Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer

Stalking Susan (Riley Spartz, #1)

by Julie Kramer

Television reporter Riley Spartz is recovering from a heart-breaking, headline-making catastrophe when a long-time police source drops two homicide files in her lap in the back of a dark movie theatre. Both cold cases involve women named Susan strangled on the same day, one year apart. Last seen alive in one of the poorest neighbourhoods, their bodies are each dumped in one of the city's wealthiest areas. Riley senses a pattern between those murders and others pulled from a computer database of old death records. She must broadcast a warning soon, especially to viewers named Susan, because the deadly anniversary is very fast approaching.

But not just lives are at stake - so are careers!

Reviewed by ibeforem on

4 of 5 stars

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This is one of my favorite new series. Julie Kramer has hit the mark with a kicky main character, solid supporting cast, and suspenseful mystery. Not necessarily suspenseful in the sense that the bad guy is a surprise, but suspenseful in the sense that there are unexpected twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed her camaraderie with ex-policeman Garnett, but was a little disappointed that their relationship took the predictable "I like you, don’t you like me too?" turn. I liked the behind-the-scenes look into TV news and all its politics and back-stabbing, and thought it gave us a fresh perspective on the usual "amateur detective" story. I listened to this on audio, and thought the narrator, Bernadette Dunne, did a great job. I often have problems listening to books with female narrators (it seems there’s a much higher chance of me finding their voices grating), but no such problems here. I’ve already put the next two books in the series on my wish list.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 September, 2010: Finished reading
  • 20 September, 2010: Reviewed