Killer Deal

You would think that being an advice columnist would be a fairly safe position. After all, aside from some who receive bad advice, you're relatively safe behind a desk, your face obscured by a computer screen. Zeitgeist Magazine advice columnist, Molly Forrester, knows the truth. The average advice columnist may be secure; but when you reside in Manhattan, work for a tyrannical, self-centered boss, and date a hotter than hot homicide detective, landing the perfect byline can be a killer task. Molly Forrester adores her job as the resident advice columnist for Zeitgeist Magazine, but she knows more than anything that she wants to be a true journalist. To prove to the world that she is one, however, she'll need to snag the story of a lifetime. When Garth Henderson, a Manhattan advertising guru is found dead, Molly feels as if the story she has been dreaming of has just been dropped in her lap - literally. Finally she'll have the opportunity to illustrate her writing chops for the world to see, and be taken seriously. Quickly scooping up the assignment from her editor, Molly begins with an exclusive interview with the glamorous Gwen Lincoln, the prime suspect in the case, who just happens to be Garth's ex-wife. Sure, Molly is supposed to be focusing on the launch of Gwen's perfume Success, but she knows that adding in a few facts about the murder will only boost her readership. But once she's learned a few facts, Molly finds it impossible to turn her curiosity off, and resolves to solve the murder before her article goes to press, in an attempt to secure herself the title of a serious journalist. But in the midst of her investigation, she's forced to contend with an editor who keeps flip flopping back and forth about the article; a homicide detective boyfriend who can't stand Molly's inquisitive nature, and penchant for getting into deadly situations; and discovering the truth about the Physics lover her best friend Cassady has started to get cozy with. Molly knows that she'll have to speed it up a bit to learn the truth, and make it out alive, or else she may never reach her deadline. Don't get me wrong, I adore Molly Forrester, and I love Sheryl J. Anderson's writing, but I found that it was hard for me to get into KILLER DEAL. In the past, I have found myself absorbed in Molly's life, but this time around, I was easily distracted. Anderson managed to craft a clever mystery, full of twists and turns; however, the amount of characters who keep popping up was difficult to keep track of, or even differentiate from one another, and the constant chit chats between Molly and her girlfriends sidetracked my brain at times. I felt as if the mystery took a backseat to too much character development, and the tumultuous relationship between Molly and her boyfriend. It didn't help matters much that Molly's boyfriend, Kyle, is starting to come off as a jerk, what with his constant demands to stop Molly from conducting investigations. In the end, however, Ande

In New York, Zeitgeist magazine advice columnist Molly Forrester yearns to become an investigative crime reporter, but has had little opportunity to show her worthiness though she has solved two homicides recently (see KILLER COCKTAIL and KILLER HEELS). However, she has a slight opening when editor Eileen Fitzsimmons assigns Molly to interview Gwen Lincoln the ex-wife of the recently murdered "advertising rock star" Garth Henderson; she is the prime suspect. Encouraged by her two best friends, attorney Cassady Lynch and events planner Tricia Vincent, who want to see their "sister" writing for the New York Times, Molly investigates the case. Discouraged by her current boyfriend NYPD homicide detective Kyle Edwards, who fears for her safety, Molly still investigates the case. However, as Molly finds several suspects with motives involving a merger of Henderson's firm with another, a killer is willing to murder again with the reporter and her two pals at the top of the list. KILLER DEAL is a fun lighthearted Manhattan romp that has the readers running along side the heroine who sets a fast-pace as she makes inquiries that lead to endangering her and her friends. Molly once again competes with her unethical ex-boyfriend NYT crime beat writer Peter Mulcahey and her current squeeze Kyle in trying to solve the Henderson murder. Fans of this killer of a series will root for the unsinkable Molly Forrester. Harriet Klausner