Shot

My first Jenny Siler, & I finished it in no time. I found this book to be easy, and at the same time, engrossing reading. I plan to read her other books. RECOMMENDED.

Seeking the truth about her scientist husband's sudden death, Lucy Greene, her childhood friend, a recently fired tv journalist, & an ex-con who's being blackmailed, stumble onto lethal secrets about a government biological warfare program among Colorado's prison population.Jenny Siler's writing is lean, mean & clean - she gives the Reader enough history to bring everyone to life & then tells her story with relentlessly focused intensity.The ending is classic Siler - & leaves you praying she'll write another.

I liked this book so much that four hours after I had started and then finished it, I immediately ordered Jenny Siler's first two books: EASY MONEY and ICED. This is a well crafted story about the resourcefulness of a bright young widow who realizes after her husband's death that she had basically taken a back seat to her own life. That she had allowed her own persona to so completely merge with that of her husband Carl as to become almost faceless. Carl's death and a series of weird events help to shock Lucy back into the woman that she had left behind when she opted to marry Carl and his upper middle class world of privilege. Carl dies in an apparent automobile accident while on a purported business trip. A series of events propel Lucy into believing her husband's death was no accident. After Carl's funeral Lucy's house is broken into in the middle of the night; and her husband's home office searched by an intruder: nothing of value (to a "burglar") was taken A few days later a crew from her husband's employer, a biotech firm, gain entry into her house while she is not there: their purpose the men from her husband's office tell Lucy, when she surprises them by coming home earlier than anticipated, is to secure sensitive research work Carl may have been working on before his death: papers that the firm does not want to get into the wrong hands. Lucy's pursuit of the truth about her husband's death puts her on a collision course with corrupt government officials, ruthless business interests and a hired hit man (shades of David Baldacci's heroine Sidney Archer in TOTAL CONTROL). An ex-boyfriend and another woman who recently was released from prison ably assist Lucy. This unlikely trio travels some beautiful country in Colorado, Montana and Washington State in pursuit of Lucy's search for the truth. The action here is uniformly exciting. Lucy has all the courage and wiles of Baldacci's Sidney Archer and then some. The big surprise is Siler's use of language. Her adept lyrical style puts one in mind of another brilliant author: Stephanie Kane (BLIND SPOT). There are portions of SHOT that are pure poetry. For example: "...Far in the distance, Canada was an unbroken line of green, the densely forested shore of Vancouver Island shimmering like an inverted mirage, an oasis of sylvan land in the numbing expanse of sea. The light was liminal, deceptive. Houses winked from the woods, bright windows hidden behind waxy thickets of rhododendron, cedars soft with moss." I absolutely can't wait to read Siler's two other novels.

Lucy Greene has just lost her husband Carl. The authorities are calling it an accident. If that's true, then why are there suddenly people breaking into her home to rummage through Carl's office and take his files? And why does her life seem at risk? The death of her husband has brought more of a change to her life than Lucy ever could have imagined. She's on the run with only the help of a former friend (ex-MSNBC reporter, Kevin) and a new acquaintance (Darcy, the woman who broke into her home). They embark upon a research expedition that will take them from one area of the country to another picking up new information along the way which points to the presence of a biological weapons program tested on American soldiers. The men behind that program are extremely powerful and don't want its existence brought to light. They'll do whatever it takes to prevent it. Lucy's not about to be scared off, though. Her need to know has become an obsession...one that could get her and everyone around her killed. Interspersed with the words that tell the main story is the freshness of originality brought on by Siler's use of non-cliched similes and metaphors. To add to the mix, the characters have real faces made thus by just enough background information to allow the reader to empathize with them. Jenny Siler's peek into the world of biotechnology is both alarming and suspenseful. Her writing suggests a knowledge that shows she must have done her own research on the subject to make the book that much more believable. Most importantly, there is a much-appreciated lack of the holier-than-thou attitude that could have come across with a subject such as this. The scientific aspects are put into terms that anyone can easily pick up and understand, making "Shot" an enjoyable - rather than confusing - read.

Before he was murdered and the death made to look like a cover up, scientist Carl Greene worked for a Seattle based pharmaceutical company, Bioflux. He asked an old friend, journalist Kevin Burns to meet him, but Carl never shows up. Later Kevin learns about the accident. That night Carl's widow Lucy hears somebody rummaging in Carl's home office. She chases the perp off but the next day the people from Bioflux come to take away Carl's computer files and papers, claiming it is proprietary information. Darcy, a former jewel thief hooks up with Lucy because her boss, the warden of a prison, wants the documents Carl had on the prisoners dealing with TB. Lucy's brother who is suffering from Gulf War Syndrome is shot to death for knowledge he held. Lucy, Darcy and Kevin are determined to find out what Bioflux wants so desperately to hide or die trying.Without realizing it, Lucy and Darcy stumble across an illegal government cover up that they want hushed up despite the collateral damage. After losing her husband the protagonist finds the strength to duel the various factions who want to silence her. Lucy is a smart and likable character who draws on her own inner strength when she needs it. Darcy is a scene-stealer with her sarcastic quips and pithy comments. Jenny Siller has written a fantastic crime thriller that fans of Nancy Taylor Rosenberg will enjoy.Harriet Klausner