Shot

Lynn Hightower

Sit back and enjoy the intrigue. Siler's new novel, Shot, is riveting storytelling.

Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

Siler has written a sizzling nail-biter, ratcheting up the suspense with each page, keeping the reader guessing during the entire tension-filled trip.

Publishers Weekly

Silers third novel continues in the vein of Iced, a kind of light feminista mystery. Lucy Greene, living in the small Colorado town in which she grew up, knows that she is unhappy (despite the pool, the cars, the house), but is unable to break free of the suburban mold. After husband Carls accidental death, she is mired in depression. A not-so-random break-in and the strange demands of Bioflux, Carls biotech employers, lead Lucy to the burning question asked by so many amateur sleuths: What if it wasnt an accident? Aiding in her search for the truth are Kevin Burns, disgraced journalist and Lucys old flame, and Darcy Williams, an ex-con protecting her junkie sister. This task force of three ferrets out a secret that (as the novels version of Deep Throat says) is bad shit. Deep and high. Youre gonna make some powerful enemies if youre not careful. Bioflux is responsible in some way for several biological phenomena dating from 1970 (when U.S. germ warfare was officially banned), among them the neural tube disorders that killed Lucys child, Gulf War syndrome and a strange and fatal illness that ravaged the Colorado prison system in the 1990s. Equipped with quirky characters, a quicksilver plot and chase scenes aplenty (especially when the government becomes involved), this novel makes up in spunk what it lacks in credibility. The biological weapons angle is patently unbelievable, as is the survival of this shaky triumvirate as they simultaneously challenge big business and government. In the real world theyd be dead in ditches or rotting in prison, but in Silers dirty but redeemable universe, everyone ends up on higher ground. Agents, Nat Sobel and Judith Weber. Author tour. (Sept. 3) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Three years ago, Siler burst onto the scene with her first novel, the thriller Easy Money, which was followed in 2001 with Iced. Readers who have waited anxiously for her latest will not be disappointed. After Lucy Greene's husband, Carl, dies in a car accident while on a business trip, someone breaks into their house, turning Carl's study upside down and causing her to question the cause of his death. Lucy also discovers that a few days before his death Carl had contacted Kevin, her old high-school sweetheart and a recently disgraced reporter. Lucy's quest to piece together the puzzle results in a frantic, nail-biting journey. Accompanied by Kevin and an ex-convict named Darcy, she is chased by someone hired to kill her before she discovers the truth. Like Siler's previous heroines, Allie Kerry and Meg Gardner, Lucy is a smart, strong, easily likeable character. This tightly woven suspense novel is recommended for all popular fiction collections. - Nanci Milone Hil, Lucius Beebe Memorial Lib., Wakefield, MA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Siler (Iced, 2001, etc.) introduces another tough but tender protagonist, this one determined to uncover the truth behind her spouse's death. Lucy Greene's hangover stems from booze, pills, grief, and the nagging belief that her husband Carl wasn't killed in an auto accident, as the police report concluded. Lucy remembers how skillfully Carl navigated ice-covered roads at home in Colorado. So how, she wonders, could he crash his car on a rainy night just outside Seattle? Former friend and investigative television reporter Kevin Burns feeds her suspicions. Just before Carl died, he'd phoned Kevin, eager to hand him a major story that had to be discussed in person. Carl's work at Bioflux Corporation now seems the place to dig for answers. But first someone rifles Carl's home office late at night, scattering the files; then, after he's retrieved Carl's Bioflux files, researcher Craig Weldon turns up shot in the head. Ostensibly, Biolflux did immune-system research, but clues suggest that the firm pursued darker matters: Lucy's brother Chick suffers from Gulf War Syndrome, and Lucy and Carl's infant son died of severe birth defects. Kevin and Lucy start tracking down the firm's board members for answers, a pursuit ultimately leading to Seattle. Joining them is a prison inmate on probation-her warden is also desperate to get Carl's data. On the track of the unlikely but canny trio is a hired gunman with orders to take them out. Untying the knots in the case, Lucy and Kevin, once lovers, try doing the same with their lives. They're luckier with the case. The final scene fades on the two of them, alone and apart on a dark Christmas Eve. Aside from a credibility-challenging hostage scene at theend, Siler hits her marks with quick, fast takes packed with telling clues and sharp details. Authour tour