A Beautiful Corpse

January 1, 2019
A crime reporter who's still obsessed with the long-ago murder of her mother faces more present-day murder.One reason Harper McClain became a crime reporter for a Savannah newspaper was her excellent relationship with the police. That ended when she took down the man who was like a father to her, the former homicide chief who's now doing time for murder (The Echo Killing, 2018). As a result, most of the cops shun her and make her life miserable, and her romantic relationship with homicide detective Luke Walker has been shattered. A new murder case plunges Harper back into all the bad memories. Harper's bestie, Bonnie Larson, works at the Library bar along with beautiful law student Naomi Scott, who leaves early on a quiet night. A call from Harper's photographer, Miles Jackson, sends her racing to River Street, the heart of the tourist area, which has become a murder scene. She's devastated to see that the body is Naomi's. The police fasten on her boyfriend, Wilson Shepherd, but Naomi's father insists on Wilson's innocence. Detective Julie Daltrey, who's caught the case, grudgingly gives Harper enough information to get her started on a story that could turn into a blockbuster. Meantime, Harper has other problems to spare. Someone's gotten into her apartment despite all her security measures, and she constantly feels that she's being followed. The case does get her back in touch with Luke, and the passion they shared flares again. The police, unable to develop enough evidence to hold Wilson, begin looking at Naomi's boss and a fellow law student she dated and then began to fear. Although Harper worries about her stalker, she doesn't see the danger coming from both past and present.This first-rate adventure for Daugherty's heroine is fast-paced, intriguing, and romantic. A message from her stalker intimates her next adventure will be just as exciting.

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February 15, 2019
The Savannah, Georgia, police are motivated to solve the murder of law student Naomi Scott as soon as possible: the crime occurred in an area heavily populated by tourists, and tourism is the lifeblood of the city. There are three suspects: Naomi's boyfriend, her boss at the bar where she worked, and the man who had harassed and stalked her. The stalker is the favorite of police beat reporter Harper McClain, who's covering the case for the Savannah News, but the stalker is the son of the district attorney and has what seems an airtight alibi. With layoffs at the struggling newspaper in the offing, Harper knows her reports on the murder could be crucial in protecting her job. She has other worries, too: there's the very skilled person who's breaking into her house and car, and there's the disquieting fact that ex-lover Detective Luke Walker has reappeared in her life. Harper was introduced in The Echo Killing (2018), and, while there's enough backstory here to give new readers their sea legs, a better plan would be to start this increasingly captivating series at the beginning.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2018

An American crime reporter who moved to England and had killer success with the YA thriller series "Night School," Daugherty recently published her first adult novel, The Echo Killing (a "spine-tingling, gritty mystery," LJ). Here, when 24-year-old Naomi Scott is murdered in downtown Savannah, the suspects include her boyfriend, who has a criminal past; her boss, who once stalked another young woman; and the district attorney's son she once dated with explosive repercussions. On the case, crime reporter Harper McClain is getting pressured to produce results, and she senses that someone is watching her.

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