Dying for Mercy (Key News Thrillers, 12, Band 12) - Hardcover

Clark, Mary Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061286117 ISBN 13: 9780061286117

Verlag: William Morrow, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

“[Clark] deftly combines the clue-searching and puzzle-solving fun of mysteries with the action-packed, emotion-driven narrative thrust of thrillers.”

—Pittsburgh Tribune Review

 

“One of Clark’s—and the genre’s—best.”

—Associated Press

 

A very suspicious death and a sprawling mansion with secrets and puzzles built into the very architecture are among the elements that make Dying for Mercy an unputdownable mystery. The third riveting thriller from New York Times bestselling Mary Jane Clark to feature Eliza Blake and her KEY News television colleagues, Dying for Mercy combines the gripping suspense of Faye Kellerman with the kind of brilliant twists, turns, and surprises that would make Agatha Christie proud. Mary Jane Clark is a member of the same writing family as fellow suspense superstars Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, and this superior puzzler puts her at the very top of the family tree.

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Mary Jane Clark worked at CBS News for nearly three decades. Her twelve KEY News media thrillers were inspired by that experience. Envisioning the Piper Donovan/Wedding Cake mystery series, Mary Jane enrolled in cake-decorating classes and researched unique wedding locations. The daughter of an FBI agent and a mother who customized cakes for the neighborhood kids when she was growing up, Mary Jane has two grown children and splits her time between New Jersey and Florida.

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When death shatters the serenity of the exclusive moneyed enclave of Tuxedo Park, New York, Eliza Blake, cohost of the country's premier morning television show KEY to America, is on the scene. While attending a lavish gala at her friends' newly renovated estate, Pentimento, Eliza's host is found dead—a grotesque suicide that is the first act in a macabre and intricately conceived plan to expose the sins of the past involving some of the town's most revered citizens.

Determined to find out the truth, Eliza and her KEY News colleagues—producer Annabelle Murphy, cameraman B.J. D'Elia, and psychiatrist Margo Gonzalez—discover that Pentimento holds the key. Nestled in the park's sprawling architectural masterpieces, picturesque gardeners' cottages, and lush, rolling landscape, the glorious mansion is actually a giant "puzzle house," filled with ingenious clues hidden in its fireplaces, fountains, and frescoes that lead them from one suspicious locale to another—and, one by one, to the victims of a fiendish killer.

As Pentimento gives up its secrets, it becomes clear that no amount of wealth or privilege will keep the residents of Tuxedo Park safe. But just when Eliza unearths one final surprise, she comes face-to-face with a murderer who believes that some puzzles should never be solved.

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Dying for Mercy

A Novel of SuspenseBy Mary Jane Clark

William Morrow

Copyright © 2009 Mary Jane Clark
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-06-128611-7

Chapter One

"You look pretty, Mom."

Facing the mirror, Eliza stared at the reflection of the child standing behind her in the middle of the bathroom floor. Janie was wearing her soccer uniform. One kneesock was bunched around her thin ankle, dirt smudged both her knees, and more wisps of brown hair sprang free from her ponytail than were caught up in it. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed from running up and down the school field. Turning, Eliza bent and kissed her seven-year-old daughter on the top of the head.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Eliza held herself back from gathering the child in her arms and holding her close. It was a familiar urge now, the desire to hang on to Janie and not let go. Almost three months since the kidnapping, and Eliza still woke up in a cold sweat many nights. How close she'd come to losing her only child, the daughter whose father had tragically died before she was even born, the little girl who was at the center of Eliza's world.

"I want to come with you," said Janie.

"I wish you could, honey, but it's a party for adults. There won't be any children there."

"But Valentina and Innis would want me to come," insisted Janie, hands on hips. "They like me. When we went to their house that time, they said I could come again anytime I want."

Eliza turned back to the mirror and picked up a tube of mascara. "I know they did. And we will go there again. Remember I told you about the little house we've rented near the Wheelocks'? Our lease starts next week. I'm sure we'll be able to visit Valentina and Innis when we go up there on weekends."

Janie's expression brightened. "Can we go in the birdhouse?"

"It's called an aviary, Janie, and I think that can be arranged."

"You know, they have a bird in there that talks," said Janie.

"A parrot?"

"Uh-huh. Innis showed me. And it can tell you what it likes."

"Really?" asked Eliza as she put gloss on her lips.

"Yep. It says 'sun' and 'air' and 'grapes.' It likes to eat grapes."

"You'll have to show it to me," said Eliza.

Mollified, Janie followed her mother as she walked into the bedroom, went to the closet, and took the jewelry case from the wall safe.

"Which ones should I wear?" Eliza asked as they sat side by side on the bed. "The pearls or the garnets?"

Janie considered carefully before answering. "The dark red ones," she said decisively. "They're the color of your dress."

"Good choice," said Eliza, fastening the stones to her ears. She stood, slipped on her heels, and took a last look in the full-length mirror.

"What kind of party is it, Mom?" asked Janie as they left the bedroom and went down the stairs. "A birthday party?"

"Not exactly," Eliza answered. "It's a party to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi."

"Are you bringing him a present?"

Eliza laughed. "No, sweetheart, he won't be there. St. Francis died a long time ago."

"Then why are they having a party for him?"

"Valentina and Innis want to celebrate his spirit. St. Francis was a very good and holy man who did many things to help many people and animals in his lifetime. He's the patron saint of Italy, and when Valentina and Innis lived there, they became very devoted to him."

"Did people give him parties when he was still alive?" asked Janie.

"I don't think so," said Eliza. "He taught repentance. Parties weren't on his agenda."

"That's too bad," said the child.

"I doubt that St. Francis thought so, Janie. He loved nature and animals and wanted the people who followed him to live simply and take care of other people. I suppose St. Francis would consider a party like this frivolous."

Janie cocked her head to the side. "What does 'frivolous' mean?" she asked.

"Silly, not really important."

Janie considered this. "I don't think my birthday party is silly. I think it's very important."

"Of course it is," said Eliza, "but as you get older, a birthday party, believe it or not, isn't always something you want. Besides, I bet St. Francis would rather see the money spent on his party go to feeding the poor."

While Janie thought about this, Eliza looked out the living-room window and saw yet another car driving slowly past her house. The place where they lived had become a tourist attraction since the kidnapping. Sightseers strained for a glimpse of the famous mother and the daughter who'd been the subject of a nationwide search.

Eliza hated the loss of privacy. Ordering tall evergreens to be planted along the front of the property might help shield them from prying eyes, but she knew the drive-bys would continue.

She'd hired a security company and it was reassuring to see the car parked out front. The guard inside was watching-and armed. The local police also patrolled the street more often these days.

Still, Eliza knew that no amount of security could absolutely guarantee that something wouldn't happen to her child. She had to live with the fact and try not to dwell on it.

"Mrs. Garcia," called Eliza as she saw her driver pull up, "I'm leaving."

The housekeeper came out of the kitchen and put her arm around Janie's shoulders as Eliza uttered yet another silent prayer of gratitude that Mrs. Garcia had survived the kidnapping as well. That the FBI had found both before it was too late was a miracle.

"We are going to have a good time while your mommy is out, aren't we, nia?" Mrs. Garcia asked Janie. "I think we make some brownies."

"I won't be late," said Eliza as she started for the door.

Janie reached out and grabbed her mother's dress.

"What, Janie? What is it, sweetheart?" asked Eliza, fearing she had been wrong to accept the invitation. Yet Valentina Wheelock had been so insistent that Eliza come to the party, and the Wheelocks' house in Tuxedo Park was only twenty minutes away from Ho-Ho-Kus. Now, as she looked down at her daughter holding onto the red fabric of her dress, Eliza doubted she'd made the right decision to go to this party. "What's wrong, Janie?" Eliza asked again as she bent to look directly into her daughter's eyes.

"What does 'repentance' mean?"

"What?" asked Eliza.

"You said St. Francis taught repentance," said Janie.

"What is that?"

"Basically it means being sorry for things you've done," Eliza answered with relief that Janie was focused only on a definition.

"What kinds of things?" asked Janie.

"Sins," said Eliza. "The kinds of things nobody should ever do."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Dying for Mercyby Mary Jane Clark Copyright © 2009 by Mary Jane Clark. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: William Morrow
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0061286117
• ISBN 13: 9780061286117
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 384
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: HarperCollins Publishers Ireland; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin 1; D01 C9W8; Irland