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Sound Advice Turns Deadly in DEAD AIR
Radio Talk Show Psychologist Draws Jessie Drake Into A Web Of Revenge
LAPD detective Jessie Drake has had some tough and acclaimed cases in her short career. Whether investigating child abuse (Fair Game) or the murder of a Holocaust survivor (Blood Money), she's proved to be one of the most compelling characters on today's mystery scene. Now in DEAD AIR (Avon Twilight, Hardcover, March 2000, ISBN: 0-380-97769-9), she stumbles into a case that encompasses divorce and domestic violence, talk radio and media madness. With a killer on the loose and her heart on the line, Jessie Drake must rise to professional, moral and emotional challenges as never before.
DEAD AIR begins with a surprise visit from her old friend, now Dr. Renee, a popular talk show therapist. Renee reports being harassed by an unseen stalker. Skeptical, with little to go on, Jessie agrees to investigate as a favor. But her interest quickly turns professional when Renee's six-year-old daughter is kidnapped and the girl's nanny murdered.
Who is the killer and what does he want? With the child as a pawn, he plays a chilling phone-in game with Dr. Renee, sending shock waves of horror and disbelief through the city. As hours and days tick by, media coverage increases and ratings soar. Despite Jessie's heroic efforts, one more LA tragedy spirals into a circus of sensationalism and voyeurism.
In the midst of it all, Jessie is in personal crisis. Between the stakeouts and chases, her problems mount. She is torn by the suspicion that Renee's estranged husband may be the kidnapper, and she is in turmoil about relationships with her own ex-husband, her abusive mother, and a pregnant sister. Most of all, Jessie is conflicted about her urge to reinvent herself.
Like Krich's previous novels, DEAD AIR seamlessly weaves weighty matters into its page-turning suspense. "Often I find myself writing about social issues," says the author, "because writing about them gives me the opportunity to explore the issues and my views about them." Having dealt with the criminal justice system, date rape and infertility in earlier books, she now examines domestic violence, child custody, America's obsession with therapy, and the role of the media in crime. Insightful and provocative, Krich "doesn't shrink from big issues," observes Kirkus Reviews.
As DEAD AIR reaches its heart-stopping climax, Jessie discovers the horrifying secret of the killer's identity along with an unexpected ally who helps bring him to justice. With the kidnapping over, she now must find answers to the questions in her own life...and start to focus on her next case.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hailed by former Los Angeles Times reviewer Charles Champlin as "one of the top ten women who write superior crime fiction," Rochelle Krich is the author of eight critically acclaimed novels of mystery and suspense. "Where's Mommy Now?" won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and was filmed as "Perfect Alibi" starring Teri Garr. Two Jessie Drake mysteries were Agatha nominees; Krich's works have been published in Britain, Iceland, Japan, France, Germany and Holland.
Before becoming a writer, she was an award-winning educator who chaired the English department at Yeshiva University of Los Angeles High Schools.
How much of the author is in her characters? "I suppose," admits Krich, "I'm living vicariously through my heroines--attorneys, doctors, homicide detectives. They're all braver than I am, though, and younger." The mother of six, grandmother of four, Krich lives in Los Angeles with her husband of 28 years.
Her next Jessie Drake mystery-following Fair Game, Angel of Death, Blood Money and Dead Air-is tentatively titled Wayward Son.
DEAD AIR
By Rochelle Krich
ISBN: 0-380-97769-9
Hardcover/$23.00
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