A Picture of Guilt
An Ellie Foreman Mystery
Libby Fischer Hellmann
Review: A Picture of Guilt is the second mystery from Libby Fischer Hellmann featuring corporate video producer Ellie Foreman.
Though not as powerful as the first book in this series, A Picture of Guilt is very good nonetheless. For some readers, the plausiblity of the topical plot will be suspect, but Hellmann's fine writing makes it seem possible.
Most Chicago residents probably haven't a clue where their water comes from, and Hellmann takes the opportunity to include a mini-documentary within her mystery to inform them. The use of the Carter-Harrison crib built several miles offshore in Lake Michigan makes for a fascinating and interesting setting for the plot. Mysteries that are both suspenseful and informative are generally winners.
This is not to say A Picture of Guilt is without flaws. It isn't a whodunit, howdunit, or whydunit, but more of a puzzle where the clues are the pieces and it sometimes isn't clear how all the pieces fit together. Unfortunately, Hellmann leaves a few plot threads unresolved, so at the end the picture isn't quite as complete as it could have been.
Acknowledgment: Poisoned Pen Press provided an ARC of A Picture of Guilt for this review.
Review Copyright © 2003 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
An Eye for Murder
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2002
ISBN-13: 9781590580356; ISBN-10: 1590580354
Doubleback
Bleak House Books (Hardcover), October 2009
ISBN-13: 9781606480526; ISBN-10: 1606480529
Location(s) referenced in A Picture of Guilt: Chicago, Illinois
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A Picture of Guilt by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-59058-073-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-073-8
Publication Date: July 2003
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): The big news story in Chicago is the murder trial of Johnny Santoro, a dock worker whose girlfriend has been killed. Most Chicagoans are betting on a quick guilty verdict, but Ellie Foreman has doubts about his complicity—Santoro is strangely familiar to her.
Checking back to the outtakes of a video project in progress while the murder took place, Ellie finds evidence that could save Santoro from a lifetime behind bars. It seems the perfect alibi, but the tape is compromised by radio interference and Santoro goes to jail.
Almost immediately, Ellie's world begins to shift: a suspicious vehicle follows her, the Chicago mob shows up, and the FBI wants to question her. She doesn't have answers, but she has questions of her own about the radio transmissions. Everything indicates someone wants something from her, something bigger than the Santoro case. If only she could figure out what it is ...
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