From Publishers Weekly
Benson University's growing reputation as "Suicide U" is on the minds of police and campus officials, gathered again at the scenic North Creek Gorge near Gabriel, N.Y. Alex Bernier, a 25-year-old reporter for the Gabriel Monitor, is shocked when she realizes that the body at the bottom of the gorge is that of her police reporter boyfriend, Adam Ellroy. Convinced that Adam would not have committed suicideAand increasingly suspicious that his work on numerous controversial stories (including a gay-bashing crime and his investigation of a previous jumper) may have angered someoneAAlex enlists the help of her co-workers and breaks open the case, uncovering a 50-year-old campus scandal and placing herself directly in the path of a murderer. Debut author Saulnier, herself a reporter, intersperses the witty dialogue and Gen-X narrative with Monitor staff articles, adding credibility and charm to Alex's task of assembling clues into tangible evidence. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
From Booklist
Alex Bernier is a reporter for the
Gabriel Monitor in upstate New York. She enjoys her life and work, but she's especially happy that her boyfriend, Adam, has returned from California and even seems ready to commit. But when Adam's body is found at the bottom of a gorge following what looks like a suicide jump, Alex is understandably distraught. She is convinced he wouldn't have killed himself. The alternative is that someone killed him--but who and why? Naturally, she launches her own investigation. The trail takes her to another suicide, a series of mysterious deaths, a gay bashing, illegal experiments, a nuclear accident, and long-hidden secrets dating back to World War II. Saulnier writes with a breezy freshness that's fun and appealing, and her heroine is fast talking, irreverent, and wholly likable. The story does take a long time to unfold, and there are numerous characters and subplots that seem unnecessary to the main plot. Overall, though, this is an entertaining, enjoyable read for mystery fans who enjoy small-town settings and female sleuths.
Emily MeltonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
