AN IMAGE OF DEATH
An Ellie Foreman Mystery
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
“A powerful tale… Hellmann is adept at welding technical information to strong characters… Foreman’s pluck and grit married to Hellmann’s solid storytelling should win a growing audience… “ —Publishers Weekly
“Not only has Hellmann created a compelling group of believable characters, but the mystery she places them in is likewise plausible and engrossing. An Image of Death is highly recommended, even if you don't live in Illinois…” —Chicago Sun-Times
“As she did in her first two books in this strong series, Hellmann makes sure that images captured on video play an important part in the action. And she balances Foreman's personal life…with her complicated, dangerous frontstory…” —Chicago Tribune
“A chilling subject matter, intriguing psychological suspense, and disturbing Eastern European connections …” —Library Journal
Who knew that a career in video documentaries could lead to crime? Such is the fate of Chicago’s Ellie Foreman whose shoots hook her up with misdeeds past and present. Here she is producing a video about foster children that’s being financed by a successful Chicago real estate developer. Her plans get thrown for a loop when a mysterious package appears at her door one winter night. Inside she finds a surveillance video showing the murder of a young woman. Who was this woman and what is her connection to Ellie?
The cops shunt her aside, but the urgency she feels to find answers, coupled with her professional knowledge of film, compel her to sleuth despite the difficulties borne from a complex history with her lover, David. A little digging reveals that the murder victim was a courier with a dark history forged in Eastern Europe at the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse. And a little more digging reveals dark happenings here at home, money laundering, and the deadly price of dealing in diamonds...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Chicago filmmaker Ellie Foreman specializes in video documentaries, but her career has a way of sliding into harrowing murder investigations, as it does in this powerful tale, the third in the series after last year's A Picture of Guilt. Foreman's receipt of a hand-delivered, unmarked surveillance videotape, apparently showing the cold-blooded murder of a young woman, ensures she gets involved in the police hunt for the woman's killer, if only at the fringes. At the same time, Foreman is filming a documentary for wealthy mover-and-shaker Ricki Feldman, a lady in a position to throw money and opportunities Foreman's way opportunities that have their own dangers. When the police run out of leads in the murder case, Foreman shifts into high gear and uncovers a web of deceit connected to the break-up of the Soviet Union and the ensuing chaos and crime. Hellmann is adept at welding technical information about film-making, diamond cutting and other arcane subjects to strong characters. With her somewhat disreputable past, Foreman comes across as a complex and flawed heroine, who grapples with issues as large as murder and as mundane as an overdue visit to her father. Foreman's pluck and grit married to Hellmann's solid storytelling should win a growing audience. FYI:Berkley Prime Crime will release the mass-market edition almost simultaneously.
Customer Reviews
Meet Georgia Davis in an Ellie Forman book.
I love Libby Fischer Hellman, but had not read this particular volume until recently. I'm glad I went back to find out how the Georgia Davis character, now a series of its own, got started. I would definitely recommend this book. Ellie Forman is not perfect, but she is smart. So is Georgia Davis. I love reading about women who are smart yet vulnerable. This is another enjoyable read in a great series.