Alice in Jeopardy
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The first in a brand new series from the crime master himself, Ed McBain.
ALICE IN JEOPARDY is the first novel in an exciting new series. Each novel is set in a different location featuring a contemporary woman whose life or children are suddenly endangered. The woman must find in herself the resources to save both her children and herself.
Alice is a recently widowed young woman living in Florida with her two small children. Utterly devastated by her late husband's death in a boating accident, she is struggling to re-build her life. And as if life can't get any worse, her children are kidnapped. Surrounded by police fighting inter-departmental battles, Alice ultimately has to resort to finding and saving her children herself.
ALICE IN JEOPARDY is a truly gripping book, absolutely jam-packed with twists and turns, culminating in a totally unexpected ending.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McBain's latest, a sparkling departure from his 87th Precinct detective series, follows a week in the life of Floridian Alice Glendenning, a feisty 34-year-old widow who has fallen on tough times. Still grieving over her husband Eddie's drowning accident eight months earlier, Alice is now the stressed single mother of bright 10-year-old Ashley and sullen Jamie, eight, voiceless since his father's death. Money is tight: Eddie's life insurance payout hasn't arrived, and Alice, a struggling real estate agent, has yet to sell her first house. Things turn calamitous when Ashley and Jamie are kidnapped from their school yard by two women who demand $250,000 the exact amount due Alice from Eddie's double indemnity policy and no police involvement or the children will be killed. Alice's housekeeper immediately alerts the authorities, and before long, the Glendenning residence is bleeping with telephone surveillance equipment and buzzing with bumbling Cape October police detectives. Alice leans on her friend Charlie Hobbs for levelheaded support after the unwelcome arrivals of countless "world-class snoops" like her shifty, jailbird brother-in-law; the annoying, airheaded woman who ran over Alice's foot; a smitten house hunter; and Alice's sister, Carol. As the ever-expanding houseful of irritating meddlers fuels her desperation, a shocking surprise awaits poor Alice. A swift, cleverly plotted story line, sassy dialogue and a well-drawn, resilient heroine make this gripper a hands-down success. As one of our most prolific and talented writers, McBain appears to have struck gold once again.
