Joyce Krieg Riding Gain

Riding Gain

Joyce Krieg

St. Martin's, Nov 2005, $24.95

ISBN: 0312327382

Sacramento talk show radio host Shauna J. Bogart is stunned by the first caller of the day, who apparently is Richie Snelling, who spent eighteen months as a guest of Lompoc and was her prom date and "sponsor at the highs school AV club. However, that blast from the past is nothing to what long time traffic reporter celebrity Captain Mike broadcasts as he watches the cops chase someone who apparently killed someone else. The dead man is Travis Ikeda-Nyland, a former intern at the station; arrested for his murder is Marketus Wilson in what the cops claim is a meth deal that turned ugly.

Marketus' grandma claims her grandson is innocent and Shauna has a difficult time accepting that Travis was involved in a drug deal though she knows he had problems and was a user. Shauna J is unable to sit idly by while Travis' name is dragged through the mud and wanting to help the grandma; she begins to investigate not realizing that her case and the return of Richie into her life will merge at the corner of electronic surveillance and security.

The third talk radio mystery is an intriguing amateur sleuth tale. Readers will appreciate Shauna J. as she struggles with the new psychic at the station, her high school mate seemingly calling in hinting at his identity, and proving the prime suspect is innocent though he ran from the cops. Adding interest is the outsourcing of Captain Mike even though he is a legend. The three subplots come together in a delightful story line that is fun to follow and will send readers looking for Shauna J's back list (see SLIP CUE and MURDER OFF MIKE).

Harriet Klausner