The Devil Riding - Hardcover

Wesley, Valerie Wilson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399146172 ISBN 13: 9780399146176

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 2000

Synopsis

Darnella Desmond is disturbed to learn that her former roommate has been murdered by a serial killer who is stalking Atlantic City's runaway population, but when her mother hires Tamara Hayle to catch the murderer, she uncovers extremely perverse truths about the deceased's family. 22,500 first printing.

About this title

Review:

Tamara Hayle is one of the genre's most interesting PIs, a hard-working single mother with a no-nonsense approach to her work and a soft spot for kids. In The Devil Riding, the sixth outing for her series' heroine, Valerie Wilson Wesley turns in what may be her breakout book.

Tamara is working undercover in Atlantic City, looking for a missing teenager whose wealthy parents seem to have ambivalent feelings about finding her, and as Tamara gets closer to the action and more pretty young girls keep turning up dead, she begins to understand why. Gabriella Desmond is the stepdaughter of a wealthy businessman who's something of a hero in the African American community, and there are a few skeletons in the Desmond background he doesn't want exposed, regardless of his wife's concerns about Gabriella. And Gabriella's real father is a right-wing firebrand whose anti-abortion politics are as central to the plot as the Desmond family secrets. Amid the gaudy glitter of the casinos, Tamara befriends a scared girl who may know what happened to Gabriella, and she snags a lead to the other killings that are clearly tied into Gabriella's disappearance. She also runs into Basil Dupre, who she last saw lying in a pool of blood on a balcony in Jamaica. This fascinating, sexy, strong-willed man has the ability to bring Tamara's passion to life unlike anyone else. He may not be someone a girl can count on for the long haul, but before this well-written story is finished, you'll understand why he's worth it. If The Devil Riding is your first encounter with Tamara Hayle, you'll soon be searching for Wesley's backlist, starting with When Death Comes Stealing. --Jane Adams

About the Author:

Valerie Wilson Wesley is the author of the Tamara Hayle Mystery series. Her previous books published by G.P. Putnam's Sons include: When Death Comes Stealing, Devil's Gonna Get Him, Where Evil Sleeps, Easier to Kill, and No Hiding Place . They have also been published in Great Britain, France and Germany, and television and film rights for the first three books have been optioned. Ms. Wesley is also the author of Freedom's Gifts: A Juneteenth Story, which is a picture book for children and the young adult novel Where Do I Go From Here (Scholastic, November 1993) for which she received an ALA Best Book for Reluctant Readers citation. She is formerly executive editor and currently a contributing editor of Essence magazine.

Ms. Wesley's fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children have appeared in many publications including Essence, Family Circle, TV Guide, Ms, Creative Classroom, and The New York Times. She is a 1993 recipient of the Griot Award from the New York Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Ms. Wesley is a graduate of Howard University and has received masters' degrees form both the Banks Street College of Education and the Columbia graduate School of Journalism. She is the mother of two grown daughters and the wife of noted screenwriter and playwright Richard Wesley.

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0399146172
• ISBN 13: 9780399146176
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208