In Dead Politician Society, the mayor falls down dead in the middle of a speech, and a university secret society promptly claims credit for the murder. Clare Vengel is given her first undercover assignment: to pose as a student and penetrate the society. She's a mechanic in her spare time, and thinks book smarts are for people who can't handle the real world. Instead of infiltrating the club, she alienates a popular professor, and quickly loses the respect of police superiors. When two more politicians die, Clare knows that the murderer she has to unmask is someone she has come to consider a friend. She only hopes that the friend doesn't unmask her first.

In the second book, Death Plays Poker, world class poker players are being strangled in their hotel rooms, and Clare is given her second big assignment: to pose as a poker player in a major televised tournament, befriend the suspects, and find the killer in their midst. As more victims lose their lives to the cunning Poker Choker, and her cover role's legitimacy comes under attack from two directions, Clare wonders if her handlers are right: Should she pack it in and go home to a dull life as a beat cop? Or will she find the killer, prove her worth?