An Eye for Murder
Ellie Foreman Mystery #1
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4.2 • 59 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
"An Eye For Murder is a masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense…"—Publishers Weekly
“Complicated… fascinating… Hellmann has a beautifully tuned ear… which makes many of her scenes seriously funny …—Chicago Tribune
“Hellmann owes a debt to fellow Chicagoans Sara Paretsky (complex plotting) and Barbara D’Amato (excellent research) – but she’s the brash young thing making this formula new again! —Aunt Agatha’s
“A brilliant debut mystery… not only has she (Hellmann) created a wonderful character …but also she has given us a truly scary plot, a masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense.” -- Clues Unlimited
AN EYE FOR MURDER opens in 1944 Prague with a seemingly trivial exchange of intelligence. Decades later, in contemporary Chicago, the consequences emerge when documentary filmmaker Ellie Foreman gets a letter prompted by the success of one of her shows. The landlady of Ben Sinclair, an elderly man who died has found Ellie's name among his effects. Ellie, though puzzled, is curious. Before long, Mrs. Fleishman, too, dies. Then Ben's things are stolen from Ellie's suburban home, frightening the single mom but setting her curiosity and her investigative instincts ablaze. Although she's stretching to make ends meet by producing a campaign video a former steel company CEO running for the Illinois Senate, Ellie turns to her father, a retired lawyer with deep roots inChicago's Jewish community, for insights into the mystery of Ben Sinclair. From the political present of the North Shore to the buried memories of the city’s ethnic neighborhoods, the components of Ben's story eventually merge into an explosive climax.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sharp humor and vivid language distinguish Hellmann's Chicago-set debut. Ellie Forman, a recently divorced suburban mom, supports herself and her daughter by making documentaries, including a historical film, Celebrate Chicago,which has gained her local fame. The discovery of her name on a scrap of paper among the effects of an elderly gentleman, recently deceased in a Chicago rooming house, sets off a sinister chain of events and weaves an ever tightening web of intrigue. Preoccupied with her former husband's mounting stock losses, Ellie fails to put the pieces together until two more deaths and two attempted murders hit close to home. When her ex disappears and leaves her with a staggering amount of debt, Ellie panics, then turns her fear into determination to control her destiny. After taking on a new assignment to produce a campaign video for GOP Senate candidate Marian Iverson, she uncovers coincidences too startling to ignore. Soon Ellie is digging into a legacy of money and murder dating back to WWII and the Holocaust. A masterful blend of politics, history and suspense, this novel is well worth reading despite an overly complicated plot. Ellie is an engaging amateur sleuth whose wisdom grows as she learns the hard way that "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." Readers will hope they won't have to wait too long for Ellie's return.
