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
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
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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