Web of Deceit
An Ella Marconi Mystery
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
Shortlisted for the 2013 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction
Often compared to Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell, prize-winning author Katherine Howell thrills readers in this gripping novel featuring a determined homicide detective and a team of emergency medics.
When frantic man refuses to leave the car that witnesses say he deliberately crashed, paramedics Jane and Alex think it's a desperate cry for help. But his paranoid claims that someone is out to get him only confirm official reports that he is delusional.
When he is indeed found dead in what looks like a suicide, Jane is uneasy: she remembers the raw terror in his eyes.
Detective Ella Marconi shares these doubts, which are compounded as the case becomes increasingly tangled. The victim's boss tries to commit suicide, a witness flees, and closer to home, a woman is attacked in front of Jane's house. Then Alex's daughter goes missing.
As Ella tries to add up the clues, the investigation is hampered by her budget-focused boss. Then, just when she thinks she's closing in, a shocking turn of events endangers more people, and Ella just may see the killer slip through her hands.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian author Howell (Frantic) makes her U.S. debut with her excellent sixth mystery in her series starring Sydney police detectives Ella Marconi and her partner, Murray Shakespeare. Ella and Murray follow an unusual case that starts when paramedics Jane Koutoufides and Alex Churchill assist at an accident. Marko Meixner seems to have deliberately crashed his car into a pole and refuses to come out. The paramedics eventually get him to the hospital, from which he soon leaves. The paramedics' next encounter with Marko is when his body is found mangled under a train. The detectives' investigation in the Sydney area uncovers that Marko's testimony as a witness in a murder case 17 years before may be involved. Meanwhile, Jane and Alex, as well as Ella and Murray, all have personal problems. For example, Alex's 14-year-old daughter, Mia, has suddenly become difficult and secretive. How the main characters balance the pressures and stresses of their professional and private lives further elevates the brisk plot.
