Here is a thriller that combines the terror of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with the heroine worthy of Sue Grafton. When Kasey Riteman quits her job an d drives off into the nightime countryside, she becomes secret witness to the murder of a Nashville socialite. Fatal Gift is the first novel from a wizard of a natural-born storyteller--a can't miss bestseller.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Suppose you witnessed a crime, but had good reason to believe that if you called the police and told them what you saw your life would be in serious danger of ending very soon after? That's what happens to Kasey Riteman, the completely believable central character in this well-developed first thriller by a commercial photographer with a keen eye for character and detail. Kasey has lots of problems of her own, so when she stumbles on a murder her first impulse is to hide and hope the killer didn't spot her. Then her sense of justice takes over, tempered by justified fear. And when Kasey comes up with what seems like the perfect way to tip off the police without risking her neck, things go from bad to deadly very quickly. An impressive debut from a writer with a natural voice.
From Publishers Weekly
A plucky Nashville steakhouse waitress poses as a clairvoyant in order to track down the killer of a beautiful local socialite in this suspense novel debut, which is nearly sabotaged by overwriting and a slow beginning. Kasey Riteman, 28, is mired in early alcoholism, waking up all too often in strange beds with strange men. After she thwarts the sexual advances of her boss with a good kick and a giant can of green beans, she flees to the countryside, only to get stranded with a flat tire after nightfall. Alone and lost, she witnesses the rape and murder of a beautiful young woman celebrated for her associations with music stars and community leaders. Having identified the killer by his vanity license plate, yet seeking to avoid involvement as an official witness, Kasey concocts a history of past episodes of clairvoyance. Claiming she saw the victim's murder in a dream, she enlists the aid of an ambitious local female TV news anchor to help find the missing woman's body. When it is discovered that the victim had been taping bedroom conversations with her politically powerful lovers, and that several of the tapes are missing, Kasey is suspected by both the cops and the killer of knowing much more than she has let on. Though bogged down in the first half by unnecessary exposition and internal musings, the plot and the writing pick up in time, moving more surely toward an action-packed, if less than fully satisfying, resolution that has sequel written all over it. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; Doubleday Book Club featured alternate; Japanese rights to Kodansha; film rights to Grand Productions.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fatal Gift Delivers,
This review is from: Fatal Gift (Mass Market Paperback)
An unseen Kasey Riteman witnesses a brutal murder in the rural countryside surrounding Nashville. Kasey devises a plan to expose the murderer, without implicating herself as a witness, not wanting to prompt the killer (a cold-blooded deviant dubbed "Joeyboy") to seek revenge against her. She has a clever plan, but it quickly unravels in this intelligently written, fast-paced, suspensful mystery from H. Michael Frase.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A feminist-minded thriller descends into ho-hum romance,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fatal Gift (Hardcover)
FG started out interesting -- a unique, feminist protagonist whom Frase portrays with surprsing sympathy and insight. Too bad she gradually transforms into a bland, romance-genre heroine with no backbone. The Kasey at the beginning would have hated the Kasey at the end.
5.0 out of 5 stars
VERY EXCITING!!,
By
This review is from: Fatal Gift (Mass Market Paperback)
Some co-workers of mine purchased this book several years ago and read it aloud during their lunch hour. They would make comments that they couldn't wait until lunch time the following day to be able to read more, as the book kept them on the edge. After listening to them for several days, I ordered the book, and I could not put it down! The author's incredible imagination keeps the mystery going all the way to the end of the book, making it extremely unpredictable, which is crucial for a good mystery!! Great book -- highly recommend it. I am now reading Michael Frase's The Last Goodbye, which has been fantastic so far!
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