Killed on the Rocks

TV industry troubleshooter Matt Cobb tries to solve an impossible crime and trap the murderer of millionaire G.B. Dost, killed during a snowstorm that strands Cobb and others in a secluded mansion

An engaging set-up collapses under the weight of a busy ending in the latest in DeAndrea's Matt Cobb series ( Killed in Paradise ). Cobb is asked to sit in as a TV station is acquired by corporate raider G. B. Dost at the billionaire's Adirondack estate. An anonymous note to all interested parties had warned of "insanity, treachery and murder" in Dost's behavior, and Cobb, ex-MP and now director of "special projects" for "the Network," has been brought along just in case. The warnings prove true--the morning after a blizzard that knocks out the phone lines, Dost is found dead, impaled on pointy rocks lining his driveway. Noting the absence of footprints around the body, Cobb interrogates the six houseguests and several family members, beginning with Barry, Dost's unstable son. An eerie message from Dost on a unplugged TV set results in a fatal shooting. After a temporary impasse, the investigation regains steam when Cobb figures out the tricks behind the TV transmission and the footprints. Explaining them takes too much time, draining suspense.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Matt Cobb, the resourceful investigator ( Killed with a Passion , LJ 3/1/83; Killed in the Act, LJ 11/1/81; etc.) who works for Special Projects at Network, accompanies corporate executives to billionaire Gabby Dost's Adirondacks retreat for discussion of a takeover bid. Isolated by a deep snowfall, members of the group find Dost dead the next morning, splayed out in the snow 40 yards from the house, with no footprints leading to the body. Cobb takes charge of retrieving the body, questioning the other guests, and getting the girl. Series fans should enjoy this variation on the puzzling-murder-in-the-secluded-mansion theme, complete with disappearing relative, suspicious housekeepers, and "psychic" second wife.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.