Esther Diamond Series by Laura Resnick

“I’m not a heroine; I just play heroines. Also psychotics, orphans, vamps, hookers, and housewives.”When bizarre magical disappearances disrupt performances in the Big Apple, struggling actress Esther Diamond receives a cryptic warning not to appear in an Off-Broadway musical because “there is Evil among us.”Since the show much go on, Esther teams up with a conjuring cowboy, a banker with stage aspirations, and a group of drag queens. They’re led in their efforts by Esther’s new BFF, Dr... more“I’m not a heroine; I just play heroines. Also psychotics, orphans, vamps, hookers, and housewives.”When bizarre magical disappearances disrupt performances in the Big Apple, struggling actress Esther Diamond receives a cryptic warning not to appear in an Off-Broadway musical because “there is Evil among us.”Since the show much go on, Esther teams up with a conjuring cowboy, a banker with stage aspirations, and a group of drag queens. They’re led in their efforts by Esther’s new BFF, Dr. Maximillian Zadok, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York from Evil. Also on the case is Detective Connor Lopez, a sexy cop who fears that Max and Esther may be a bigger problem than the vanishing performers.Boldly facing down an enraged producer, a hungry tiger, and other deadly obstacles, Esther, Max, and their friends pursue Evil to its lair in their fearless determination to find the missing performers and restore harmony to their city. less

A struggling actress, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York City from Evil, a skeptical cop—and double the number of wiseguys that there should be….While working as a singing waitress in Little Italy, struggling actress Esther Diamond witnesses a mob hit. And right before getting whacked out, the victim tells her that he just saw his own doppio—a perfect double and a notorious portent of death... moreA struggling actress, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York City from Evil, a skeptical cop—and double the number of wiseguys that there should be….While working as a singing waitress in Little Italy, struggling actress Esther Diamond witnesses a mob hit. And right before getting whacked out, the victim tells her that he just saw his own doppio—a perfect double and a notorious portent of death.Before long, more döppelgangers start haunting New York’s mobsters, who are subsequently getting bumped off in mysterious ways. Meanwhile, Esther’s new love-interest, Detective Connor Lopez, gets transferred to the NYPD’s organized crime unit and is assigned to investigate these hits.Determined to prevent the murder of more of her restaurant customers, which slayings will soon lead to a mob war, Esther tries to uncover the evil genius behind the deadly doppelgangsters. Along with a 350 -year-old sorcerer and an aging hit man, Esther delves deep into the world of wiseguys in pursuit of a ruthlessly mystical murderer less

Overdressed zombies, vicious gargoyles, a severed hand... and the night is still young!Acting jobs don't just grow on fire escapes… so struggling actress Esther Diamond is outraged when her guest role as a hooker on The Dirty Thirty, a controversial TV drama, is jeopardized by zombies, angry spirits, and a voodoo curse.Meanwhile, the talented teens whom Esther is coaching at a Harlem cultural center are also being attacked by the sinister supernatural power that's spreading through Manhattan... moreOverdressed zombies, vicious gargoyles, a severed hand... and the night is still young!Acting jobs don't just grow on fire escapes… so struggling actress Esther Diamond is outraged when her guest role as a hooker on The Dirty Thirty, a controversial TV drama, is jeopardized by zombies, angry spirits, and a voodoo curse.Meanwhile, the talented teens whom Esther is coaching at a Harlem cultural center are also being attacked by the sinister supernatural power that's spreading through Manhattan. And Esther's love life goes from bad to worse when her bed bursts into deadly mystical flames while her would-be lover, Detective Connor Lopez, is trying to get her into it!Since the show must go on (and the rent must be paid), Esther boldly helps her friend Dr. Maximillian Zadok, a 350-year-old sorcerer whose day job is protecting New York City from Evil, combat the supernatural forces at work in Harlem during a sweltering summer heat wave. But will Esther's courage lead her to becoming a human sacrifice on the altar of Evil's voracious appetite? less

Everything you know about vampires is wrong…After a grisly murder casts a pall over The Vampyre, an Off-Broadway play in which Esther plays a vampire victim, she and her friend Max confront a dizzying array of suspects among the vamparazzi—the rival factions of vampire groupies and anti-vampire obsessives who surround the theatre every night... moreEverything you know about vampires is wrong…After a grisly murder casts a pall over The Vampyre, an Off-Broadway play in which Esther plays a vampire victim, she and her friend Max confront a dizzying array of suspects among the vamparazzi—the rival factions of vampire groupies and anti-vampire obsessives who surround the theatre every night. Meanwhile, Esther’s almost would-be boyfriend, Detective Connor Lopez, fears that she may be the killer’s next target!Esther’s quest to thwart Evil and ensure a decent run for her play ultimately brings her into conflict with real vampires, vamparazzi, and an ancient cult of vampire hunters with whom her friend Max has a checkered past. Her adventure takes her into the forgotten tunnels and vaults beneath New York City, where Esther learns that having your neck gnawed upon by a bloodthirsty prince of the night isn’t nearly as much fun as she makes it look onstage. less

Some things should just stay in hell…Esther Diamond’s latest Manhattan misadventure leads her into the twisted realm of greedy heirs battling over a retail empire, a series of heists pulled off by invisible thieves, and inanimate objects that grow fangs and fly through the air to attack a struggling actress who’s just trying to earn enough money to pay her rent.Realizing that magical mayhem is afoot, Esther joins forces with Dr... moreSome things should just stay in hell…Esther Diamond’s latest Manhattan misadventure leads her into the twisted realm of greedy heirs battling over a retail empire, a series of heists pulled off by invisible thieves, and inanimate objects that grow fangs and fly through the air to attack a struggling actress who’s just trying to earn enough money to pay her rent.Realizing that magical mayhem is afoot, Esther joins forces with Dr. Maximillian Zadok to investigate the terrifying manifestations at Fenster & Co., where Esther is working overtime as an underdressed elf. Meanwhile, her tumultuous almost-romance with NYPD’s Detective Connor Lopez runs hot and cold and increasingly strange as he investigates the perplexing heists at Fenster’s. Semi-retired hit man Lucky Battistuzzi is also nosing around, since the mob resents being implicated in these thefts.As an ancient Evil prepares to unleash hell on a night when darkness prevails and dimensional barriers crumble, Esther battles to save her friends from deadly peril, protect her city from demonic disaster, and collect her paycheck in time to make rent. less

Murder by misfortune? Death by cookie?The New Year gets off to a rocky start for struggling actress Esther Diamond when NYPD’s Detective Connor Lopez, who slept with her and then didn’t call, shuts down the Little Italy restaurant where Esther works between acting jobs—and arrests her!After spending a long night in jail plotting Lopez’s slow and painful demise, Esther’sluck changes when she lands a role in a low-budget indie film in Chinatown—where her friend, semi-retired hit man Lucky... moreMurder by misfortune? Death by cookie?The New Year gets off to a rocky start for struggling actress Esther Diamond when NYPD’s Detective Connor Lopez, who slept with her and then didn’t call, shuts down the Little Italy restaurant where Esther works between acting jobs—and arrests her!After spending a long night in jail plotting Lopez’s slow and painful demise, Esther’sluck changes when she lands a role in a low-budget indie film in Chinatown—where her friend, semi-retired hit man Lucky Battistuzzi, who escaped Lopez’s sweep in Little Italy, is hiding out in a Chinese-Italian mortuary.But Esther and Lucky soon realize that something strange is going on in Chinatown, where mysterious gourmet fortune cookies are inflicting deadly mystical curses on the hapless victims who receive them as gifts.As preparations heat up for Chinese New Year, when the icy streets will be filled with costumed lion dancers, firecrackers, and dense crowds, Esther and Lucky summon their friend Dr. Maximillian Zadok, a semi-immortal mage entrusted with confronting Evil in the Big Apple, to help them save Chinatown—and Esther’s film—from the mystical menace of a maniacal murderer. less

R.I.P. = Reanimated, Infernal, and Pretty damn dangerous After struggling actress Esther Diamond gets cast in a guest role on The Dirty Thirty, a TV crime drama about depravity and corruption in the New York Police Department, her ex-almost/sometime boyfriend, NYPD’s Detective Connor Lopez, vows he’ll never forgive Esther for convincing her narcissistic co-star to add verisimilitude to his performance as a morally bankrupt cop by shadowing Lopez on the job... moreR.I.P. = Reanimated, Infernal, and Pretty damn dangerous After struggling actress Esther Diamond gets cast in a guest role on The Dirty Thirty, a TV crime drama about depravity and corruption in the New York Police Department, her ex-almost/sometime boyfriend, NYPD’s Detective Connor Lopez, vows he’ll never forgive Esther for convincing her narcissistic co-star to add verisimilitude to his performance as a morally bankrupt cop by shadowing Lopez on the job.But Esther’s fellow thespian is her best bet for keeping an eye on Lopez 24/7—and, more to the point, on Lopez’s new partner, Detective Quinn. Esther and her friend Max, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York City from Evil, suspect Quinn of being involved in the latest mystical mayhem to menace Manhattan—where corpses suddenly aren’t staying quite as dead as they should.While Max and Esther try to determine what Quinn’s role is in the super­natural reanimation of the deceased downtown, a part-time mortician courts Esther, and a dangerous foe with deadly intent changes everyone’s dinner plans one cold winter night… less