Miss Melville is a rich, respected, established artist in New York City, from a long line of wealthy Melvilles. She is also a hitwoman, semi-retired. She still kills the odd drug-dealer or pimp when she believes it’s necessary, but doesn’t take on too many big assignments anymore. She changes her mind when a government agency asks her to kill a member of the royal family of Gandistan who is visiting New York. Miss Melville accepts the assignment when she finds out that the target is a hated old schoolmate, Berry. Berry had married into the royal family of Gandistan and basically become a tyrant when her kingly husband died. Miss Melville stalks her prey, trading barbs over glasses of sherry when the two are thrown into social situations together, and chooses Bloomingdales as the perfect spot for the murder. Of course, it would be a very short book if things went according to plan, but Miss Melville always prevails in the end.
The window into the lives of seriously rich New Yorkers is interesting, if a bit casually racist and classist. I’m not sure Miss Melville is an entirely likeable character, but I like the way she tackles things head-on and gets the job done, no matter how messy.