Murder Online [Paperback]

Beth Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2000

Frankfurt Award Nominee!

EPPIE Award Finalist--Best Suspense!

A young woman is strangled to death, then raped afterward by a man she is thought, by Chicago detectives, to have met online. And she did correspond with him; however, she had met him in person first.

In an effort to track down her daughter's killer, Claire Jenson delves into internet chat rooms, using her dead daughter's identity. But when Claire begins talking to the killer online and he threatens her, she has no idea who he is--or where he is.

But he knows exactly how to find her...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A marvelously provocative tale that only gets better with each page as Ms. Anderson guides her readers down a fiendishly twisted path into the deviant realm of cybersex. Pure excitement, this compelling mystery is a perfect blend of electrifying suspense, gritty realism and richly imagined prose that will satisfy the most discriminating mystery fans."—Melissa Bradley, Rendezvous Review Magazine

"Beth Anderson's first-rate, sometimes chilling tale is a classic murder mystery brought into the twenty-first century. It is an intricate police thriller that takes you into the dark and dangerous side of the cyberworld. Anderson's writing, smooth as polished glass, grabbed me from word one and didn't let go till the very end. This story contains all the elements of an excellent mystery, one I highly recommend."—Janice Wagner, All About Murder

"Murder Online baffles, puzzles, and leads the reader on a merry chase—one that never fails to keep the pages turning at a rapid pace."—Patricia White, Crescent Blues

"Beth Anderson, author of the highly acclaimed Night Sounds, offers to her fans a literary piece which is sure to be dubbed: the Cyber-Mystery of the millennium."—J.B. Scott, Sharpwriter

"Murder Online has it all—a great plot taken right out of today's headlines, enough suspects to keep a reader guessing, fair and plentiful clues, and a little bit of romance to add an extra fillip."—Monette Draper, AB Reviews --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Beth Anderson is a graduate of Illinois Benedictine College, where she majored in Business Administration. She is now the full-time author known as Hotclue on the Internet; her website is: http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com. Beth has guest-lectured at Purdue University, appeared on WGN Radio in Chicago, ABC Evening News, and has been featured in newspaper articles local and nationwide. Her books include: DIAMONDS, Leisure Books; ALL THAT GLITTERS, Ivy Books; COUNT ON ME, Harlequin Superromance, 2002 EPPIE fnalist and Frankfurt Award nominee NIGHT SOUNDS, 2001 EPPIE finalist and Frankfurt Award nominee MURDER ONLINE. Both of the last two books will be re-released by Amber Quill Press in print and e-book April, 2003. Her latest completed novel, award-winning SECOND GENERATION, is published in print and e-book by Amber Quill Press. Beth livesin a Chicago, Illinois suburb with her husband and three cats. Her hobby is collecting porcelain dolls. Right now she's working on THE SCOUTMASTER'S WIFE, a murder mystery which takes place in Valdez, Alaska. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Clocktower Books (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743300688
• ISBN-13: 978-0743300681
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,151,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chicago area crimewriter Beth Anderson is the author of seven published novels. Her first book, a romance built around a corporate mystery, caused her to move rapidly into mainstream mystery/thrillers, where she subsequently sold six of them.

Two of her books have been nominated for the International Frankfurt Award. Two were EPPIE finalists in their e-book incarnations. Her bestselling release, SECOND GENERATION, won the AllAboutMurder Bloody Dagger Award, the Rendezvous Review Magazine Rosebud Award, and the FMAM (Futures Magazine) Fire to Fly Award.

Beth started writing when she attempted a screenplay for a radio show at age eight. She could barely spell, much less write a script, but she already knew she was going to become a writer someday. At twelve she began a lucrative but short career writing love stories for her junior high girlfriends for a dollar apiece. That caper ended shortly after the principal got wind of it. She tried again a little later with Womens Day Magazine, where she finalled with a short story contest with her Halloween story of a widower with three young sons and a divorcee with a head cold, making progress at last.

After she married and raised four children, and while working as an accountant in a large corporation, she attended Illinois Benedictine College, where she earned a cum laude degree in business management. Soon after that she began writing novels part-time while working full-time. Her first full-length novel, a Harlequin Superromance titled COUNT ON ME, was followed by ALL THAT GLITTERS, Ballantine/Ivy, and DIAMONDS, Dorchester/Leisure. Those were eventually followed by three more novels published by Amber Quill Press-NIGHT SOUNDS, MURDER ONLINE, and her bestselling award-winning political thriller, SECOND GENERATION.

She has completed her seventh novel, RAVEN TALKS BACK, a mainstream thriller, this time taking place in the haunting fishing village of Valdez, Alaska, where she spent months researching her novel, and contracted with Krill Press, who has published it in print, Kindle, and Nook, May, 2011. There will be two more books in this Raven Morressey series.

Beth lives in a Chicago suburb. Her children, Rick, Beth Lyn, Barb and Debbie, are scattered here and there across the U.S.

An accomplished public speaker, Beth has lectured at many writers' conferences, Purdue University, Moraine Valley College, numerous bookstores and libraries, and has been active in the Literacy movement. She has been featured on the ABC Evening News and Chicago WGN's Cathy and Judy Show, as well as other local and cable television shows. Her website, including lectures on writing and her blog is at: http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com

She is always available for speaking engagements and can be contacted at: [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Murder Mystery, February 13, 2005

By 

Natalie Smothers (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Online (Paperback)

Someone has murdered Claire Jensen's youngest daughter, and it may be someone she met in an Internet Chat Room. There are three separate men she had been talking to online and more than three people around her with compelling motives. Before long, Clair gets wrapped up in the case when she tries to find her daughter's chat partners, and it's up to Detective Marty Slade to sift the clues and figure out which of them killed True before he makes mother like daughter!

Beth Anderson has written an eerily realistic and enormously satisfying mystery about the dangers that lurk in the corners of the World Wide Web, and let me tell you they're a lot creepier than any old spider!

The mystery element is solid, with just the right amount of clues and suspects to keep the reader guessing at every turn and a dash of romance tossed in for good measure. Through it all, Anderson keeps it realistic and even makes her characters thoroughly irritating at times, which ultimately makes them more likeable.

Ultimately, the ending is one that you don't expect and makes you hungry for more of Anderson's work. Murder Online just serves as one more reason to turn away from the tired storylines of mainstream mystery and seek small pubbed authors post haste!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder Online will be impossible to forget, September 3, 2001

By 

Susan Hartigan (Riverside, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Online (Paperback)

Claire Jenson had just lost her husband a year earlier, and was trying to cope with that loss, when she receives a phone call saying that her youngest daughter, True, has been murdered in Chicago. How is she going to cope with this? How is she going to tell her other daughter? How are they going to make it through this together?

Detective Marty Slade is assigned the case, and he takes it personally. True had not only been murdered, but unspeakable things had happened to her. He has to get this monster off the streets now. Unfortunately, through a totally chilling source, he later finds out this monster inhabits the chat rooms on the web, and it isn't going to be easy to find him.

Not only are there three different suspects, there is also absolutely no cooperation coming forth from the local police. Add to these problems, Claire has determined that the police aren't working fast enough, and so she decides that she can find this killer faster herself. She is going to find him, no matter what. And she isn't going to listen to Marty, or to anyone else.

Ms. Anderson has written a story that will scare you to death. This could very well be a true crime story, as it is happening each, and everyday in the world today. This book will carry you right through, from page one to the last page with chills running down your spine, and your stomach lurching for your throat. At the same time you can't put it down. You have to know what is happening.

Ms. Anderson has captured the real world of the chat rooms. Do you ever really know who you are talking to? Are they really who they portray themselves to be, or are they cruising the Internet looking for their next victim? And are you going to be that victim?

If you do become that person's victim, how are the authorities ever going to find out who harmed you?

This is a very real, and very chilling story of what can, and does go on in the world of the chat rooms. I can't recommend enough that everyone read this wonderfully, written book. But don't read it with the lights down low, because you will be scared to death. And in this case that isn't all bad.

Ms. Anderson has captured an ugly side of the Internet so realistically, but at the same time has woven a wonderful story around it, so well that it will be difficult (no impossible) to forget. And, in my opinion, no one ever should.

And that takes real talent, which Ms. Anderson definitely has. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of 'Murder Online' today, and get ready for the ride of your life. You will be very happy you did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling story of what could become reality., August 28, 2001

By 

Stacey Bucholz (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Online (Paperback)

Claire Jenson is the victim of loss. Just a year has passed since she lost her dear husband to a sudden death. Now she has to deal with the murder of her darling daughter True. Only this time she will not sit by and idly except it. Claire is fighting mad at fate and the person who took her daughters life. Heading the investigation in Chicago, where her daughter was murdered, is Sergeant Detective Martin Slade. He doesn't have much to go on but he vows to find True's killer when he meets Claire. Something about her touches him deeply and he doesn't want to let her down. Claire decides to help the police whether they want her to or not. Through a series of leads she realizes that the murderer got to her daughter through the internet. She is bound and determined to flush him out into the open and bring her daughters murderer to justice. In the process she puts her own life on the line. Beth Anderson has written a chilling story of what could happen so very easily in real life. She will make you face the truth. How much do we really know about the people we talk to every day on the internet? Are they who they really tell us they are? Are they serial killers or perverts cruising the net for their next victim? MURDER ON LINE is so cleverly written that you won't know who to trust or when the next threat will pop up on Claire's computer. The lineup of characters that are on line are so deceptive you have no idea if they are the friends they claim to be. And when you meet them the first thing you will want to do is take a shower. They are that creepy! I can't recommend MURDER ON LINE enough. It's a fast paced and intelligent book. One thing you will definitely get from it is that not everything is what it seems to be when you are on line.