Reporting techniques include going through the trash of celebrities and working undercover, serving hors d'oeuvres for a caterer, among other disguises. Glass is shocked and uncomfortable but needs the job, so she compromises her principles. Her journalism talent, however, allows her to think beyond the sleaze and leads her to hypothesize that a string of Hollywood murders considered suicides by the police are the handiwork of a serial killer. The plot is compelling and believable; I did not guess the identity of the killer until Gaylin revealed the name. The writing is excellent, surpassing in quality most of the big-selling mystery authors' works I have read. If Gaylin writes another novel, I will try it without hesitation - no matter what the setting. - Steve Weinberg

The Coup
By Jamie Malanowski
(Doubleday, $23)

Most mystery novels set in the White House and in other Washington, D.C., environs fall flat. It is difficult to know why, but novelists attempting to simultaneously capture the workings of government and sustain a compelling, believable narrative almost always trip up somehow. Jamie Malanowski, though, is a welcome exception. Currently the managing editor at Playboy magazine, he has also worked at Time, Esquire, and Spy. Precisely which of those postings helped him develop his knowledge of political byways is never explicitly spelled out in his brief author's bio. Maybe none of those jobs set the stage for him; maybe every fictional scene filled with real-life verisimilitude was derived completely from his imagination. Whatever the case may be, it works. The plot of the novel is far-fetched, a common trouble in such works. What's more, it's problematic as well as intricate, which often means the writer will lose the way and forget to tie up the loose ends. Malanowski avoids these traps, though; despite it all, he never loses sight of plausibility.