From Publishers Weekly Ripped from yesterday's headlines, the plot of this assured first novel concerns a compelling and beautiful child of 10 who is murdered in a "locked-room" mystery set in Westport, Conn. Calista McQuade is a star from the beginning, adored and pushed by her strong but driven mother, Melanie; loved from a distance by her damaged journalist father, Tom; and both loved and hated by her older brother, Jared. After the murder, at Jared's request, Melanie's sister, Alexis, is reconciled with the family after a rupture caused by her affair with Tom. But can the troubled and bulimic Lex even help herself? And whom can she trust? Suspicion centers on the family and 12-year-old Jared in particular. Lex employs her considerable detective skills as a documentary filmmaker to discover anything that might help her nephew. There are other possibilities: the McQuades' wealthy friend Courtney and Courtney's husband, Calista's coach, Vin; their maid, Tonya. But the police are looking no further than the family, and Lex knows Jared's time is running out. The lurid subject is ripe for exploitation, but Slate handles it deftly, rounding her characters so that the reader can hear their ragged breathing. While the plot has a few more twists than may be good for it, the narrative is cohesive and suspenseful throughout, establishing Slade as a promising writer in the psychological suspense genre. Agent, Loretta Barrett. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Estranged from her family, documentary filmmaker Lex Cavanaugh is pleased to get an e-mail from nephew JaredDuntil she reads it and discovers that his ten-year-old sister has been murdered. With everyone in the family under suspicion, Lex must rush in and protect Jared. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
