Backstab

Francesca Vierling is a columnist for the St. Louis City Gazette; at six feet tall and with a love for the truth, she is a striking figure. It's winter, and absolutely nothing is what it seems.Two of Francesca's friends - Burt, an old man who was the victim of what was supposedly a robbery gone wrong, and Ralph, a gay house remodeler who suffered from an asthma attack, after supposedly forgetting to keep an inhaler nearby - died, and that police are not convinced that these deaths were related, or that Ralph was even murdered.However, Francesca thinks they are... and goes out of her way to prove it. This book is larger than life, while still being realistic; included are a transvestite beauty contest, a bunch of editors who may or may not be the conservative types they pose as, and a killer who is definitely not what the reader will expect.The main problem I have with this book is the similarity to the author, which is usually a crime punishable of bad reviews. However, the force of such likeable, diverse characters and situations really make this book worth the search... even if you do have to pay ungodly amounts of money for it.

This is the secone Elaine Viets mystery I've read (Rubout was the first) and I've enjoyed them both. She's great at establishing a sense of place, and since that place is my hometown of St. Louis, I was especially drawn into the story. There were a couple flaws, though: Why does the heroine wonder if a guy stabbed in the back was murdered? Obviously he was murdered, since I can't imagine anyone committing suicide by stabbing themselves in the back. The book's editor needed to clarify that the heroine, Francesca, thought the victim hadn't been killed in a routine robbery. But that's not the only editor's mistake I've seen in all sorts of books -- not by a long shot! Anyway, if you enjoy savvy women detectives, funny writing, and plenty of atmosphere, you won't be disappointed by Backstab.

suspense was what Elaine created and brought it to a conclusion that kept me interested. a vintage writer /will she write more?I hope so....!!!!

St. Louis City Gazette columnist Franchesca Vierling is on intimate terms with Death, having met the persona up close when she was nine. She walked in just as he was leaving behind the dead bodies of her parents, the victims of a murder- suicide. Since that time, Franchesca looks Death square in the eye without flinching. She is determined that he will never best her again. When two of her informants are killed within a week of each other, Franchesca becomes suspicious that their deaths are related. She explains her theory to a friend in homicide, who insists that, though the victims knew each other, there is no other link between their deaths. One of the deceased died from an asthmatic attack and the other was the victim of a botched robbery. Franchesca intuits that there is more to these deaths than first appears and begins to investigate both incidents. Her suspicions are circumstantially confirmed when someone deliberately tries to run her over in a deserted parking lot. This only makes the intrepid reporter more resolute to ferret out the killer's identity before he strikes again. As the feisty Franchesca gets closer to discovering the name of the killer, she places herself in a position of becoming the next victim of a clever and dangerous murderer. BACKSTAB is a fascinating glance into the backroom policies of a big city newsroom as well as a glimpse into the underground network of informants. Elaine Viets has written a gritty and earthy hard boiled amateur detective novel that is not for the faint of heart, but for readers who want their fiction exploring all aspects of human existence, especially the dark side. This is not fun novel, but draws readers under its spell. Harriet Klausner