Customer Reviews

Conviction: A Mystery

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In 1994 Elise Title was still writing Harlequin Romances. In 1996 she turned a page and penned ROMEO, a chilling psychosexual thriller that readers still find riveting. Then, a few years later, she published what would be the first in a new series starring Natalie (Nat) Price. CONVICTION is the third offering in that series.

Price is a savvy law enforcement officer, employed by the state of Massachusetts as the superintendent of Horizon House, a halfway house for prisoners. But when Jessica Asher, a call girl with a high society clientele, is murdered, a tsunami-like scandal breaks in the wake of her death. The tidal wave of public slander could reach into the secret lives of a coterie of powerful men who comprise the movers and shakers in Boston's hoi polloi.

Nat's boss is the Deputy Police Commissioner who liaises between the Corrections Department and the Parole Board. He is a married man and the father of two sons, who Asher was blackmailing. When he emerges as "the suspect most likely," the head of the Department of Corrections wants Natalie to investigate. Could Asher have had her hooks into others with deep pockets and trysts to hide? The only way to find out is to enter her world.

So it won't surprise readers when Natalie goes undercover as a call girl. Adorned in a wig, draped in designer clothes and "faking it" with a padded bra, Price enters Jessica Asher's dangerous playground. Her sleuthing takes her to some of the darkest spots in Boston's vice-ridden underbelly. Things move quickly in this shadowy place, and Natalie has little time to reflect upon how ironic it is that her life is in danger for a man she doesn't even like.

Title is still honing her skills as a writer of police procedurals and has not entirely reprised her startling performance in ROMEO. CONVICTION has its share of melodrama, which emerges when her hero faces a clearly unplanned and unwanted pregnancy; when she becomes involved in an imbroglio of wills with a female colleague; and when she puts the two Carlyle sons, one a disabled man and the other a thug, directly in the line of the investigation into their father's seamy love life. On the debit side, Natalie Price is a compassionate woman and a good law enforcement officer who has her priorities in order. She displays a strong penchant for fairness and getting things done. These qualities work to define her, and if the series continues, she should become even more finely limned.

Elise Title has the ability to write and to tell a story. Both ROMEO and CONVICTION are proof of that and attest to the fact that she also has talent and imagination. With a bit more honing and perhaps a return to more complicated plots, she has a good chance of winning an audience of mystery readers who expect interesting stories, fully believable characters, a fast-paced narrative and sophisticated prose. This book is a perfect beach/vacation read, and in her next appearance, Natalie Price hopefully will appear in full blossom.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

I loved this book. Conviction is a magnificent mystery, never a dull moment, so intriguing I couldn't put it down till the end. Nat Price is such a cool character to follow. Can't wait for the next book in the series!

Excellent read. Enticing characters and engaging story that keeps you turning the page. I missed the first two in Elise's series, so I'm looking forward to catching up on her other works as well!

Deputy Commissioner Stephen R. Carlyle, the liaison between the Corrections Department and the Parole Board, is a married man with two sons. He uses the services of a high priced call girl Genevieve. Pictures of them having sex are sent to his office and Carlyle knows blackmail will follow. Soon after he receives the pictures, Genevieve, according to a witness, deliberately is run over.

Evidence points to Carlyle who is brought in for questioning. The head of Corrections, Commissioner Miller wants Natalie to watch the questioning because he's afraid the department will be smeared if word gets out. He also wants Natalie to investigate to see if there is another viable suspect. Natalie, the superintendent of Horizon House,. a halfway house, doesn't like her boss Carlyle but she doesn't think he's a killer. She tries to find the madam of the call girl ring so she can apply for the job, but the woman proves elusive to locate. Soon Natalie concludes that the participants are very high placed in the political arena forcing her to wade through a lot of muck to get at the truth. The irony is she places herself at risk from a killer for a man she doesn't even like.

Many of Boston's power brokers and elected officials are guilty of some crime or use the services of a prostitute, making the heroine's job of finding a killer very difficult because all the suspects have more political clout than she does. Natalie also is pregnant and doesn't know who the father is which adds even more depth to her and this police procedural. Elise Title's exciting crime thriller places her in the big leagues with such dark urban gritty authors like James Patterson and John Connelly.

Harriet Klausner

When was the last time you truly cared about a character in a book you were reading? I did, during the past week, as I was reading Elise Title's Conviction. Natalie Price, a superintendent of a Massachusetts prison halfway house, is a fully developed character about whom we care enough to take her into our heads and really think about, even when we are not reading. The plot is carefully crafted, and we want to read even faster than usual. The relationships between the characters are subtly nuanced, backed by the author's instincts and training as a psychotherapist. We can experience Nat's morning sickness even as she goes abut her exhausting days attempting to solve the murder of a Boston socialite who alo happens to be a very special call girl. We are there, in the midst of it all, and have the final satisfaction of "solving the case"! Read it!

Yet again, Elise Title riveted me to her pages. A prolific writer who continues to surprise me. If you haven't picked up one of her books you're missing out.

Tired of standard chic lit? Then grab Conviction and meet Natalie Price. Take your beach reading to a new level with this fantastic blend of mystery, murder, and sex.

Elise Title has taken her fantastic Natalie Price mystery series to new heights with this latest installment. Works great as a stand-alone but if you haven't read the first two, KILLING TIME and INSIDE OUT, grab them in paperback so you can get the full experience.

CONVICTION is smart, sexy, and a hell of a good mystery that proves a female protagonist can be tough without immitating men.