Savannah Stone is a puzzle writer who is called to a meeting
by her editor and syndicator, Derrick Duncan. When she gets
to Raleigh, she finds out that she isn't the only person who
has been called to meet with Derrick. It turns out that
several writers and columnists have been called to meet with
him, and it looks like everyone is being summarily fired.
And, due to the non-compete clauses in the contract,
everyone is (understandably) shaken up and extremely upset.
Savannah's meeting, though, goes particularly bad and she
ends up slapping him. After leaving the meeting, she thinks
things through and returns to apologize to him. But she
finds only his dead body, and Derrick's assistant returns
shortly thereafter, which makes Savannah look pretty guilty.
Fortunately, Savannah's best friend Jenny is an attorney in
Raleigh, and she calls on her for assistance while she's
being questioned. Zach, Savannah's husband, is a former
chief of police, but he's in another state testifying on a
case as a consultant. However, as soon as he hears about
her plight, he's there informally offering assistance to the
police. Soon, Jenny and Zach are trying to prove Savannah's
innocence without actively interfering with the police
investigation. Since Derrick had an abrasive personality
and had just fired a slew of people, there are plenty of
people with motive to have killed him, but of course none of
those people were seen hovering over the dead body.
To add to the stress of trying to save Savannah, Jenny also
has a stalker. While Jenny doesn't want to involve her
friends in her personal drama, Savannah strongly feels that
Zach can help with this, and she lets him know what's going
on. Zach begins juggling his wife's investigation with
trying to figure out who is harassing Jenny, and the suspect
field narrows -- including the police officer investigating
Savannah's case (who is an ex-boyfriend of Jenny's).
This was a really great mystery. There were plenty of
suspects to go around for the primary mystery, and I was
kept guessing throughout. The relationship between Savannah
and Zach is balanced well, and the friendship between Jenny
and Savannah is easy and comfortable. It is believable that
they have been friends since undergrad and have seen each
other through thick and thin. The only quibble I have is
that I immediately knew who Jenny's stalker was -- I thought
this was extremely obvious and I was proven right in the end.
Overall, this was a great book, and I will definitely be
tracking down the first book in the series, and I will
absolutely keep an eye out for future books in the series.
When puzzle columnist Savannah Stone's editor is found
stabbed to death, the police look at her as the prime
suspect. But Savannah knows she wasn't the only puzzle-maker
to cross words with him.
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