The Finishing School

Two teenagers who attend a posh private school are found dead, apparently from drug overdoses, and Melanie Vargas, federal prosecutor, investigates, going undercover to uncover the truth. This is a badly written book that reads like a soap opera, and, unfortunately, Isabel Keating performs it as such. Characters are read with overdone and/or weak accents and over-the-top emotions. No cliché is missing in the book, which is filled with unnecessary details that bear no relationship to the story. This is an unfortunate marriage of a weak book and a weak reader. S.S.R. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

September 12, 2005
At the start of Martinez's gripping second thriller (after 2005's Most Wanted
), New York federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas is summoned at two in the morning a week before Christmas to a sadly bizarre death scene on Park Avenue. The teenage stepdaughter of Wall Street mogul and would-be U.S. senator James Seward has died of a heroin overdose, along with a fellow student at a posh East Side girls' school. Melanie soon finds herself up to her neck in politics: Seward's first call on discovering the bodies is to the police commissioner, not 911, and the agent in charge of the case is from the Elite Narcotics Task Force, which her boss is trying to impress. As the various agencies involved fight for turf and power, it's largely up to Melanie to find out what really happened to the two dead girls. The author draws from her own background as a lawyer and special prosecutor with years of experience in drug cases to raise this well above the common run of suspense novels. Agent, Meg Ruley. 12-city author tour.

Two girls at a tony New York prep school die of an apparent drug overdose, threatening the smarmy headmistress's fundraising plans and her romance with the father of one of the victims. It's up to prosecuting attorney Melanie Vargas to sort things out in the midst of a complicated personal life. Anne Twomey is good at bringing out the shallowness of most of the players (maybe some depth was lost in the abridgment), as well as Vargas's confused emotions. Only a Hispanic janitor and his daughters truly engage the listener's sympathy. If you like suspense that is heavy on action, light on subtlety, this is for you. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

July 1, 2006
In this legal thriller, federal prosecutor and single mother Melanie Vargas goes undercover in her hometown of Manhattan to investigate the drug supplier of two recently deceased wealthy teenagers. A third girl turns up missing, and Melanie is determined to solve these seemingly unrelated mysteries. Through her investigations, she sheds light on the more hidden aspects of an elite Manhattan prep school and the darker side of Manhattan night life. Politics are involved as well, adding another dimension to this well-written and edgy suspense story. FBI agent and Melanie -s romantic interest Dan O -Reilly is on hand to help. Isabel Keating -s reading of this finely written mystery enhances the presentation of the various characters as well as keeping the listener in suspense through the fast-paced action. Recommended." -Denise A. Garofalo, Astor Home for Children, Rhinebeck, NY"

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