Delusion

Rating:
Summary: SAVVY NEWSWRITER PENS TOPNOTCH SUSPENSE
Review: As surely as Circe bewitched the ancient Greeks, Emmy Award winning newswriter Joanna Elm, the siren of the small screen, enthralls with her rapid paced mysteries set in the world of television journalism, a state of the art backdrop that adds startling immediacy to her characters' scary shenanigans.

Ms. Elm hoisted a high standard for herself with Scandal, her first thriller featuring an attractive, street-wise correspondent for a TV tabloid show. Her debut novel rang with authenticity, was propelled by suspense, and displayed a firm control of narrative form. Delusion is cut from the same mold. A frightening prologue during which a masked intruder terrorizes one of cable television's top female news anchors establishes what is at stake in the no-holds-barred war between media giants. Kate McClusker, a true-crime writer whose book topped the bestseller list and was made into a major movie, has been recently widowed. Happening upon a murder scene, she finds that her late husband's former partner, ulcer prone Harry Holmsby, is heading the investigation.

Convinced that the slaying is fodder for a second bestseller, Kate convinces Harry to let her follow along as he seeks the killer. Thus Kate is with Harry when he's summoned to the scene of a double murder at the luxe home of Jack Kane, president of the largest media conglomerate in the world. Kane's wife and handsome 29-year-old gardener are the victims. Joined by Detective Mike Travis, Kate and Harry probe this crime only to discover that well-known female broadcasters who once worked for Kane have been terrorized.

In a parallel move, Molly Heskell, one of the terrorist's victims has been doing some research of her own - none too wisely because she winds up dead. Who is behind this series of brutal crimes? Is Jack Kane so desperate that he's protecting his turf by murder? Or, has the mysterious terrorist gone off the deep end and become a wanton killer?

Subplots involve Gabriella Grant, Kane's current star anchor who lives in his apartment building, and is pursued by a National Enquirer reporter intent upon revealing her dark secrets. Kate's life is further disrupted by what might be a court battle for the custody of her 9-year-old stepson. And, of course, there is the predictable attraction between Mike Travis and Kate.

Yet, each twist serves only to heighten interest as Ms. Elm accelerates her tempo, zigzagging through more carnage and confrontation to a startling conclusion. Well crafted and action driven, Delusion is an eerily accurate mugshot of a troubled soul who stalks and harasses, as well as a sobering tally of the price some are willing to pay for success.

Rating:
Summary: SAVVY NEWSWRITER PENS TOPNOTCH SUSPENSE
Review: As surely as Circe bewitched the ancient Greeks, Emmy Award winning newswriter Joanna Elm, the siren of the small screen, enthralls with her rapid paced mysteries set in the world of television journalism, a state of the art backdrop that adds startling immediacy to her characters' scary shenanigans.

Ms. Elm hoisted a high standard for herself with Scandal, her first thriller featuring an attractive, street-wise correspondent for a TV tabloid show. Her debut novel rang with authenticity, was propelled by suspense, and displayed a firm control of narrative form. Delusion is cut from the same mold. A frightening prologue during which a masked intruder terrorizes one of cable television's top female news anchors establishes what is at stake in the no-holds-barred war between media giants. Kate McClusker, a true-crime writer whose book topped the bestseller list and was made into a major movie, has been recently widowed. Happening upon a murder scene, she finds that her late husband's former partner, ulcer prone Harry Holmsby, is heading the investigation.

Convinced that the slaying is fodder for a second bestseller, Kate convinces Harry to let her follow along as he seeks the killer. Thus Kate is with Harry when he's summoned to the scene of a double murder at the luxe home of Jack Kane, president of the largest media conglomerate in the world. Kane's wife and handsome 29-year-old gardener are the victims. Joined by Detective Mike Travis, Kate and Harry probe this crime only to discover that well-known female broadcasters who once worked for Kane have been terrorized.

In a parallel move, Molly Heskell, one of the terrorist's victims has been doing some research of her own - none too wisely because she winds up dead. Who is behind this series of brutal crimes? Is Jack Kane so desperate that he's protecting his turf by murder? Or, has the mysterious terrorist gone off the deep end and become a wanton killer?

Subplots involve Gabriella Grant, Kane's current star anchor who lives in his apartment building, and is pursued by a National Enquirer reporter intent upon revealing her dark secrets. Kate's life is further disrupted by what might be a court battle for the custody of her 9-year-old stepson. And, of course, there is the predictable attraction between Mike Travis and Kate.

Yet, each twist serves only to heighten interest as Ms. Elm accelerates her tempo, zigzagging through more carnage and confrontation to a startling conclusion. Well crafted and action driven, Delusion is an eerily accurate mugshot of a troubled soul who stalks and harasses, as well as a sobering tally of the price some are willing to pay for success.

Rating:
Summary: Baffling mystery set in the glamorous world of TV newsgals
Review: In the world of TV news, beauty is more important than reporting talent. Who is stalking the gorgeous blonde newsgals in Philadelphia and New York? What is the bizarre connection with cursed Today show beauty Jessica Savitch? Joanna Elm pulls it all together with skill and a fine sense of drama

Rating:
Summary: LET'S MAKE A MOVIE OUT OF THIS ONE
Review: KF: One great, well-written, fast-paced mystery. Plot is intricate without being too complex or overwhelming. Suspense holds to the end. Characters don't grow much but they do develop! Strong and intriguing women and men figures. Not a boring moment. So clear that not once does one find oneself having to go back to figure out the current pages - rare today, yah? In the face of all of we suspicious plot detectives, it is unpredictable. As an excellent read, can't be beat. Hope someone makes a movie out of this mystery. Would be easy to script and intriguing to cast.

Rating:
Summary: Kirkus
Review: Where's the gun? Merion County investigators wonder when Emma Kane, the bullying, promiscuous wife of even more obsessively philandering WorldMedia News president Jack Kane, is shot to death--together with a hunky law student who moonlights as a male stripper--at the Main Line estate she still maintains even though Jack's decamped for New York. Only one person knows where the gun is: geeky Channel 7 news tech Lewis Terrenzio, determined to avenge himself on Jack Kane by breaking into the homes of Jack's former lovers, a lineup of Jessica Savitch wannabe newsanchors (in an especially tasteful touch, Lewis turns out to have been hounding real-life anchor Savitch herself), and forcing them at knifepoint to strip for a get-Jack videotape Lewis is making. Elm (Scandal, not reviewed) shows Lewis's high- tech Peeping Tom act getting him wildly past his depth when the night he picks to spy on Emma Kane and Tony Salerno is the very night they get shot. Now he's got not only the murder weapon (flung at his departing car by the killer), but a shadowy video of the perp, which he's about as likely to take to the cops as he is to be anointed the next Jessica Savitch. So it's up to bestselling crime reporter Kate McCusker to follow the tangle of blonds, erotomaniac fixations, and eleventh-hour secrets in order to unveil the killer--if the killer doesn't wipe out Kate's fragile family first. Glossy telemovie fodder, with Kate's interpolated transmutations of the case to the formulas of true-crime romance indistinguishable from Elm's own rolling periods. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------