Mortal Friends: A Novel

“Murder, blackmail, and betrayal, all set against the glittering backdrop of Washington society.”
 —The Today Show

No one knows the world of high society better that New York Times bestselling author Jane Stanton Hitchcock—and no one captures its behind-the-scenes scandals and secrets better. In Mortal Friends, the Edgar® Award-nominated author of Trick of the Eye and Social Crimes offers readers a comedy of manners and murders which Barbara Goldsmith describes as a “dizzying dash through the heights of Washington society, a high velocity novel with more twists than a corkscrew.” Dominick Dunne said, “I had a great weekend with this book.” Find out how the other half live—and die—by spending some quality time with Mortal Friends.

When the latest victim of the "Beltway Basher" is found in the woods of Montrose Park, Reven Lynch's favorite jogging spot, her crime-loving antenna goes up. The murder makes Reven and her best friend, Violet Bolton, reconsider their running route—but that's not the only change in Reven's routine. Her chic Georgetown neighborhood isn't accustomed to brutal slayings, and when the smooth, enigmatic Detective Gunner shows up in her antique shop, asking pointed questions, Reven's left wondering how close to home the killings are.

Gunner is convinced the murderer is a society bigshot hiding in plain sight. But he is out of his element in the rarefied world of embassy dinners and symphony balls, and Reven is perfectly positioned to feed him the inside information he needs. She throws herself into her role as the detective's "ersatz Mata Hari," only to discover that the prominent skirt-chasing businessman for whom she's fallen tops Gunner's shortlist of suspects. And that's not the half of it: a philanthropic bombshell named Cynthia Rinehart has taken the city by storm, and Violet's steady marriage is suddenly encountering some major turbulence. . . .

During the course of the investigation, the social world will unravel, an old friendship will be put to the test, scandalous secrets will be unleashed, and Reven will discover that nothing old or new, in high culture or low life, is what it appears. A riveting tale of murder, money, and high society, set in the glamorous, politics-fueled world of the nation's capital, Mortal Friends delivers another "killer read" (People).

“Riveting murder mystery” - Vogue

“Hitchcock deploys the same sharp wit and cynical attitude toward high society that she exhibited in One Dangerous Lady (2002) and Social Crimes (2005). . . . Good, bitchy fun.” - Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist

“Briskly entertaining. . . . Hitchcock has a sharp eye for telling detail.” - Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal

“A mystery that has it all. Murder, blackmail, and betrayal, all set against the glittering backdrop of Washington society.” - Today Show

“A dizzying dash through the heights of Washington society and politics and the depths of manipulation and murder. Jane Stanton Hitchcock’s high velocity novel has more twists than a corkscrew.” - Barbara Goldsmith

“MORTAL FRIENDS is a brilliant mix—an expertly paced novel of suspense and a cutthroat comedy of manners. In Jane Stanton Hitchcock’s skilled hands, these Capitol killings show D.C. society for what it is—Deliciously Criminal.” - Linda Fairstein

“Jane Stanton Hitchcock’s MORTAL FRIENDS rips the curtain off the world of Washington and its social cut throats and power players. With elegance and panache she delivers a glittering cast that will keep readers up nights turning pages. A master plotter, Hitchcock has outdone herself. I adored this book.” - Marie Brenner

“In Mortal Friends, Jane Stanton Hitchcock takes the reader into the elite and little known world of Georgetown, where the powerful of Washington reside. The plot is rife with deception, betrayal, adultery, mad men, and murder most foul. I had a great weekend with this book.” - Dominick Dunne

“Hitchcock is back and better than ever!” - Linda Fairstein

“A dazzling, wicked murder mystery that unmasks most of Washington, which may never be the same.” - Bob Woodward

“MORTAL FRIENDS is at once witty, sophisticated and chilling—imagine Edgar Allan Poe and Edith Wharton collaborating on a mystery. This novel had me guessing and turning the pages until the very end, and even then, I was surprised. Nobody else out there writes, or entertains, like Jane Stanton Hitchcock.” - Susan Cheever

“This novel’s got everything—passion, betrayal, money, obsession, murder. It’s the book Patricia Highsmith and Edith Wharton might have written together.” - Jim Lehrer, Washingtonian on Social Crimes

“Sophisticated entertainment for readers with a taste for luxury and a peeping-Tom urge to spy on high society.” - New York Observer