Just as Constance Young was set to make the leap from the KEY network's national morning show to their competition, she is found dead at the bottom of her pool. Suspects abound: her sister, Faith, a stay-at-home mom who was caring for their ailing mother without much help from the very wealthy Constance; Boyd, her assistant at KEY who was the whipping boy for many degrading requests; Stuart, the spurned boyfriend who risked everything to treat Constance as his queen; Linus, the head of KEY News, who had molded Constance into the cheery morning host adored by millions, only to be betrayed by her leaving; Annabelle and D. J., her producer and cameraman, who put up with countless complaints about everything they did; Lauren, the new girl in town set to take over for Constance; and even Eliza, the beloved doyenne of the network, who had no tolerance for Constance's prima donna posturing. Clark knows this territory well, both as a best-selling author of formulaic but always readable mysteries and as a writer and producer for CBS News. For fans of light mysteries, the combination of network-news melodrama and a frothy whodunit plot should prove irresistible. Wilkens, Mary Frances
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Clark, a CBS News writer and producer for many years, does only a superficial job of portraying the behind-the-scenes backstabbing and intrigue at a major network in this first of a new series, a sequel of sorts to her KEY News thrillers (Lights Out Tonight, etc.). When Constance Young, a Katie Couric–like mega–news star, is found dead in her pool, New York evening news anchor Eliza Blake, producer Annabelle Murphy and cameraman B.J. D'Elia join forces with psychiatrist Margo Gonzalez to investigate. Young died on the eve of her debut as morning host on a rival network, and her selfish, abrasive personality made her many enemies, ranging from her former boss to a nerdy millionaire who stole a rare Arthurian ivory figurine in an effort to win her heart. Others have evoked this world more convincingly, notably the late Bill DeAndrea in his Matt Cobb series, and the sleuths miss an obvious clue that any six-year-old could have figured out, as one character concedes at the end.
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From Booklist
Just as Constance Young was set to make the leap from the KEY network's national morning show to their competition, she is found dead at the bottom of her pool. Suspects abound: her sister, Faith, a stay-at-home mom who was caring for their ailing mother without much help from the very wealthy Constance; Boyd, her assistant at KEY who was the whipping boy for many degrading requests; Stuart, the spurned boyfriend who risked everything to treat Constance as his queen; Linus, the head of KEY News, who had molded Constance into the cheery morning host adored by millions, only to be betrayed by her leaving; Annabelle and D. J., her producer and cameraman, who put up with countless complaints about everything they did; Lauren, the new girl in town set to take over for Constance; and even Eliza, the beloved doyenne of the network, who had no tolerance for Constance's prima donna posturing. Clark knows this territory well, both as a best-selling author of formulaic but always readable mysteries and as a writer and producer for CBS News. For fans of light mysteries, the combination of network-news melodrama and a frothy whodunit plot should prove irresistible. Wilkens, Mary Frances