Stalking Susan
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15
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Inside the desperate world of TV ratings, an investigative reporter discovers that a serial killer is targeting women named Susan and killing one on the same day each year.Television reporter Riley Spartz is recovering from a heartbreaking, headline-making catastrophe of her own when a longtime police source drops two homicide files in her lap in the back of a dark movie theater. Both cold cases involve women named Susan strangled on the same day, one year apart. Last seen alive in one of Minneapolis's poorest neighborhoods, their bodies are each dumped in one of the city's wealthiest areas. Riley senses a pattern between those murders and others pulled from a computer database of old death records. She must broadcast a warning soon, especially to viewers named Susan, because the deadly anniversary is approaching. But not just lives are at stake-- so are careers. November is television sweeps month, and every rating point counts at Channel 3. Riley must go up against a news director who cares more about dead dogs than dead women, a politician who fears negative stories about serial killers will hurt the city's convention business, and the very real possibility that her source knows more about the murders than he is letting on. When Riley suspects the killer has moved personal items from one victim to the next as part of an elaborate ritual, she stages a bold on-air stunt to draw him out and uncovers a motive that will leave readers breathless.
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6 primary booksRiley Spartz is a 6-book series with 6 primary works first released in 2008 with contributions by Julie Kramer.
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An introduction to Riley Sparks a reporter for Channel 3 TV News in Minneapolis. Her husband is recently deceased. Her best source, Nick Garnett, is retired. Her boss doesn't like her. But she has to keep going.
She is fed a story about two Susans that are killed one year apart. This turns into four-plus Susans. The investigation takes her all over the state. Her boss pulls her off the story, makes Riley work on a worthless tip-line story, and hand it to Mike Flagg, the ladder climbing, leech reporter. The tip-line story turns into a major story and Riley stay on the Susans case of her own volition.
The main issue I have is it reads like a procedural on TV. There's the A story line and the B story line. There's the friendless, put-upon, female where everyone is against her and no one is as smart as her. A lot of bad things happen to her but none of these things AFFECT her. The one bad thing that happens directly to her is written about and wrapped up about two pages later. Bad things happen to the males around her, Garnett “best friend/source/ex-cop” (to many archetypes in one body) is put in the hospital protecting her, charged with murder because of information she led police to. Even the dog that was loaned to her is nearly killed in a fight with a trained pit-bull protecting her. , but good old pretty-little-rich-girl that is “too skinny for TV” Riley just keeps going obliviously on her way.
The thing that put me over the edge was ... How is she able to write a check for a quarter of a million dollars? Seriously a $250,000 check, not a loan, not the $25,000 bond. A quick call to the accountant is all it takes to get a quarter of a million dollars to get Garnett out of jail.
There are good Minnesota shout outs sprinkled in. Being a Minnesota native and recognizing the shout outs was fun. I think there are good inside looks at how a TV station operates. Obviously there are two things Julie Kramer should know about from being a TV news producer in the Twin Cities. I particularly like the way she uses teleprompter style writing in places. Great concept, well done. These all add flavor to the book.
Unfortunately, this feels like John Sandford Lite. There's no spice. There's no struggle for Riley. The only bad thing that happens to her happens before this book. I think an extra hundred pages of back story would be helpful. I can only think of one female supporting character in the entire book. Changing one or two of the males would have removed some of the chic-lit flavor to the book.
I probably shouldn't compare the first book of an author to an author that has written many bestsellers. I'll give the next book in the series a try and hopefully there is some spice to it.
