Graven Images [Paperback]

Jane Waterhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

When the body parts of a murder victim begin turning up in the lifelike sculptures of a celebrated artist, true crime author Garner Quinn thinks she knows the killer and gets a disturbing surprise. Reprint. AB. PW. LJ.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With her second thriller, Jane Waterhouse has gotten the kind of attention from reviewers and readers that it usually takes good writers five or six books to achieve--if they're lucky. This is a beautifully written and superbly plotted story about a true crime writer, Garner Quinn, who becomes dangerously involved in the ghoulish mystery of human body parts discovered inside the lifelike sculptures of a famous artist. Quinn is a marvelous creation: a tough-talking, compassionate person who will go to almost any length for a good story.

From Publishers Weekly

In Waterhouse's stylish, powerful tale of suspense (after Playing for Keeps), bestselling true-crime writer Garner Quinn takes a no-nonsense approach to life, slicing through the humdrum with well-placed zingers. In fact, one of this lady's more captivating characteristics is her bitchy sense of humor, expressed in asides scattered throughout her savvy, sometimes cynical narration. But Garner is credibly human, too?a divorcee who struggles to shield her teenaged daughter from society's monsters and who has never reconciled her ambivalent feelings toward her father, a celebrated lawyer. (Their estrangement was exacerbated when Garner's first book questioned the verdict in a murder trial in which he was the defense attorney.) Now Garner is disturbed by another verdict: a South Carolina farmboy thought to be a serial killer is pronounced not guilty. Reluctantly, she moves on to another case?and another book?about a sculptor whose life-sized works have been found to conceal human body parts. In a rip-roaring finale, Waterhouse ingeniously dovetails these crimes; and, in the meantime, her nuanced writing, fully realized characters and concern for human frailties add up to an absorbing read. Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured alternates.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425156737
• ISBN-13: 978-0425156735
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,329,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed it alot, March 13, 2000

By 

Greg Langan (Millville, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graven Images (Hardcover)

This is my first excursion into a Jane Waterhouse book. I found it to be a very satisfying read that kept me turning the pages. When the main character (Garner) is being "wrapped" by Dane, I felt like it was happening to me. The relationship with Garner and father was excellent, though unresolved as many relationships are...particularly with parents. I am looking forward to reading other Waterhouse mysteries.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed heroine tangles with a serial killer, February 3, 2004

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Graven Images (Hardcover)

As Waterhouse's story opens, narrator Garner Quinn, a forceful, driven and highly successful writer of true-crime books, is convinced of the innocence of a young farmboy accused of being a serial killer known as Holy Ghost. She champions his cause and works tirelessly to free him.

Once the young man is acquitted, Quinn, despite her promise to spend time with her teenage daughter, is immediately caught up in her next case. How can she help it when it concerns body parts found in the sculptures of Dane Blackmoor, a romantic enigma Quinn once cast as her father in lonely childhood fantasies? Is Blackmoor a killer? Is Quinn being stalked by the real Holy Ghost?

Although the plot takes several meandering turns, Waterhouse's writing is punchy and vivid, her flawed heroine skillfully depicted, and the ending pulls out all the stops, involving the forces of nature as well as the diabolical workings of a sadistic killer's mind.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Requires a lot of concentration., March 18, 2002

By 

"bibliofiend" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graven Images (Hardcover)

Although this is Waterhouse's second book, it is the first in her Garner Quinn series. The protagonist, Garner Quinn, is a well-known author who writes books about true-crime. It can a little difficult to follow sometimes, because Waterhouse jumps back and forth between Garner's past and present, a book Garner wrote about one of her father's clients (Garner's father is a well-known, well-respected lawyer), and two current storylines all being interwoven into one story. This book requires a good deal of concentration (and maybe even a little backtracking) to keep everything straight, but was overall very interesting.