1985 has started with a bang!

Shoulder pads securely velcroed in place and Walkman on her hip, musician and amateur sleuth Birdie Mealing is on the beat.

Can she unravel the whispers in time to catch a killer?

A new gossip column in the local paper is the talk of the town. The talk only increases when the editor is stabbed, and Birdie's boss is caught knife in hand and covered in blood.

Luckily, with Detective Herb Lawson - her so called boyfriend - missing in action, there's no one to stop Birdie investigating the crime and clear her boss' name. Perhaps that promotion she was aiming for might just be hers too.

Is it the adulterer, the swindler of school funds, the sacked principal or the cradle snatcher? Everyone's keeping secrets and when hunky Herb finally strides back into town, the flimsy excuse he gives for his absence means he's keeping them too.

Can Birdie find the culprit, save her colleague, repair her relationship and land her dream job? And can she do it all without her own dirty little secret being the next one published?

Forget the sticks and stones words can break bones.

A pacy mystery novel flavoured with lots of fun eighty's nostalgia - big hair, shoulder pads - not to mention a spicy romance for some extra fun!

CLAUDINE TINELLIS, Talking Aussie Books