Dead Air (Sammy Greene Thrillers) [Hardcover]

Deborah Shlian (Author), Linda Reid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2009

Talk is cheap, but when this radio host takes action, she may pay the ultimate price. An outspoken, brash, native New Yorker, Sammy Greene isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers at Ellsford University, her ultraconservative New England college. Host of "The Hot Line", a talk-radio show on campus station WELL, Sammy tackles the toughest, most controversial issues facing Ellsford's students. When Sammy discovers the body of Dr. Burton Conrad, one of Ellsford's most esteemed professors, her journalistic drive kicks in and she sets out to discover what happened to the beloved professor. But when several Ellsford students mysteriously disappear, Sammy realizes she's uncovered the seamy, terrifying underbelly of this prestigious institute of higher education. With the entire campus in peril, and demons from her past close behind, Sammy Greene must race to find answers. Along the way, she'll discover some unlikely allies-and even more unlikely enemies. If Sammy isn't careful, someone is going to make sure that she signs off-for good.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Vermont in the mid-1990s, this uneven thriller from physicians Shlian (Rabbit in the Moon with Joel Shlian) and Reid (Where Angels Fear to Tread) addresses some important medical ethics issues. Sammy Greene, a communications major at Ellsford University, loves hosting her controversial radio show about campus events, such as an animal rights protest by a conservative Christian group. When the crusading student journalist pursues a scoop about the suspicious suicides of some Ellsford University students and faculty members (a genetics professor blows his brains out after Sammy attempts to interview him), Sammy whirls into Nancy Drew hyperdrive. The at times far-fetched plot leads to a pharmaceutical institute using unsuspecting students as guinea pigs. Readers should be prepared for a cartoonish bad guy. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This likable mystery, set in 1995, stars Sammy Greene, a “freckle-faced” communications major at a conservative college. She also hosts a daily talk show on the campus radio station, encouraging callers to discuss subjects that might be a bit outré for the mainstream. When she discovers that a professor has been murdered, she picks up the scent of real journalism and decides to investigate. But she doesn’t count on exposing the dark side of the college in the process. The authors have created a series-worthy heroine who has plenty of room to grow. Fans of light mysteries with a hard edge will enjoy this one. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oceanview Pub; First Edition edition (December 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933515503
• ISBN-13: 978-1933515502
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great first novel, November 13, 2009

By 

Judson T. Hanson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Air (Sammy Greene Thrillers) (Hardcover)

Meet Samantha "Sammy" Greene, a young college co-ed at conservative Ellsford College in New England. She's the host "The Hot Line," a call-in show on the school's radio station, WELL. No topic is off limit for this show and Sammy has rubbed more than a few faculty and staff the wrong way when following a story. After finding the body of Dr. Burton Conrad, she decides she to dig deeper after the police conclude he committed suicide. Then one student supposedly commits suicide and another is supposedly sent home with chicken pox but never arrives. Sammy realizes the two students are connected by the fact that they were seen by the same doctor at student health services, Dr. Palmer and that he performs research at a very secretive on-campus facility. Complicating the investigation is the Youth Crusade led by Rev. Taft, who has been holding rallies and accusing the Ellsford Administration of promoting immorality and a mysterious fire which destroys the radio station. Sammy senses something sinister is going on in the halls at Ellsford but doesn't realize the person behind it all will kill to protect his secret. Can Sammy uncover the secret before she before her next broadcast becomes her last?

"Dead Air" by authors Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid, is a fantastic novel that introduces Sammy Greene as the host of WELL's "The Hot Line" and a dogged reporter. "Dead Air" grabbed my attention from the word "go" and I dreaded putting it down to sleep and go to work. It's a fast moving novel but by no means tedious. The character development was excellent: the young, enthusiastic co-ed, the good looking boy friend, the reluctant radio station manager and the mysterious doctor. A definite plus about the book is that it's not full of medical terms which only a med student would understand. There are enough of them to make a realistic novel but not so many that you get lost. I see excellent potential for future Sammy Greene novels and it is with great pleasure that I give this book 5 out 5 stars.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched medical thriller, June 20, 2010

By 

Betty Gelean "nightreader" (Smithers, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Air (Sammy Greene Thrillers) (Hardcover)

A rash of student suicides has hit the campus of Ellsford University! What can be the cause? Sammy Greene is determined to get to the bottom of things as a reporter and talk-show host for W.E.L.L., the campus radio station. She is tough, dedicated, and prone to exclamations in Yiddish, a result of being raised by her traditional grandmother. She plans a Memorial show for the most recent, a young man with a great future ahead, a talented musician and composer, and homosexual.

Interviews with professors, students, and friends trigger some questions as to whether these suicides are what they seem. A fanatical religious group, with an overly zealous leader preaching, anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-corporate funding of research, she begins to investigate the group as possibly responsible for the "suicides".

Having left her purse at the home of her biology professor during an interview, she returns the next morning to retrieve it, and the tape from her interview. When she arrives, Sammy discovers Professor Conrad is dead from a self-inflicted bullet. Another seemingly unrelated suicide? But why then did his mentor commit suicide in the same manner with the same gun 3 years before? Retrieving her purse, she realizes that it was running until it ran out, and possibly there will be some evidence on it.

Thus begins Sammy's thrill-ride as she battles against all comers including the police chief, her boyfriend, the Dean, other professors, and the Reverend Taft. No one will listen to her, and all warn her to leave it alone, they are satisfied with the suicide theory. Even Professor Conrad had tried to warn her off. If he was going to commit suicide, why the warning?

This story is fast-paced, factual in many ways, researched thoroughly by the authors who are well-versed in their subject. The suspense is high and the action continuous with little snippets of humor to ease the tension. Suspicions take sidetracks throwing Sammy and Campus Police Chief Pappajohn off course several times. Danger lurks everywhere. She is not even sure she trusts Pappajohn. Now, two students are missing. What is the connection?

A strong story and very current, the dangers in the world of today as we lose control of who owns what in business, what conglomerate is supporting life-saving research, this is a medical thriller that satisfies. When Sammy's missing tape is located after a suspicious fire destroys the radio station, answers start flowing thick and fast and in several directions. Everyone seems to suspect the wrong person(s). The race heats up all through the book, to a heart-stopping climax.

Both authors have written thrillers before. Both are in the field of health care and research. This is the first collaborative story by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid, and the first introduction of Sammy Greene, which appears to me to be the beginning of a series. If so, I will be watching for the next episode!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a winner, January 10, 2010

By 

B. Hale "katznbooks" (Boston Ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Air (Sammy Greene Thrillers) (Hardcover)

Dead Air is a complete mystery thriller. I couldn't put it down and kept reading and turning pages. Medical thrillers are a favorite of mine but this one in a college setting was especially good because there were so many possibilities as to whodunit. I hope Sammy Greene with her occasional yiddish observations and bulldog tenacity will be with us for a long time.