Risking It All [Paperback]

When Fran Varady is approached by Private Investigator Clarence Duke, she mistrusts him on instinct. But she can't ignore what he has to tell her. Her mother, Eva, who walked out on Fran when she was only seven years old, has hired Clarence to find her daughter. And for good reason. Eva is dying. Within days, Fran is reunited with the mother she hasn't seen for fifteen years, and is soon to lose again. But the biggest bombshell is still to come. Eva has another child - a daughter she gave up soon after her birth - and she wants Fran to find her. Matters aren't helped by the fact that slippery Clarence Duke seems intent on discovering what she's up to. But it's when he's found dead in his car outside Fran's home that the trouble really begins ...

Ann Granger has worked in British embassies in various parts of the world. She met her husband, who was also working for the British Embassy, in Prague and together they received postings to places as far apart as Munich and Lusaka. They are now permanently based in Oxfordshire.

This mystery/suspense novel is one of Granger's entertaining Fran Varady series, about a part-time actress in today's multicultural London, who has a habit of wandering into murderous situations. This one centers on Fran's discovery that she has a younger half-sister, of whom she knows nothing. Fran and her best friend, an English-Indian young man named Ganesh, are soon investigating a murder that is somehow related to Fran's search for her sibling. Kim Hicks handles the varied voices beautifully; both major and minor characters are consistently distinct individuals. Scenes of chaos, panic, seemingly certain violence, and interludes of calm are all conveyed convincingly. Readers will be hooked. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.