It used to be my dream in life was working security on a Moon Unit cruise ship. I studied all the necessary courses and trained in my spare time and even managed to collect a paycheck on Moon Unit 5 and 6. My favorite thing in the world was problem solving, and there’s nothing like the kind of problems that arise when you’re stuck on a spaceship full of passengers with a murderer on the loose. That’s the kind of problem solving you just can’t learn in a class.

But ever since landing the job as part time sales rep for Century 21 Uniforms, I’ve been busy wear-testing the sample garments before my boss made her final tweaks and added them to the catalog.

Six months ago, I had one of the first uniforms made from Stealthyester®, a multi-faceted fabric that reflected my surroundings and allowed me to blend in. The fabric came in handy when I helped my mentor, the former head of security for Moon Unit Cruise Lines, hijack a spaceship, save a race of aliens, and solve the murder of an interplanetary courier. Plus, it made my butt look good.

What didn’t look good were prison stripes, which was what I assumed Neptune wore behind the walls of the jail where he’d been locked up after we hijacked said spaceship, saved a race of aliens, and solved the murder of an interplanetary courier.

Neptune’s arrest was the main reason I now worked for Century 21 Uniforms and not Moon Unit Cruise Lines, though rumor has it they’re hiring again and I think I’m a shoo in!

Today, my Century 21 Uniforms boss is on the rampage because our orders are down. She said if I can’t bring in some new business, then she’s going to have to be forced to make some staffing cuts. And considering she handles design, management, distribution, production, advertising, and delivery and I handle sales I think it’s safe to say those staffing cuts are going cut off my supply of Stealthyester® uniforms indefinitely.

I spent my morning making sales calls and arranging for sample uniforms to be delivered to contacts throughout the galaxy, but it turns out drumming up sales on technology-based uniforms isn’t as easy as rebuilding broken drones. It’s also not as easy as hijacking spaceships, saving aliens, or solving murders.

You could make the argument that my job at Century 21 was not exactly suited to me. You could also make the argument that I secretly wanted to go back to problem solving, and the first problem that needed solving was how to get Neptune out of jail.

I might not know how to go about doing it, but at least I know what I’ll be wearing. . .

Spiders From Mars is the fourth book in the “Sylvia Stryker Space Case” cozy mystery series, released May 5, 2020.

When Sylvia Stryker’s mentor is jailed for a crime Sylvia helped commit, she jumps on a plan to break him out. Her inspired rescue mission attracts attention from a covert branch of federation intelligence who may have their own agenda. But when a high-profile prisoner is murdered inside the jail where Neptune is held, offers of help evaporate like water on a dry planet. Neptune
is moved to a penal colony on Mars where he’ll fulfill the duration of his life sentence mining rocks in sub-zero temperature.

There’s only one way out: prove Neptune is innocent. But is he? Sylvia knows better than anyone that Neptune will cross lines other people won’t. Without knowing what transpired in the prison, she can’t know if he’s complicit or not. Sylvia uses her sleuthing skills to solve a locked room mystery . . . while knowing the truth may keep Neptune locked up forever.

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About the author
After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. She is a national bestselling author and a past president of Sisters in Crime. She started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since. Visit her website at dianevallere.com.

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