Dead Air

Dead Air - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat "Bomb, Bomb! Ohmigod. We'd just gotten a bomb threat. My thoughts scurried through my head like a manic squirrel as I tried to deal with the reality of the threat. Was it a joke? Was it serious? And if there was really a bomb, where was it? Would there be time to evacuate the station? Should I dial 911 or alert the switchboard first? Or the station manager? Was there some procedure I was supposed to follow? I looked over at Vera Mae, and now her eyes were ballooning, her mouth open, frozen in horror like the subject of one of those Edvard Munch paintings. I thought about my mother and my friends and the fact that I was way too young to be blasted to kingdom come. And then an explosion rocked WYME and suddenly I didn't have to think anymore.' Maggie left her Manhattan practice as a psychologist to take a spot as a radio psychologist in Cypress Grove, Florida. Her show consists mainly of call-ins with an ocassional guest speaker. Maggie's upcoming guest, the famous Guru Sanjay Gingii, has become the talk of the town. Guru Sanjay is highly respected by his followers and the anticipation of Cypress Grove being honored with his presence has starting bring the crazies out of the woodworks. And one of these crazies makes a call to station with a bomb threat. After the air has been cleared and the station employees are allowed back inside the building, Maggie holds her interview with Sanjay. But later when Sanjay turns up dead, the police go straight to Maggie looking for her roommate Lark. It then becomes Maggie along with the help of her mother Lola to clear Lark and find the real killer, of which there are many suspects to choose from.. ex-wife, ex-girlfriends, ex-partners, ex-friends and on and on. Mary Kennedy has given her readers humor with a touch of murder in her book Dead Air. As I met each character/suspect I assured myself that I had this story "figured out." I knew who murdered Sanjay. Then the next character came into play and proved me wrong making me believe that this character must be the murderer. This went on throughout the book. Dead Air is a book that will truly hold you in suspense until the end.

Maggie Walsh is a licensed PhD psychologist who gave up her Manhattan practice to become a radio "shrink" in Cypress Grove Florida. She fields call from women who are looking for advice on how to get out of an abusive relationship to an irate man who defends his life as a "furrie" (people who dress up as animals and have sex with each other). "On the Couch with Maggie Walsh" frequently has special guests sit in for her talk show. Guru Sanjay Gingii is a new age prophet with a huge following. Maggie's roommate Lark is on the Guru bandwagon too. And when she finds out that he's staying at the inn right next door to their condo, well she MUST go over and meet him. Everyone seems to be in love with him. Until that is, he's found dead in his hotel room. Guess he isn't as loved as everyone thought! Unfortunately Lark is the last person seen going into the Guru's room and that makes her the polices prime suspect. Maggie knows that Lark had nothing to do with the Guru's death and will stop at nothing to prove her innocence. She begins to investigate on her own - much to the dislike of the very handsome detective Rafe Martino. Miriam is the Guru's right hand "man" who is about to be replaced by someone younger. Kathryn Sinclair is the mother of a young girl who went to one of the Guru's retreats and has never been the same physically or emotionally since. Lenore Cooper is the Guru's ex-wife, the driving force behind getting him where he is today. Together they wrote numerous bestsellers and had the world in their hands. Now she can barely get anyone to attend her book signings, and blames it all on Sanjay. Travis is one of the Guru's trusted employees who was cheated out of what could be millions. Working for years on his book. he mentions it to the Guru, who ends up turning in it as his own work, robbing Travis of the fame he believes he has earned. Ray Hicks is not in a forgiving mood. He purchased a house from the Guru on the bay, only to have it ripped right out from under him - taken by the City by eminent domain. Causing him to not only lose his new home but his money as well. And he's conviced the Guru knew what was going to happen and the whole thing was a scam. Despite being bashed on the head and receiving threatening phone calls, Maggie is deteremined to find out who the real killer is. But will she be able to figure it out before she becomes the next victim? Dead Air is filled with a fantastic cast of characters. Maggie is young, smart and refreshing. Vera Mae is Maggie's redneck producer who also has some witty comment and always has Maggie's back. Ted is the love-sick owner of the Inn next door where the Guru is staying. He has it bad for Maggie, but she's just not into him. Lark is Maggie's roommate who is quiet, into all things "new-age", has a shocking secret in her past and is the prime suspect in a murder. Rafe Martino is the hottie detective assigned to the case. He is not happy with Maggie's involvement in the case, but might he wan

This is the beginning of a great new series. When Maggie's roommate become a person of interest, Maggie with the assistance of her boss and her mother, Lola, this case takes on a whole new meaning, especially with the acting abilities of Lola.

This is an excellent book. It grabs and holds your attention from the first minute you open it. Being a radio psychologist is a substitute career for our heroine. When she interviews "Sanjay" she immediately sees some definite flaws in his character and her sense of people immediately perks up and tells her that he is NOT what she was lead to believe he was!! The best character in the book is definitely "Lola", her aging screen actress Mother!! She will lead everyone on a merry chase and helps her psychologist daughter to "sniff" out the murderer!! You can definitely NOT go wrong purchasing and enjoying this new book....hopefully part of a great new series!!

She is the host of On the Couch with Maggie Walsh on WYME radio; Maggie actually tries to help people with their problems. She left the big Apple because she could not handle another cold winter and moved to Cypress Grove, Florida where the temperatures are year round balmy and crime is low. Her current guest is New Age guru Sanjay Gingii who Maggie instantly dislikes. She tells her roommate Lark how she feels and that Sanjay is staying at the motel next door to their home. Lark obsesses over the New Age prophet and buys all his tapes, CDs, and books. She goes to introducer herself to Sanjay and he welcomes her into his room, but she needs to escape when he constantly makes passes at her. The next day, the two roommates learn Sanjay is dead and Lark is the last known person to have been seen with him. Adding to Lark's troubles is her past police record for assault and her admitting to the cops that she hit him to escape his pawing. With motive, opportunity and a violent history, Lark is the only suspect that the police focus on. Maggie believes Lark is innocent in spite of overwhelming circumstantial evidence that might convince a Grand Jury otherwise. She investigates with the help of her eccentric lovable mom who would do anything to get into the limelight as she dreams of stardom. Mary Kennedy opens up her new amateur sleuth series with a delightful homicide that will keep the audience guessing just who the killer is. Readers will agree with the cops that Lark is a sure bet; yet Maggie quickly learns seemingly most of Florida hated the self anointed guru. The relationship between the shrink and her mom is touching yet also amusing; but the entertaining story line belongs to the radio hostess who uses her psychology skills to abet her inquiry. Harriet Klausner