The Finishing School CD [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Michele Martinez (Author), Anne Twomey (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2006

In a glittering penthouse high above Park Avenue, two beautiful teenagers, students at an exclusive Manhattan girls' school, lie dead under suspicious circumstances. Feeling pressure from the top to solve the high-profile case fast, Melanie breaks all the rules and goes undercover. Teamed with Dan O'Reilly, a hard-to-resist FBI agent with a talent for making her pulse race, Melanie embarks on a wild chase from the rarefied world of New York's elite private schools to the darkest recesses of the city's nightlife. And, ultimately, into a fight for her life against a devious killer who has no intention of getting caught.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A federal prosecutor and single mother, Melanie Vargas, the protagonist from Martinez's first book, Most Wanted, is back with some of the same characters, plus a handful of new ones who will not be easy to forget. Vargas is investigating the heroin overdose of two elite prep school girls and begins to suspect one overdose may be murder. As the plot unravels, Vargas takes the listener on a wild ride of hunches, risks and action. Broadway and television actress Anne Twomey does a superb job of performing all parts. She has a quiet, calm, determined voice, slightly reminiscent of Jane Fonda; crystal clear diction; and an knack for delivering convincing dialogue and believable accents. Her talents become particularly evident with Carmen Reyes, the mixed-up, and kidnapped, classmate of the girls, and with the sleazy and deadly nightclub tycoon, Jay Esposito, whose preferred lethal weapon is his set of golf clubs. The fear Twomey generates is palpable, as is the longing and desire felt by Vargas as she is partnered with her former crush, FBI Agent Dan O'Reilly.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

After hitting the ground running with her debut, Most Wanted (2005), Martinez doesn't slow down a bit in this successor. Sexy Latina prosecutor Melanie Vargas is back, clawing her way up the career ladder as an ambitious New York City prosecutor while at the same time yearning to spend quality time with her young daughter, Maya. When two teenage girls, students at ultraposh Miss Holbrooke's School, are found dead in a Park Avenue apartment, Melanie is assigned to the case--along with her former heartthrob, FBI agent Dan O'Reilly. Melanie begins closely investigating the school and everyone in it, much to the dismay of the administration. When it's discovered that the girls overdosed on heroine that they may have been transporting in their stomachs, Melanie realizes they're dealing with a highly dangerous situation. Martinez generates plenty of suspense while painting a vivid picture of Manhattan life and exposing the underbelly of an elite prep school. Melanie's fiery love scenes with Dan add heady romance to an already intoxicating brew. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperAudio; Abridged edition (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060759801
• ISBN-13: 978-0060759803
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,821,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STELLAR VOICE PERFORMANCE CAPTURING BOTH DANGER AND DESIRE, January 15, 2006

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Finishing School CD (Audio CD)

Both beautiful and tough, federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas grew up in Manhattan. This is her town. The neighborhood in which she spent her youth was rough, yet nothing prepared her for what she would find when she goes undercover to track a cunning murderer.

It all begins when her pager goes off at 2:00 a.m. She picks up to hear orders from her boss, Bernadette DeFelice, chief of the Major Crimes Unit of the New York City U.S. Attorney's Office. This is a woman who gives Melanie "agita under the best of circumstances." Agita is mild for what is soon to come.

Two very wealthy girls have been found dead in the Park Avenue apartment of James Seward, a Wall Street dynamo who is running for the Senate. One of the dead is Seward's stepdaughter, the other a classmate from an exclusive school. It's the week before Christmas, and it looks like the girls have OD'd on heroin. Melanie's orders are to find the drug supplier immediately and not to mess with Seward who has many friends in high places.

Add to the mix Carmen Reyes, the building superintendent's daughter who is missing. Seward is all too eager to name her as the supplier. Melanie isn't buying all of this but she's going to have to risk her life in order to prove it.

Of course, there's romance in the handsome hunk form of FBI agent Dan O'Reilly.

Martinez peoples her story with chilling characters, especially Jay Esposito, a night club mogul who "gave off criminal charisma like musk."

Broadway and television actress Anne Twomey delivers a stellar voice performance, perfectly capturing the danger Melanie faces and the desire she feels for Dan.

- Gail Cooke

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, edgy suspense and smoldering romance, January 22, 2006

By 

N. Larrabee (Tarrytown, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Finishing School: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Melanie Vargas struggles with the demands of being a single mother and a federal prosecutor. She gets a call one morning at 2 a.m. that two girls attending a swanky girl's school in Manhattan, have died from apparent drug overdoses. Melanie is relentless in her dogged pursuit of the myriad of details pertaining to this case. A third girl remains missing and Melanie does not want to give up on her. The cast of supporting characters in this novel are intriguing and deserve your full attention. FBI agent Dan O'Reilly is back on the case, and does not want to give up on Melanie. They have electrifying chemistry when they are together. A guaranteed page turner!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mystery and suspence, February 24, 2006

By 

William Spalter (Hamden, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Finishing School: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

What is unique about this book is its authenticity. Nothing is contrived and everything is well researched. A finely written mystery.