Dead Air
A Sammy
Greene Mystery
Deborah
Shlian and Linda
Reid
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-50-3 (1933515503)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-50-2 (9781933515502)
Publication Date: December 2009
List Price: $25.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): An outspoken, brash, native New Yorker, Sammy Greene
isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers at Ellsford University, her
ultraconservative New England college. Host of "The Hot Line", a
talk-radio show on campus station WELL, Sammy tackles the toughest,
most controversial issues facing Ellsford's students.
When Sammy discovers the body of Dr. Burton Conrad, one of Ellsford's
most esteemed professors, her journalistic drive kicks in and she sets
out to discover what happened to the beloved professor. But when
several Ellsford students mysteriously disappear, Sammy realizes she's
uncovered the seamy, terrifying underbelly of this prestigious
institute of higher education.
With the entire campus in peril, and demons from her past close behind,
Sammy Greene must race to find answers. Along the way, she'll discover
some unlikely allies -- and even more unlikely enemies. If Sammy isn't
careful, someone is going to make sure that she signs off -- for good.
Review:
Co-authors Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid introduce Sammy Greene, an
investigative reporter and radio journalist for a prestigious New
England college investigating the death of a professor and the suicides
of a number of students, in Dead Air.
A junior at Ellsford University in Vermont, Sammy is also employed by
the campus radio station WELL. She'd rather be working on her next
journalism assignment as a communications major than studying genetics,
and towards that end she decides to follow up on an interview with
Professor Burton Conrad, who recently received the Ellsford Award for
Excellence in Teaching and told Sammy it was the "kiss of death".
"Teaching is the mission of Ellsford University," he says, "[but]
teaching is no longer a priority. No, what really counts here is
something more quantitative." When Sammy arrives at Conrad's residence,
she's shocked to find him dead. And supremely ironic, given what he had
said to her just the day before. Her journalistic instinct tells her
there's more to the story here, but she already has something else on
her plate, reporting on a recent rash of student suicides.
Universities and colleges make wonderful settings for murder mysteries.
The minefields of campus politics are typically far more treacherous
than those of business or government. Even the oft quoted "publish or
perish" axiom of academicians has an element of intrigue built right
into it. The authors are wise to select a student rather than a faculty
member or other authoritative figure as the lead for their series, and
Sammy Greene is quite engaging in that role. The Vermont setting is
also nearly ideal, conjuring up images of autumn leaves falling on the
quads of Harvard or Yale or Cornell. (Though it really stretches the
imagination to believe a conservative college of any size would exist
in Vermont ... or anywhere in New England, for that matter.)
The problem here, and it's mostly stylistic, is that Dead Air seems to waver between a
cozy and a thriller, not quite one or the other yet not altogether
satisfactory either. The plot, set in 1995 for reasons that aren't
entirely obvious, gives away too much too soon using an often choppy
narrative, resulting in little suspense in terms of whodunit, whydunit,
or even howdunit. And the denouement, with its complicated familial
relationships and uncertain motives, is a bit of a disappointment.
Still, given a more structured, uncluttered case for Sammy to
investigate, the stage is set for a series that should have
considerable appeal.
Special thanks to Oceanview Publishing for providing a copy of Dead Air for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Dead Air? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Dead Air
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), December 2009
ISBN-10: 1-933515-50-3 (1933515503)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-50-2 (9781933515502)
Omnimystery keywords for Dead Air ...
Location(s) referenced: Vermont.
