5Hollywood has arrived in Britannia Bay with the filming of the hit TV show, Paradise Pines, causing grief for the Mayor, Police Chief and some of the citizenry. But the production has given the "name" director, Berens Nygaard, a chance to revive his faltering career after an arrest for drug possession. The help has come from his screen-star wife, despite his years of womanizing. When he is murdered on Hallowe'en night, Detectives Ray Rossini and Jimmy Tan are faced with solving the third homicide in two years in this tiny town. As they begin to interview the show's cast and crew, they delve into the director's checkered history for a motive. What they've yet to discover is his connection to Britannia Bay, one of which Nygaard wasn't even aware, to a past of secrets, deception and murder.

While the case moves forward, dramas are playing out in the Rossini and Tan households. Who, really, is the new Italian sous chef at the restaurant owned by Ray's parents? And what are his intentions regarding Lana, their beloved pastry chef? Motivated by her suspicions and concern, Ray's mother begins an investigation of her own. Ariel Tan's father, from whom she has long been estranged, has had a stroke. She wrestles with whether or not to visit him in Vancouver. Will he apologize for his cruel words concerning Jimmy, healing the breach? Or has too much time passed?

Cleverly written, Deadly Direction is the third book in the Britannia Bay Mystery series.