Deadly Politics

May 15, 2012
A financial consultant, back in Washington years after the suicide of her congressman husband, battles a hydra-headed extragovernmental agency whose existence she's only dimly aware of. Molly Malone thought she was returning to D.C. to work for commercial developer Jeff Parker. When that job falls through, her niece Karen Grayson, turning on a dime, finds her a position in the office of Sen. John Russell, the Colorado Independent. No sooner has Molly begun to settle into the great Georgetown flat her new boss, Chief of Staff Peter Brewster, has arranged for her than Karen is killed, apparently by an unusually brutal mugger, but really, we know from hugger-mugger asides, by the minions of the Epsilon Group, a think tank for international finance whose self-appointed responsibilities go way beyond issuing white papers. Surrounded by scorched-earth zealots on both sides of the aisle and creepy staffers like Karen's old boss Jed Molinoff, whose wife and children didn't keep him from sleeping with Karen, Molly wonders whom she can trust--especially once her old school friend Danny DiMateo offers protection and romance and Karen's friend and colleague Celeste Allard agrees to spy on Jed. The climactic revelations fall so far short of the thickly menacing atmosphere that plenty of clouds remain at the fade-out, presumably as material for a sequel or a whole series. Quite a change of pace for Sefton, last seen arranging wool for the sleuthing knitters of Fort Connor (Cast On, Kill Off, 2012, etc.). If this departure doesn't exactly reveal a new master of Beltway intrigue, its more jaundiced worldview seems to fit both the author and her heroine significantly better.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2012

As a daughter of a senator, Molly Malone has politics in her blood, but she left Washington two decades ago after her congressman husband committed suicide. Now in her fifties, Molly returns to the Beltway and, thanks to her niece Karen, finds a new job in a senator's office. Karen's own life is in turmoil; an unfortunate affair with her boss is going sour fast. Then Karen is killed in an apparent carjacking, but Molly suspects her death was not random. After another young woman from Karen's office subsequently dies, an incensed and determined Molly knows she doesn't have a minute to lose. VERDICT Known for her popular "Knitting Mystery" cozies, Sefton has a sharp ear for dialog and knack for writing strong female characters that serve her well as she ventures into suspense. An open-ended conclusion means readers can look forward to a sequel. Try pairing with Ed Gorman's "Dev Conrad" series and with Hank Phillippi Ryan's newest, The Other Woman, reviewed on p. 78. [Previewed in Kristi Chadwick's Mystery Genre Spotlight feature, "Crime Travels," LJ 4/15/12.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Sefton, best known for her knitting mysteries set in Colorado, turns to a new heroine and locale: fiftysomething Molly Malone, who has moved from Colorado to Washington, D.C., is the daughter of a late, powerful senator and the widow of a representative who committed suicide. That history makes Molly a natural choice for an accounts job with Senator Jackson. But Molly has barely settled in when her niece, a Hill staffer, is murdered. It appears to have been a robbery gone wrong, but readers know better: they're privy to secret conversations between two conspirators willing to dispose of several people who stand in the way of their plans. As the pages dwindle, it becomes apparent that few of the story's loose ends will be tied up here. It's a technique that readily leads readers to the next book, but it's also unsatisfying. Fortunately, the Washington dynamics have enough frisson to keep things interesting, and Molly's unwavering dedication to the truth makes it clear all will be revealed eventually, even if that's several books down the road.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)