Stiff Competition: Power, Pleasure, and the Art of Deadly Seduction (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798314257753)

In 1912 Birmingham, The Lily House isn't just a brothel-it's a weapon. Run by the ruthless and seductive Violet Hartley, The Velvet Roses use charm, cunning, and sheer stamina to eliminate their enemies in ways that leave them breathless... permanently. But when rival crime lord Freddie Blake survives a night at The Lily House, he declares war, determined to burn Violet's empire to the ground.

Enter Madam Beatrice Lovett, owner of The Gilded Swan, Birmingham's other high-class brothel. Once a model of restraint, Beatrice is forced to get her hands dirty-literally-when she joins forces with Violet to take Freddie down. Meanwhile, the city's only honest detective, Inspector Whitmore, is hot on their trail, though his ability to resist Violet's charms is... questionable at best.

As gang wars erupt, bodies pile up, and seduction becomes the deadliest weapon in Birmingham, The Velvet Roses must outthink, outlast, and outpleasure their enemies to claim the city for themselves.

Fast-paced, wickedly funny, and dripping with sexual innuendo, Stiff Competition is a sharp, scandalous crime caper where the women always come out on top-in more ways than one.