Superstition - Hardcover

Robards, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399152806 ISBN 13: 9780399152801

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 2005

Synopsis

Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Sunny, idyllic, and picture-perfect, until a tabloid news program airs a splashy segment about the community's only unsolved murder - the grisly stabbing of teenager Tara Mitchell and the subsequent disappearance of her two best friends, now thought to be long dead. In the years since the murders, several families have moved into the mansion where the crime occurred, each claiming that the dead girls still haunt the house. Beautiful redheaded reporter Nicole Sullivan, sensing the story that could be her big break, arranges for her mother, a renowned psychic, to contact the three victims in a live seance on the show Twenty-four Hours Investigates.
But something goes terribly wrong during the segment, and a young woman is murdered in the same manner as Tara Mitchell was fifteen years earlier. Pressured by her producers to get the inside story, Nicole continues to investigate. As an attraction grows between her and Police Chief Joe Franconi, another identical murder occurs, and a menacing warning is delivered that the original killer is back to claim three more lives. The body count rises, and so does the danger to Nicole, who is attacked, barely escaping with her life. She and Joe must team up, as it becomes clear that the killer has set his sights on her as his next victim.

About this title

About the Author

Karen Robards is the author of more than twenty novels, including the bestsellers Bait and Beachcomber.

Reviews

Combining elements of a Southern gothic, a cozy comedy, a sexy romance and a serial killer thriller, this new offering from Robards (Bait, etc.) tries to be too many things at once, and the result is a mishmash of familiar devices and recycled characters. One such is Joe Franconi, a big city cop turned police chief for small Pawleys Island, S.C. With his "washboard abs" and painful past, Joe is the average tortured hero, and sexy TV reporter Nicky Sullivan is his natural counterpart. Nicky, with the help of her psychic mother, intends to revisit the scene of a 15-year-old unsolved murder, but Mayor Vince Capra will do anything—even enlist the local police—to keep the program from airing. With no legal ground to stand on, Joe fails to stop the filming, but he's conveniently on hand to rescue Nicky when she stumbles on a fresh murder victim and nearly becomes one herself. Has the killer from 15 years ago resurfaced, or is a new killer on the loose? Joe and Nicky spend as much time arguing over who will solve the case as they do staring "hotly" at one another, but ironically, neither succeeds in solving anything. Though the book has its suspenseful moments (and its amusing ones, which primarily involve a pig named Cleo), its final twist feels manufactured simply to bring hero and heroine together. Agent, Robert Gottlieb. (Apr.)

When Nicky Sullivan starts looking for a story for her failing investigative news program, she thinks about her childhood home on Pawleys Island, South Carolina, remembering the unsolved deaths of three teenagers that occurred there 15 years ago, and turns to the local psychic, her mother Leonora James, for help. The only problem is that her mother, who agreed to a live broadcast, is having problems with her ability to communicate with the dead, and Nicky is worried that the show will be a bust rather than a ratings booster. But Leonora comes through with a riveting reading that instigates a new murder that mimics the previous murders and places Nicky in danger. Instead of hiding, Nicky comes back to the island to cover the investigation and butts heads with the chief of police, Joe Franconi. Joe is a former vice cop from New Jersey who was forced to resign, ending up in the sleepy southern town with an inexperienced department now responsible for searching for what appears to be a serial killer. As the two lead their separate investigations, Joe and Nicky become increasingly attracted to one another. This is another winner from the popular and prolific Robards, who delivers a great romantic thriller filled with interesting characters in a classic edge-of-the-seat read. Patty Engelmann
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Edition details

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399152806
• ISBN 13: 9780399152801
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432