Description:
The lead item in Dr. Renee Altman's "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" file probably reads, "Chuck the practice and become a call-in radio shrink, à la Dr. Laura." And no wonder. Things for Dr. Renee, which weren't so hot to begin with, have since gotten really bad. Her estranged husband, Barry, wants nothing more than full custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Molly (OK, maybe he does want more). Her ratings have tanked, ditto her finances, and she's being stalked by a psychopath who is probably the abusive, revenge-minded husband of a woman Renee advised, on the air, to take her kid and run. What could be worse than all that? She finds out when Molly's nanny is killed and Molly disappears: She heard herself screaming and swayed for a moment, overcome with dizziness and nausea as bile rose in her throat. Then she ran to Blanca's side. The woman's eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. Renee knelt and took her hand, warm but heavy. She couldn't detect a pulse, and when she placed her ear over Blanca's chest, she heard no heartbeat. Still she raced back into the house to phone 911. Maybe, please God, Blanca was alive after all. Where was Molly? A good question, and the main ingredient of Dead Air, the fourth Jessie Drake mystery (after 1999's Blood Money) by the accomplished Rochelle Krich, Anthony Award winner for her 1991 debut, Where's Mommy Now? and the author of three other well-received stand-alone mysteries. As Dr. Renee's old friend Jessie Drake and her partner enter the chase, the murderous kidnapper takes his case to the people of Los Angeles--via the airwaves of Dr. Renee's suddenly popular program--handily turning the case into a cause célèbre, a three-ring media circus, and a detective's worst nightmare all rolled into one. Through it all, and despite issues of her own--including an abusive childhood, on-again, off-again relations with her ex, and the gradual acceptance of her recently discovered Judaism--Drake knits up some awfully deft police work for a neatly finished cuff of a close. Krich has created a series with legs, and as Jessie Drake's character grows, so will the ranks of her fans. --Michael Hudson
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