Kill the Messenger [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Daniels Squire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1989

DECEASED AUTHOR COMES BACK TO KILL THE MESSENGER Adultery, greed, blackmail, various disgruntled offspring, a few too many other women, a repressed secretary, and a jealous reporter. These are just a sampling of the motives and suspects in the murder of a philandering, outspoken publisher who is trying to keep his paper from the hands of eager buyers. With Kill the Messenger, the late Elizabeth Daniels Squire s classic-style mystery contains persistently far-flung evidence. The author, however, is on top of the story and keeps a reader guessing until the bitter end. A journalist and an avid mystery reader, Squire s experiences as a newspaper reporter provided the background for this, her first published mystery. Five Star Publications, Inc. is republishing this, along with Squire s complete Peaches Dann mystery sleuth series in the launching of their new Five Start Sleuth division. Squire was born into the newspaper business. Her grandfather, Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson, was a controversial editor and publisher. Although he was never murdered, he was often threatened. Her father, Jonathan Daniels, was press secretary for Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. Her husband C. B. Squire was a New York Times correspondent. After writing this initial mystery, she went on to write the soon to be re-released Peaches Dann mystery series, won the prestigious Agatha award, and was posthumously inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.

--This text refers to the Perfect Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Isaiah Justice, feisty editor and publisher of the crusading Southern newspaper The Defender , has been murdered, his favorite bourbon laced with cyanide. A network of suspicious events is quickly uncovered by Isaiah's energetic, fearless son Howard who, in this brisk and sometimes manic mystery, heads off in all directions to find the killer. Some signs point to the sinister Gemtrex Corporation, a mammoth newspaper chain with ties to the Mafia; Gemtrex has been making serious buyout attempts on The Defender . But other clues point to any number of vengeful local residents, insulted, injured or seduced by Isaiah over the years. Suspicion is even cast on Howard's chronically bickering siblings, all of whom had reasons to despise their strong-willed father. Howard, along with his father's former mistress, Suzanne, and Leroy, the paper's ambitious investigative reporter, spare no one in tracking down every lead--and eventually discover that Isaiah was being blackmailed over an obscure but potentially damaging incident buried in the past. Journalist and first-time novelist Squire pulls out all the stops and unleashes explosions, floods and unbridled passion in crafting a tale that, while leaving some ends loose, is forceful and engrossing.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Squire pulls out all the stops ... forceful... engrossing! --Publishers Weekly

...will surprise even a veteran armchair sleuth. --Fayetteville Observer-Times

... races to a conclusion that should surprise even the cleverest reader --Asheville Citizen-Times --This text refers to the Perfect Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 229 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (December 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312038542
• ISBN-13: 978-0312038540
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,543,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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