Easier to Kill (Tamara Hayle Mystery) - Hardcover

Wesley, Valerie Wilson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399144455 ISBN 13: 9780399144455

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 1998

Synopsis

New Jersey African-American private investigator Tamara Hayle delves into the secret, unglamorous past of a popular female radio talk-show host to find out which of her friends and enemies is determined to drag her off her pretty perch.

About this title

About the Author

Valerie Wilson Wesley is a contributing editor at Essence magazine.

Reviews

YA?Another mystery in the series that stars African-American detective Tamara Hayle. Here, the streetwise PI and ex-cop is hired by Newark radio personality Mandy Magic to find out who is sending her threatening letters and to solve the stabbing death of her stylist, Tyrone Mason. One by one, Mandy's friends are murdered, and the suspects include her former pimp, the son of a prominent doctor; Pauline Reese, a childhood friend; and her adopted daughter, 18-year-old Taniqua. Although most of the characters are older adults, Taniqua figures prominently in the plot, and, as readers learn early on, is perfectly capable of murder. All of the characters are well drawn. This funky PI with good instincts will be enjoyed by young adults looking for a good urban mystery with an appealing female lead. While this is not a nonstop action thriller, there are enough dead bodies, suspects, lies, and plot twists to keep readers turning the pages to reach the unexpected ending.?Patricia White-Williams, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wesley again fashions an engrossing plot driven by the problems and multilayered culture of Newark, N.J.'s African American community (No Hiding Place, 1997). Tamara Hayle, former cop and now a PI, is hired by Mandy Magic, a popular black talk-radio hostess, to find out who has vandalized her office and sent her threatening notes. Tamara, operating on her instincts as usual, senses immediately that Mandy is fearful out of proportion to the problem. The murders of Mandy's hairstylist, Tyrone Mason, who was also her cousin, and of her closest friend, Pauline Reese, convince Tamara that the answer lies in a secret past that Mandy refuses to discuss. Drawing the truth out of her client is as difficult professionally and personally for Tamara as discovering who is threatening the woman. Tamara persists, finally figuring it out in an emotionally charged climax. Wesley tends to write long, meandering dialogue, but she's a standout in her ability to weave important social issues into her story, considering in this tale the rise of a black professional class from the old Newark housing projects, the desperation of teenage mothers, the bond of fathers and daughters. Literary Guild and Mystery Guild alternate selections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Once again, Wesley's (No Hiding Place) African American supersleuth, Tamara Hayle, finds herself in a grand mess as she tries to help one of New Jersey's hottest radio personalities figure out who is stalking and keeping the woman's shady past from coming to light.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399144455
• ISBN 13: 9780399144455
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 193