GOING OUT IN STYLE

Dallas O'Connor, the frazzled stylist for the high-end merchandiser The Store (think Neiman Marcus), becomes the number one suspect when the teenaged modeling sensation Ileana is found dead—knifed to death on the set Dallas spent all night constructing for the retailer's catalogue shoot. The fact that she's on the lam doesn't help her cause any, even though she's running at gunpoint wielded by hunky young Cuban artist/photographer Raul Domingo, who swears he didn't commit murder either, despite being seen with a knife near the body. Unfortunately, every place the two run to becomes a crime scene. Studios are torched, homes go up in smoke, cars explode, snipers take potshots at them, and when a missing roll of film finally shows up, it creates even more confusion: Did Raul photograph Ileana or an aging look-alike, the gorgeous April, about to be dumped from the Duchesse cosmetics campaign? And where is Leo, agent extraordinaire, last seen leaving Dallas and carrying a jumbo-size bag of croissants with something extra tucked in the bottom? Dallas is fired, rehired, and works disguise wonders with duct tape, hair dye, and Salvation Army finds—all this while more bodies pile up in the cutthroat fashion industry.

Lippy heroine and pacing a workaholic would love, too much motive crammed into too little space—like a size 16 trying to squeeze into a 10.