The Celebutantes (27 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Talk about having fun: I get to spend large amounts of time dreaming up cool characters and cool stories. I get to do it alongside so many wonderful people, and that's what makes it really fun.

My editor, Krista Marino, continues to surpass herself, lending her smarts and her style to my books. She's never met a sentence she can't improve or an idea she can't strengthen. I am grateful for her guidance and friendship.

My agent, Michael Bourret, still has the difficult job of dealing with me on a daily basis, but he manages to do this with great care and professionalism. A thousand thanks, Mike. You rock.

Beverly Horowitz continues to provide me (and so many wonderful writers!) with a home at Random House Children's Books. I am honored to have a place on the greatest list in the biz. Thank you, Beverly, for being the very best.

May the stars shine brightly on my publicist, Noreen Marchisi, who does a masterful job of getting the word out. She is gracious and enthusiastic and so darned good at what she does!

Angela Carlino once again worked her creative magic and designed a truly beautiful cover. There isn't a design feat that she can't accomplish. I am so thankful for her talent and good cheer.

For getting the Celebutantes series published in various corners of the globe, I thank Jocelyn Lange, Ashley Hinkle, Pam White, and Kim Wrubel. They do, indeed, make a world of difference! Their hard work is greatly appreciated.

Books wouldn't make it to readers if it wasn't for the sales teams and the booksellers, and for all they do, I am incredibly grateful.

My family is, quite simply, the best. I couldn't do any of this without their steadfast support, encouragement, and love. I am blessed to have them.

A native New Yorker,
Antonio Pagliarulo
has a special fondness for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bloomingdales SoHo, and penthouse views (looking west). He has friends who are Celebutantes, but he isn't dropping any names…yet.

A
LSO BY
A
NTONIO
P
AGLIARULO

A Different Kind of Heat

The Celebutantes: On the Avenue

The Celebutantes: In the Club

Published by Delacorte Press
an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc.

New York

This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2008 by Antonio Pagliarulo

All rights reserved.

Delacorte Press and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.randomhouse.com/teens

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pagliarulo, Antonio.

The celebutantes: to the penthouse / Antonio Pagliarulo. — 1st ed.

p.                  cm.

Summary: Unless wealthy teenage triplets Madison, Park, and Lexington Hamilton solve the murder of a promising young sculptor during an Ambassadors for the Arts Luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, their dear friend, Coco McCaid, may go to jail.

[1. Murder—Fiction. 2. Wealth—Fiction. 3. Triplets—Fiction. 4. Sisters—Fiction. 5. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. 6. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.

PZ7.P148Cep 2008

[Fic]—dc22                                                                                          2007043038

Random House Children's Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

eISBN: 978-0-375-89120-5

v3.0