Beverly Gray's Assignment

Set in New Orleans Beverly Gray goes in search of rival reporter Kay who has gone missing. Beverly is accompanied by girlfriend Lenora.

This is a good stand alone story as a lot of the ones from this era (Assignment is from 1947) to read:
15. Beverly Gray's Challenge, 1945
16. Beverly Gray's Journey, 1946
17. Beverly Gray's Assignment, 1947 and
18. Beverly Gray's Mystery, 1948
are all easy reads for people that have never read any of the others from the series.

Kay at this stage in the series isn't so much the major character that the book portrays her as, though as the Beverly Gray Mystery Series has so many minor characters and Beverly has so many friends it is often the case that a story becomes of someone we have heard of once or twice before.