenty years. . .
This was why XRM Studios paid her the big bucks and loaned her the purple Porsche—to take out their trash and perform magic.
Working two phones and the internet, with her assistant locating ex-employees, Rio finally reached a former grip who admitted once visiting the Magician at the mythical estate of Xanadu, way out past Santa Barbara in the middle of wilderness—with no address.
She glanced at her hardworking staff, people with families, people who had to bring home the bacon. . . She had to take the chance. She had to find Xanadu and the Magician, because a bankrupt studio didn’t pay the bills.
CLOSE-UP TO MURDER
Series: A Xanadu Canyon Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: October 2026
Format: Digital
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Bestselling author Patricia Rice brings us the start of a new contemporary cozy mystery series with an amateur female sleuth, a hint of romance, a cast of her famously eccentric characters, and a cold case mystery that heats up quickly.
A missing magician. A hidden mansion. An invisible killer. . .
Rio Cruze has spent her life searching for answers—first about her past, now about a missing genius who has erased himself.
When a reclusive CGI technician can’t be found, security chief Rio Cruze is sent to track him down before an historic film studio goes under. Her only lead takes her to Xanadu: a century-old mansion hidden deep in a California coastal canyon, where time seems to stand still.
Xanadu has been keeping Hollywood secrets for a century, but when a landslide traps Rio and the inhabitants in the canyon, a decades-old skeleton surfaces… and the search for a missing man turns into a hunt for a killer from the past.
After another body surfaces, Rio must uncover the truth—before she becomes part of Xanadu’s history. Trusting the enigmatic man who will inherit it all may be her most dangerous move of all.
Meet the author
With several million books in print and New York Times and USA Today‘s lists under her belt, former CPA Patricia Rice is one of romance’s hottest authors. Her emotionally-charged romances have won numerous awards and been honored as RITA® finalists in the historical, Regency, and contemporary categories. She is thrilled that readers are now following her into romantic mysteries! To receive news of new releases, sign up for her newsletter at patriciarice.com or follow her social media on on linktr.ee/patriciarice.