A Picture of Guilt (Ellie Foreman Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Libby Fischer Hellmann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ellie Foreman Mysteries | Publication Date: May 31, 2003

The big news story in Chicago is the murder trial of Johnny Santoro, a dock worker whose girlfriend has been killed. Most Chicagoans are betting on a quick guilty verdict, but Ellie Foreman has doubts about
his complicity--Santoro is strangely familiar to her. Checking back to the outtakes of a video project in progress while the murder took place, Ellie finds evidence that could save Santoro from a lifetime
behind bars. It seems the perfect alibi, but the tape is compromised by radio interference and Santoro goes to jail. Almost immediately, Ellie's world begins to shift: a suspicious vehicle follows her, the Chicago mob shows up, and the FBI wants to question her. She doesn't have answers, but she has questions of her own about the radio transmissions. Everything indicates someone wants something from her, something bigger than the Santoro case. If only she could figure out what it is.... 'A Picture of Guilt' follows Ellie's debut in 'An Eye for Murder.'

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Hellman's fast-paced second Ellie Foreman mystery (after 2002's An Eye for Murder), the divorced mother and producer of documentaries and training films belatedly realizes that outtakes on one of her features may furnish an alibi for a Chicago dock worker about to go on trial for the brutal murder of his girlfriend. To her credit, her decision to come forward is reflexive, though she's unprepared for the battering she takes on the witness stand-or for the jury's rejection of her evidence. Ellie's good deed results in even more punishment when she begins to lose clients concerned that her disclosure of the footage evinces scruples in possible conflict with her duties to them. These professional difficulties prove to be secondary when she realizes that the bodies piling up are all connected with the murder trial. Ellie's detective skills consist of little more than intelligent persistence, coupled with luck. While the struggles with such people as her rebellious teenage daughter, her aging father and her dependable but overprotective boyfriend humanize her, their resolutions are all too predictable. The book's near-apocalyptic climax, yet another disaster averted by chance, reinforces the feeling that the well-meaning Ellie is out of her depth. The author might better serve her heroine by matching Ellie's limited abilities with a mystery of similar scope.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"In her second mystery, Hellmann demonstrates significant growth as a writer. This plot, with considerable current relevance, has major surprises and twists and a nicely developing protagonist. It is an enjoyable book, logical and well-plotted. The peripheral characters are carefully drawn and the subplot involving Foreman's relationships with her daughter and her male friends is engaging and logical. A Picture of Guilt is a fine novel, requiring very little suspension of disbelief, and it comes to a satisfying and surprising solution. Ellie Foreman is a woman of strong beliefs; she has an interesting teenage daughter, and is worth spending time with. Hellmann is an author to watch." Mystery Scene Magazine

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; First Edition edition (May 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590580737
• ISBN-13: 978-1590580738
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,711,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Midwest Book Revie- engaging and exciting read, August 2, 2003

By 

Laurel Johnson (Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Picture of Guilt (Ellie Foreman Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In this follow up to her award winning first novel, An Eye for Murder, Ms. Hellmann has surpassed herself. A Picture of Guilt was a fast, engaging, and exciting read. If you enjoyed the author's first novel, you will love this one.

Ellie Foreman is back, along with daughter Rachel and attentive lover David Linden. This time, the honest and uncompromising Ellie gets dragged into a botched murder investigation. As the plot unfolds, and potential witnesses turn up dead, Ellie's world goes haywire. She's stalked by thugs with Mafia and Tong connections, dogged by police and FBI. And that is the least of her worries. The more information she uncovers, the more dangerous her life becomes. The full picture, once it is revealed, goes beyond dangerous and frightening.

I don't want to give this plot away. The story was well-crafted and intense, exciting and enticing right up to the last page. Murder-mystery-suspense readers will love this one. It's a must read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I was disappointed because..., January 27, 2007

By 

Susan "loverofbooks" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Picture of Guilt (Ellie Foreman Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had just finished reading the first Ellie, loved it and got right into this one, only to feel "What happened here?" at the end of this book.
For a character like Ellie, who began with such a strong feeling of "doing the right thing", which was maintained throughout to the detriment of her relationship with David, to not even breath the name Santoro at the end of this book, left me speechless, left me looking to see if I inadvertently skipped a page, and ultimately I had to give it the three star rating above.

I'll try one more of these (only thru the library) and see if Ms. Hellmann picks up the ball and gets to the goal line...sorry about this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A roller-coaster ride of danger and thrills, July 22, 2003

By 

Deborah Turrell Atkinson (Honolulu, Hawaii USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Picture of Guilt (Ellie Foreman Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Review of A Picture of Guilt, by Libby Fischer Hellmann

I wish Ellie Foreman lived near me; she's the type of woman I'd like to have as a friend. Libby Fischer Hellmann writes terrific, layered characters with believable problems and authentically flawed ways of handling them. A reader can relate. Plus, I'd slam the phone down on her ex-husband, too.

Ellie gets on a roller-coaster of ride of danger and thrills in A Picture of Guilt when, in her forthright way, she defends a man that she is convinced couldn't be guilty of the crime of which he is accused. She has a picture of Johnnie Santoro, drugged-out and staggering, in the background of one of her commercial video projects for the Chicago water district. The tape is stamped with the time of the murder he allegedly committed.

Unfortunately, unexplained radio interference on the tape makes Ellie an easily discredited witness at the hands of a hardnosed prosecutor. Not long after the trial, Ellie's business takes a nosedive. No one wants to hire a loser, plus the economy has been in the tank. In addition, suspicious occurrences increase Ellie's worries about her own safety and that of her rebellious teen-aged daughter, Rachel.

Ellie's father, who is a wonderful character, and her lover, David, both warn Ellie to back away from the problem of proving Santoro's innocence. Even Ellie discovers that he's an aggressive, ill-connected, spurious character. But another young woman, a frightened one who came to Ellie for help, dies.

Thus Hellmann raises the level of suspense. Ellie recognizes that there is a much bigger reason behind Santoro's frame-up and she knows she is involved in a way that she can't ignore. Even if she wanted to, other people won't let her. With an informative and picturesque tour of the inner workings of Chicago's metropolitan water supply, Hellmann leads Ellie to the discovery of a horrific plot. You won't want to lay down A Picture of Guilt until the last page.