The Disappearance of Mavis Woodstock: A Val & Kit Mystery (The Val & Kit Mystery Series)

This first book in The Val & Kit Mystery Series introduces Realtor Valerie Pankowski and her best friend since childhood, Kit James. Val, who has just signed her divorce papers and a lease on a new apartment, receives a call from a prospective client, Mavis Woodstock (a vaguely familiar name). Mavis insists she has to sell her house as quickly as possible, but then doesn't keep her scheduled appointment. Kit, whose glamour belies her bold and often brash ways, remembers Mavis from their school days, an unattractive girl who was ignored when she was lucky, ridiculed when she was not. She also remembers Mavis being the only daughter in a large family that was as frugal as it was wealthy. When Val and Kit cannot locate Mavis, they begin an investigation, encountering along the way a little romance, a lot of deception, and more than one unsavory character.