Not only is a series of earthquakes rocking San Francisco, but it's also experiencing a rash of murder-suicides of well-known, high-profile people, which includes a fashion designer and his lover, as well as a doctor and his son. When prominent prosecutor Callie Harding kills herself in a fiery car crash, forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett is brought in by SFPD to discern the motivation behind Callie's death. Even more questions arise when a superstar football player joins the ranks of those taking their lives.
Jo's specialty is performing what's called a psychological autopsy to comprehend the circumstances that led to an equivocal death. Her investigation into Callie's life uncovers a bizarre connection to the other murder-suicides. It seems they all belonged to something called the Dirty Secrets Club, a group of wealthy individuals with nasty secrets in their pasts. As Jo digs deeper into the club, its members and their motivations, she finds her own life in danger. Will she be able to uncover the mastermind behind the club before it's too late?
Meg Gardiner has written a dynamic psychological thriller that grabs you from the first page and never lets up until the surprising ending. This is a great start to a new series, and I can't wait for more Jo Beckett thrillers.
Introducing the writer Stephen King trumpets as "the
next suspense superstar"
Recently Stephen
King devoted an entire Entertainment Weekly
column to Meg Gardiner, proclaiming her "as good as
Michael Connelly and far better than Janet
Evanovich." How is it possible, he wondered, that this
Californian was published only in Britain?
Starting now, suspense fans on this side of the pond can
get their fix right here:
Dutton is proud to introduce Gardiner's brand-new series
heroine, Jo Beckett, in The Dirty Secrets Club.
An ongoing string of high-profile and very public
murder-suicides has San Francisco even more rattled than a
string of recent earthquakes: A flamboyant fashion designer
burns to death, clutching the body of his murdered lover. A
superstar 49er jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge. And most
shocking of all, a U.S. attorney launches her BMW off a
highway overpass, killing herself and three others.
Enter forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett, hired by the SFPD
to cut open not the victim's body but the victim's life.
Jo's job is to complete the psychological autopsy, shedding
light on the circumstances of any equivocal death. Soon she
makes a shocking discovery: All the suicides belonged to
something called the Dirty Secrets Club, a group of A-
listers with nothing but money and plenty to hide. As the
deaths continue, Jo delves into the disturbing motives
behind this shadowy group — until she receives a letter
containing a dark secret Jo thought she'd left deep in her
past, and ending with the most chilling words of
all: "Welcome to the Dirty Secrets Club."
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