“First in a new mystery series about a failing news writer who exposes enormous inequities between community haves and havenots, and the chaos, malice, and moral disconnect of social privilege and power. Kies tells a taut, fastpaced tale, imbuing each character with memorable, compelling traits that help readers connect with them. …those who enjoy J. A. Jance’s Beaumont series or Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone mysteries will appreciate Geneva Chase.”
Jen Baker, Booklist
… Kies’ fiction debut lays the groundwork for an entertaining series.
Kirkus
Reporter Geneva Chase has written hundreds of stories, but what brings her back to Sheffield, CT, and her hometown newspaper, isn’t a news piece, it’s her alcoholism. Yet this may be her chance at professional redemption, as she investigates one of the most grisly murder scenes of her career. Probing the brutal slaughter of six people at an exclusive gated community, the intrepid journalist also uncovers all kinds of secrets, from a young man whose father bribes a judge to let him off on a hit-and-run charge to a swingers’ club. At the same time, Geneva also tries to hide her drinking problem from the newsroom. A chance encounter at an alcoholics anonymous meeting will change her life, but not before it’s jeopardized by her connecting the dots and tracking down a vicious killer. VERDICT Kies’s debut mystery introduces a reporter with a compelling voice, a damaged woman who recounts her own bittersweet story as she hunts down clues. This suspenseful story will appeal to readers who enjoy hard-nosed investigative reporters such as Brad Parks’s Carter Ross.
STARRED REVIEW, Library Journal
It’s a crime scene straight out of a nightmare, six bodies found naked and cut to ribbons. Reporter Geneva Chase works for a small town paper on the verge of folding, and she’s just inches away from ending her career in shame. An alcoholic who has blown more stories than she’s published, this may be her last chance to save her dying career. When her story is picked up by the AP, Geneva believes she may actually have a chance of resurrecting her career and her life. Now is she can just stay away from the booze and her married lover and not piss off a killer, she might just get a second chance. Gritty, snarky and scary.
For the Love of Books