Sleaze

"A libertine expat translator wakes up to discover her (married) one-night stand dead and is subsequently blackmailed into investigating his untimely demise.Mari-a raffish freelancer with a penchant for martinis, Mediterranean sunshine, and men of less than sterling character-has a problem. Jean-Michel, her previous night's diversion, didn't wake up in the morning. And when his femme fatale widow comes knocking, insisting her no-good husband was murdered, Mari finds herself pressed into the role of reluctant gumshoe. With the help of her friends, fellow expats and inveterate reprobates, Mari begins a desultory dive into Jean-Michel's recent-shady-dealings. As Mari warms to her new character of amateur sleuth, she stumbles upon a sinister conspiracy involving an exclusive wellness retreat, guerrilla activists, and a narcotics sting. Meanwhile, an escalating series of politically charged kidnappings electrifies Mari's rapidly-gentrifying city. And as this web of power, influence, and collusion grows even more tangled, Mari is forced to reckon with her long-buried feelings for her best friend, who might be more involved in the Jean-Michel affair than he'd like to admit.