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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

New Release Today - Book Review - Shunning Sarah - Julie Kramer

Shunning Sarah
Title:  Shunning Sarah

Author: Julie Kramer

Review:   Okay I'm from Minnesota and so I have a definite affinity for books about Minnesota, I also enjoy reading John Sandford.  As a book blogger I find that authors are like Rock Stars to me and Julie Kramer is one of those stars in my book.   Of course most of my favorite series authors only release one new book a year and that makes me sad. L  I wish they could write just a bit faster, because when I get their new book it's very bittersweet to finish them knowing it will be a long  year before I get to read the next one. Well enough about me, now back to the review.

I find Riley Spartz, Julie Kramers main character,  a character I can get behind and cheer for.  She's always looking for a breaking news story, but she doesn’t stop there.  She digs and digs until everyone around her is sick of seeing her face, including those in law-enforcement and even her own boss.  She has spunk and drive and a horrible track record in the romance department and boss department.   Her parents are so much like people I know around here that I can visualize their mannerisms with the words the author writes for them.  Riley and her parents have become some of my favorite fictional characters and I look forward to a new glimpse into their lives every year.  Who knows what crazy things they will do, like attending the funeral of …. You have to read that book…so funny.

I don’t want to give the book away, but it's a mystery that keeps you turning the pages wondering Who-dunnit.  Even when you think it is over….it isn’t.  This is a mystery/ mini-thriller…some of the other things happening in Riley’s life slow down the action for the thriller aspect to hold strong, but it adds to the story line…both the current one and the small on-going one that weaves through all of her books.  Reoccurring characters and ones that were lost in the past book play apart in this tale.  It is fast paced and interesting with short chapters that keep you reading.  I have to admit that I hated nearing the end of this book knowing it would be another year before I got to catch up on Riley and her cast of friends, co-workers at the news station, quirky family, and last but not least Nick.

If you enjoy mysteries, then this is a great series for you.  Working in a news room never seemed interesting to me, but now I see a whole other aspect of it.  Julie Kramer is a journalist turned writer, who also worked in broadcast television…she knows her stuff. 


You can start anywhere, but I would suggest the first book, Stalking Susan, so you can really get to know Riley from the start.  Here is the link of our review for that book.   http://bookhimdanno.blogspot.com/2010/10/stalking-susan-julie-kramer.html

If you have read Julie Kramer then you know what I’m talking about, if you haven’t then go get one of her books and give her a try…you won’t be disappointed.  Her older books are at your local library or bookstore just waiting to be picked up.

Publisher: Expected publication: August 7th 2012 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books

ISBN: 9781451664638

Copyright: 2012

Pages:  336

Quick Review: 5  stars (out of 5)-

Why I Read It:  Sent by the publisher  for review.

Synopsis: The latest thriller in Julie Kramer’s bestselling crime fiction series, featuring the smart, funny, and compulsively entertaining television reporter, Riley Spartz.  A young boy’s freak accident leads Riley to investigate a homicide in the closed religious society of the Amish.     No women near the small Minnesota tourist town have been reported missing and because the victim’s face is damaged, she can’t be identified without the help of a forensic artist. When she finally is recognized as Sarah Yoder, a young Amish woman, the police have difficulty investigating the case because the Amish believe in forgiveness rather than prosecution, and no one in the community is talking. Because of the biblical ban on graven images, Sarah’s family objects to her picture being used by the media even though the police believe the publicity might lead to tips. But when Riley finds a clue the cops miss, she uncovers a dark web of fraud and deception in the community—driven by motives as old as the Bible: sex and money.    Shunning Sarah, the fifth installment in Julie Kramer’s bestselling series, which includes Killing Kate and Silencing Sam, will keep readers turning pages while they wonder what will happen next
Julie Kramer 
Author Biography:  Julie Kramer is has moved from journalist to novelist. She writes a mystery series set in the desperate world of television news—a world she knows well from her career working as a freelance news producer for NBC and CBS, as well as running the acclaimed WCCO-TV I-Team in Minneapolis.

Her thrillers, STALKING SUSAN, MISSING MARK, SILENCING SAM, KILLING KATE and soon to come - SHUNNING SARAH (Aug. 7) - take readers inside how newsrooms make decisions amid chaos. She's won the Minnesota Book Award and the RT Book Review's Best First Mystery. She has also been a finalist for the Anthony, Barry, Shamus, Mary Higgins Clark, Daphne du Maurier, and RT Best Amateur Sleuth Awards.

Julie grew up along the Minnesota-Iowa state line, fourth generation of a family who raised cattle and farmed corn for more than 130 years. Her favorite childhood days were spent waiting for the bookmobile to bring her another Phyllis A. Whitney novel. An avid reader, she tired of fictional TV reporters always being portrayed as obnoxious secondary characters who could be killed off whenever the plot started dragging, so her series features reporter Riley Spartz as heroine.

Julie lives with her family in White Bear Lake, MN.

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