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Claire Bidwell Smith is the author of the memoir THE RULES OF INHERITANCE. She lives in Los Angeles where she is a therapist specializing in grief.
Editorial Content for The Child Who
Book
Reviewer (text)
Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Simon Lelic’s THE CHILD WHO is a cautionary tale that has wide ramifications in the larger world. When the phone rings in Leo Curtice’s office, he grabs it and finds a custody sergeant looking for a duty solicitor available to take a case. Since his firm usually manages mundane cases such as car accidents and the like, this request is a surprise to him. But it’s a big case, and he’s going to make sure he’s the hero of the saga. He is called upon to defend Daniel Blake, a 12-year-old boy accused of killing 11-year-old Felicity Forbes. Read More
Teaser
A chance phone call throws the biggest murder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year-old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an 11-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood.
Promo
A chance phone call throws the biggest murder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year-old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an 11-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood.
About the Book
An unimaginable crime and the man who must defend it --- a probing psychological thriller from the author of A THOUSAND CUTS.
A chance phone call throws the biggest murder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year-old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an 11-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood. When the buildup of pressure takes a sinister turn, he fears for his wife and young daughter's safety. Must he choose between his family and the life of a damaged child? With piercing psychological insight, Lelic examines a community's response to a hideous crime.
Longlisted for the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger award for Best Novel of the Year and the Steel Dagger for Best Thriller.
Editorial Content for Murder at the Lanterne Rouge
Reviewer (text)
Greg Fitzgerald
Paris in January is all about the soldes, the greatest markdowns of the year on the finest of French haute couture. Yves St. Laurent, Louis Vuitton and Chanel are all unbelievably cheap. As the winter breeze blows off the Seine, however, Cara Black’s beloved Parisienne private investigator has found herself stuck in a much darker part of the fashion world. Read More
Teaser
A missing young woman, an illegal immigrant raid in progress, botched affairs of the heart, dirty policemen, the French secret service, cutting-edge science secrets and a murderer on the loose --- what has Aimée Leduc gotten herself into? And can she get herself --- and her friends --- back out of it all alive?
Promo
A missing young woman, an illegal immigrant raid in progress, botched affairs of the heart, dirty policemen, the French secret service, cutting-edge science secrets and a murderer on the loose --- what has Aimée Leduc gotten herself into? And can she get herself --- and her friends --- back out of it all alive?
About the Book
Aimée Leduc is happy her long-time business partner René has found a girlfriend. Really, she is. It’s not her fault if she can’t suppress her doubts about the relationship; René is moving way too fast, and Aimée’s instincts tell her Meizi, this supposed love of René’s life, isn’t trustworthy. And her misgivings may not be far off the mark: Meizi disappears during a Chinatown dinner to take a phone call and never comes back to the restaurant. Minutes later, the body of a young man, a science prodigy and volunteer at the nearby Musée, is found shrink-wrapped in an alleyway --- with Meizi’s photo in his wallet.
Aimée does not like this scenario one bit, but she can’t figure out how the murder is connected to Meizi’s disappearance. The dead genius was sitting on a discovery that has France’s secret service keeping tabs on him. Now they’re keeping tabs on Aimée. A missing young woman, an illegal immigrant raid in progress, botched affairs of the heart, dirty policemen, the French secret service, cutting-edge science secrets and a murderer on the loose --- what has she gotten herself into? And can she get herself --- and her friends --- back out of it all alive?
Editorial Content for The Hope Vendetta
Book
Reviewer (text)
Maggie Harding
He turned from the window and walked across to the low table. He put down his empty glass and reached out for the pistol. He picked it up and weighed the heavy steel in his hand. He stared at the weapon a long moment as the moonlight glimmered down its length. He clicked off the safety. The desolation that Benedict Hope felt at that moment was complete and all encompassing. He had lost his will to live, and nothing seemed to be able to pull him out of the morass that engulfed him. Read More
Teaser
Ex-SAS operative and hero-for-hire Ben Hope has decided to put down his gun for good. When his professor and friend asks him to help find his missing daughter, Ben declines, but puts his buddy, Charlie Palmer, on the case. But when Charlie runs into trouble, Ben reluctantly joins him to find out what might have happened.
Promo
Ex-SAS operative and hero-for-hire Ben Hope has decided to put down his gun for good. When his professor and friend asks him to help find his missing daughter, Ben declines, but puts his buddy, Charlie Palmer, on the case. But when Charlie runs into trouble, Ben reluctantly joins him to find out what might have happened.
About the Book
Still reeling from a devastating personal loss, ex-SAS operative and hero for hire Ben Hope has decided to put down his gun for good and return to the theology studies he had abandoned years ago. When his professor and friend asks him to help find his missing daughter, archaeologist Zoë Bradbury, Ben declines but puts his former SAS buddy Charlie Palmer on the case. But when Charlie runs into trouble on the Greek island of Corfu, Ben reluctantly joins him to find out what might have happened to Zoë. Ben has no idea he’s just embarked on the most dangerous mission of his life.
Ben realizes that Zoë’s most recent archaeological discovery of an artifact related to the book of Revelation is at the heart of her disappearance. What is the ancient secret that Zoë uncovered? And just who is willing to do anything to protect it? The investigation leads Ben from the Greek islands to Savannah, Georgia, to the holy city of Jerusalem, and he soon discovers that it’s not just Zoë’s life on the line but those of millions. Yet those hell-bent on staging an end-of-days-like attack for political gain will soon face the ultimate reckoning in Ben Hope.
