Joyce Krieg, Slip Cue

Slip Cue

Joyce Krieg

Dunne. Jul 2004, $23.95, 288 pp.

ISBN: 0312327366

On her Sacrament based TNA (talk, news and attitude) radio show, Shauna J. Bogart has college flunky Josh Friedman report that former seventies rock star turn TV sitcom mom turn alleged killer Jasmine escaped from the custody of the Monterrey County Sheriff's Department. Drugs, murder, and music sell so Jasmine is back in the news accused of killing her lover DJ Johnny Venture, who overdosed in her bed. Apparently armed men stopped the bus transporting Jasmine between her cell and the court enabling the former star and three other prisoners to escape.

Shauna J. takes callers especially from Salinas, the Monterrey County seat so her listeners can gain insight into Jasmine. Most of the people who claim a connection furbish mostly nothing, but some intriguing items surface including a connection to Shauna's mom. However, as clues pile in, Shauna J. ventures closer to the truth, but soon finds herself up against a rising tide that most likely will prove as fatal to the TNA star as the drug overdose did to Venture.

The second "Talk Radio" mystery (see MURDER OFF MIKE ) is a fabulous tale as the heroine uses her show to solve the Venture homicide and to track down Jasmine, a seemingly elusive butterfly without meeting at the Casbah. The story line moves rather quickly because Shauna J. keeps her callers and her sleuthing at a fast pace. She is the star of the show (at least this novel) filled with attitude that hooks the audience, especially readers who will expect an encore.

Harriet Klausner