Expose (Mira)

After rescuing a wealthy couple lost in the Connecticut woods, Sally Harrington is given the chance to create a career-boosting piece for Expectations magazine on TV mogul Cassy Cochran, but her work on the exposT sends her life spiraling out of control and brings her face-to-face with murder. Reprint.

Laura Van Wormer's Exposé finds a young journalist caught between the comforts of home and the bright lights of the Big Apple. Leaving a promising magazine job in L.A. to care for her cancer-stricken mother back home in Connecticut seems to have put the kibosh on Sally Harrington's glamorous career. And while writing for the local paper is good, honest work, it definitely lacks the excitement that old La-La Land offered. That is, until she happens upon a dead body dumped in the middle of nowhere--a corpse that may well be linked to her father's death 21 years before. Just as Sally begins to sink her teeth into this whopper of a story, an offer from a high-gloss magazine rolls in, complete with a cover story, a sizable expense account, and numerous trips to the city. One of these forays leads to an encounter with Spencer Hawes, an editor who definitely has more than manuscripts on his mind:

And then we are walking again, hand in hand, along Central Park South, toward my hotel. When we pass what is the old Ritz, Spencer suddenly turns to me and sweeps me back up against the building and gives me the most wonderfully romantic, passionate kiss. We are in a clinch. And he feels absolutely marvelous and all I want is to be there, with him, feeling him hold me.

While Spencer's ardor is enticing, it nonetheless forces Sally to examine her on-again, off-again, back-on-again relationship with her hometown sweetheart, assistant D.A. Doug Wrentham, something she's long avoided. As if all this weren't enough to keep her occupied, mysteriosos tied to the recent murder come calling and her heart begs for a little resolution. Well paced and suspenseful, with just enough relationship drama to keep you guessing, Exposé is the perfect lazy-day read. --Stefanie Hargreaves