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Medusa

Name: Medusa
Author: Skye Moody
ISBN: 9780312266783

by Skye Moody

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Overview

Strange things are happening in Washington State's beautiful Elliott Bay, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife's star agent Venus Diamond is on medical leave after being shot in the line of duty. At least, she is until her family needs her help: A bratty young girl, Pearl Pederson, goes overboard and drowns while yachting with her brother, Henry, and their well-to-do next-door neighbor, Tim Diamond. Tim claims he saw a huge, tentacled arm come out of the water to sweep the child to her doom, but Henry swears Tim pushed her, so twelve-year-old Tim is charged with murder. Venus knows her brother is innocent, but also knows she'll have a devil of a time proving it.

Days pass, and speculation abounds until Pearl's body washes ashore, full of puncture wounds and looking very much like the victim of some strange sea creature. It's just the first in a string of similar events, and before long the whole city of Seattle is abuzz with the possibility of a sea monster in Elliott Bay.

Venus Diamond knows there must be a more logical explanation for the killings, however, and sets out to find out what's happening, including looking into some strange goings on at the Elliott Bay Marina. She'll need all her environmental expertise to find the elusive connections. Medusa is another intriguing, quirky Pacific Northwest mystery full of the environmental relevance and appealing characters Skye Moody's fans love.

About the Author, Skye Moody

Skye Kathleen Moody, a writer, photographer, and former East African bush guide, lives in Seattle, Washington, where she was born. This is her sixth Venus Diamond mystery, following most recently K Falls.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

In Moody's hugely overwrought sixth outing for Venus Diamond (after 2001's K Falls), the undercover agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finds herself in strange waters. Rather than the environmental crimes she usually tackles, Venus has to help her teenage brother, Tim, accused of murdering a friend, Pearl Pederson, who drowned while they were playing pirates on Tim's mother's yacht. Venus is close to Tim, but even she finds it hard to believe his story-that a giant jellyfish grabbed Pearl and dragged her under. New plot lines come thick and fast. Kidnapping, child pornography, car smuggling, Russian mobsters who like to cut off victims' hands, computer hackers, Chinese drugs made from poached animal organs and sold on the black market, a dangerous toxin for biological warfare ready to be shopped to the highest bidder, a ticking bomb, a midair gun battle in helicopters, an underwater knife fight, plus one old romance, one new romance and the assorted family crazies-there are enough story elements here for at least three novels. Moody's plots have always been thick and dense; this one is way over the top. It also lacks the depth provided in earlier books by thought-provoking presentations of serious environmental issues. Without that, this Medusa strangles itself on the myriad muddled plot threads. Most fans will beg Venus to get back into the wilderness where she belongs. (Aug. 4) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

"Venus Diamond is gutsy, and truly original — a rare gem."(Janet Evanovich, author of To the Nines)

Library Journal

U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent Venus Diamond investigates a weird murder allegedly committed by her teenaged brother Tim. Supposedly he pushed a friend overboard, but the girl's body is discovered later bearing the marks of some unknown sea creature. Venus looks for a reasonable explanation. For series fans. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water, a jellyfish the size of Brooklyn appears. Did Tim Diamond really see his nine-year-old neighbor, the bratty Pearl, drown while clasped in the tentacles of a sea monster, or is her brother Henry to blame? No matter: Henry disappears, and Tim is taken into custody. His sister Venus, a Fish and Wildlife agent (K Falls, 2001, etc.), believes him, sort of, and soon finds herself smack in the middle of a Russian car-smuggling ring whose members think nothing of chopping off right hands; a childnapping and debauching scheme; and a romantic liaison between her movie-star mom's mega-mogul neighbor, Nils Pederson, and the wily Cherry, a scientist determined to produce the world's most virulent toxin for fun and profit. Meanwhile, ships are being blown up port and starboard, a protection racket is menacing local businesses, more kids are dying, a few people besides Tim are scared witless by that supersized jellyfish, and Venus must turn to an elderly Chinese for help in corralling greedy terrorists. Everything but the kitchen sink-an abstemious departure for Moody, who usually throws that in too.