Electric City [Mass Market Paperback]

K.K. Beck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1995

A mousy, secretive researcher at a news-clipping service who recently won $20,000 on "Jeopardy!" is missing. Who is Irene March?

That's the answer (in the form of a question) facing investigator Jane da Silva, who can collect on her eccentric uncle's vast legacy only when she solves a mystery that's stumped everyone else. When Jane places a large "Have you seen this woman?" ad in the Seattle paper, she gets intriguing responses from a rodeo queen, a dying child, and a disgraced church deacon... leads that send Jane east of the Cascades.

By the time she gets to Electric City, the site of more violence, she realizes that Irene March's placid exterior shielded a cunning, even ruthless soul. And a deadly dangerous game that could have people asking, "Who killed Jane da Silva?"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A reluctant Seattle sleuth must solve the murder of an employee at a news clipping service who's been supplementing her income with blackmail.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446403504
• ISBN-13: 978-0446403504
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,142,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite of the Jane DaSilva series, August 24, 2008

By 

alpha_grrl (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Electric City (Mass Market Paperback)

"Electric City" was an enjoyable read for me. I've enjoyed all of K.K. Beck's series about this character, but the atmosphere and setting in "Electric City" are my favorite to date.

The main premise of the Jane DaSilva series is that Jane, a widowed ex-pat American living in Europe and supporting herself as a torch singer returns to her home-town Seattle to accept a bequest from a rich uncle. But the bequest has some monster strings attached. Jane has to become a "righter of wrongs" as her uncle before her had anonymously done. And she has to do it to the satisfaction of the board of the private foundation appointed by her uncle before his death. If Jane finds and helps people who can't be helped any other way and the board approves what she has done, she gets a more than comfortable income and home from the foundation. If not, Jane is back to making her living as a lounge singer.

In "Electric City" we start by learning about a group of downtrodden employees of a newspaper clipping service, one of whom has disappeared shortly after winning $20,000 on Jeopardy. Jane tries to help find the missing Irene which has her traveling all over the state of Washington to places the vehicle-less Irene had visited for no apparent reason.

The mystery in "Electric City" is a very good one, well conceived and character driven. Jane is likeable and the atmosphere of the book pulled me in. The characters Jane meets are very realistic and dimensional. A good book and a good series. I hope the author writes more.