Paper or plastic? Decaf or regular? Debit or credit? Every day, every one of us makes hundreds of decisions. As a matter of fact, a study by Cornell University found that we make more than 200 daily decisions just about food! (Personally, I suspect I’m above the curve on that score. For me, chocolate choices alone “tip the scales” in that direction.) I have no statistical information on this, but instinct tells me that the average woman has to make more decisions in a day than the average man. And one thing I am absolutely certain: today’s women face more decisions, and weightier ones, than our grandmothers ever did. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not pining for the old “Father Knows Best” days when men made all the choices for their wives and the only career paths open to women were nursing, teaching, or marriage. But, no matter your age or level of life experience, the smorgasbord of choices we face today – marital, relational, educational, vocational, reproductive, domestic, professional, and financial – can be daunting, even paralyzing. Liza Burgess, one of the main characters in A Thread So Thin, the third of my Cobbled Court novels, understands exactly what…

Molly Murphy March 2009On Sale: March 17, 2009Featuring: Molly Murphy288 pages ISBN: 031238534XEAN: 9780312385347Hardcover$24.95 Mystery Historical, Mystery Woman Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com In A Gilded Cageby Rhys Bowen Irish immigrant Molly Murphy and her New York City P.I. business are in the midst of a sweeping influenza epidemic and a fight for women’s suffrage that lands her in jail. Her betrothed, Police Captain Daniel Sullivan, finds her, but he hardly has time to bail her out, what with Chinese gangs battling for control of a thriving opium trade. The only consolation Molly can take from her vexing afternoon in the clink is that it made her some new friends among the Vassar suffragists—and brought her a pair of new cases. For the first, Emily Boswell is convinced her miserly uncle stole her inheritance and wants Molly to uncover the truth behind her parents’ lives and deaths. Second, Emily’s college roommate Fanny Poindexter wants Molly to find proof of her husband’s philandering so that she can leave him without one red cent. But when Fanny dies and her husband claims she’s a victim of the epidemic, it’s more than Molly’s conscience can take. Rhys Bowen’s Agatha and Anthony Award–winning historical series…