How to Party with a Killer Vampire

Table of Contents

 

 

“Event planner Presley Parker is throwing a party at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, and you just know all those corridors and secret rooms will be the perfect setting for a murder.... Downright fun.”

—
Contra Costa Times

 

“Presley Parker is a delightful event host, and this entertaining mystery captures the ins and outs of planning a séance. . . . Delightfully entertaining.”

—Mysterious Reviews

 

“Unforgettable characters, information, and humor all in one divine package. Treat yourself to this one as soon as possible.”

—Fresh Fiction

 

“[A]n entertaining read, full of unique characters and breezy prose. The setting is unique, the structure is smart, and the pacing is quick.... Presley otherwise makes for a strong, smart, funny protagonist for whom readers will want to root.”

—The Season for Romance

 

“Presley is a creative, energetic young woman with a wry sense of humor.”

—The Mystery Reader

 

“[Warner] delights her audience with colorful and lively characters, intriguing suspense, and fun party-planning tips. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, fast-moving story with enough polish and pizzazz to keep your interest popping to the very last page, look no further than this party-hearty book.”

—Fresh Fiction

 

“Exactly what a modern cozy should be: light and playful, a little romance mixed with a little mystery, and thoroughly enjoyable start to finish.”

—Mysterious Reviews

 

“The mystery is well plotted, [and] there are plenty of clues and plenty of suspects, letting readers guess along with Presley.”

—The Mystery Reader

 

“I highly recommend this book to all mystery readers, cozy [fans] or not. This is a party that you don’t want to miss.”

—Once Upon a Romance Reviews

 

“The Killer Party series is delightful!”

—Meritorious Mysteries

 

“Presley Parker is a protagonist who readers can’t help but like. She’s been down on her luck but lands on her feet when she comes up with the idea for an event-planning business. For a mystery series, it’s a near-perfect occupation.”

—
MysteriesGalore.­com

 

“Penny Warner has created a wonderful heroine in perilous Presley Parker. . . . With plenty of action on her investigation and several poignant moments, readers will enjoy the perils of Presley Parker.”

—Genre Go Round Reviews

 

“The second Party-Planner mystery is a delightful whodunit due to a strong lead and the eccentric cast who bring a flavor of San Francisco to life.”

—The Best Reviews

 

“Plenty of motives and suspects . . . a cast of lively characters.”

—Gumshoe

 

“Penny Warner’s scintillating
How to Host a Killer Party
introduces an appealing heroine whose event skills include utilizing party favors in self-defense in a fun, fast-paced new series guaranteed to please.”

—Carolyn Hart, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity award–winning author of
Dead by Midnight

 

“A party you don’t want to miss.”

—Denise Swanson,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Murder of a Bookstore Babe

 

“Penny Warner dishes up a rare treat, sparkling with wicked and witty San Francisco characters, plus some real tips on hosting a killer party.”

—Rhys Bowen, award-winning author of the Royal Spyness and Molly Murphy mysteries

 

“There’s a cozy little party going on between these covers.”

—Elaine Viets, author of the Dead-End Job mysteries

 

“Fast, fun, and fizzy as a champagne cocktail! The winning and witty Presley Parker can plan a perfect party—but after her A-list event becomes an invitation to murder, her next plan must be to save her own life.”

—Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha Award–winning author of
Drive Time

 

“The book dishes up a banquet of mayhem.”

—
Oakland Tribune
(CA)

 

“Grab this book.... It will leave you in stitches.”

—The Romance Readers Connection

 

“Frantic pace, interesting characters.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“These days some of the hottest crime fiction revolves around caterers and chefs. The latest author to venture into culinary mystery territory is Danville’s Penny Warner, whose Bay Area hero—party planner Presley Parker—runs into homicidal high jinks all over the Bay Area, starting with an Alcatraz wedding gone awry.”

 

—
Contra Costa Times

OBSIDIAN

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First published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

First Printing, October 2011

Copyright © Penny Warner, 2011

All rights reserved

 

OBSIDIAN and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

ISBN : 978-1-101-54472-3

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

 

 

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Thanks to everyone who helped in some way with this book: Colleen Casey, Janet Finsilver, Staci McLaughlin, Ann Parker, Carole Price, Sue Warner, the city of Colma, my wonderful agents Andrea Hurst and Amberly Finarelli, and my incredible editor, Sandy Harding.

“I figured that, if you do a vampire movie in Hollywood, you’ve made it.”

—Christopher Atkins

It should have been a dark and stormy night, à la Hollywood, but the October moon was full and the sky cloudless. I stood quietly in the cemetery, feeling as if I were viewing a film. But there were no cameras, and this was no movie.

I watched as the tall, pale twentysomething man dressed in tight black jeans and a black chest-hugging T-shirt suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. He seemed to glide toward the wide-eyed, raven-haired young woman who waited for him. She wore a white, flowing dress, sheer and low-cut, that displayed her obviously enhanced breasts. Leaning seductively against a towering headstone, her long hair swirling in the night breeze, she smiled at the man in black approaching her. He held a glass of bloodred wine, his glowing eyes fixed on her.

I felt like a voyeur, but I couldn’t take my eyes off this mesmerizing couple.

He offered her the glass, not taking his eyes from hers. There was palpable chemistry between these two people. “This is very old wine. I hope you’ll like it.”