The Sleeping Beauty Killer

Starred review from October 17, 2016
A clever plot and a cast of intriguing characters, whose actions and agendas are easily misconstrued, boost bestseller Clark and Burke's third novel featuring Laurie Morgan, the producer of the New Yorkâbased TV show Under Suspicion (after 2015's All Dressed in White). Casey Carter (aka Crazy Casey or the Sleeping Beauty Killer), who served a 15-year sentence for manslaughter in the death of her fiancé, Hunter Raleigh III, seeks Laurie out and begs Laurie to help prove her innocence. Casey names five possible suspects who had opportunity and motive for killing Hunter, though she has few allies to support her cause. Meanwhile, Laurie's lover, attorney Alex Buckley, is no longer host of the show, having been replaced without Laurie's input by Ryan Nichols, a hotshot lawyer. Plagued by a rocky relationship with Ryan and a worrisome disconnect with Alex, Laurie interviews everyone she can and finds much that seems to confirm Casey's guilt and nothing that suggests her innocence. The authors keep Laurie and the reader grasping for answers till the end. Agents: Bob Barnett and Deenen Howell, Williams & Connolly.