Poison Pen (A Claudia Rose Mystery) [Paperback]

Sheila Lowe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2007

Forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose uses her wide range of experience when her old friend-turned-enemy, Lindsey Alexander, is found dead in her penthouse hot tub There's suspicion that the suicide note found near Lindsey’s body is a fake, and that her death was no suicide. While Claudia searches for clues by analyzing the suicide note, a late-night phone call summons her to the Wilshire Boulevard penthouse where Lindsey died. She arrives to find her business partner brutally beaten, a computer drive clutched in his hand. Claudia soon finds that the Police Detective investigating the attack has nothing but contempt for handwriting analysis. But before long, he's impressed by Claudia's insights. She then uncovers information about the victim's secret side business, blackmail videotapes featuring the rich and powerful.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Suicide or murder? Only the graphologist knows for sure in this dynamite debut, the first in a new series, from forensic handwriting expert Lowe (Handwriting of the Famous and Infamous). When celebrity publicist Lindsey Alexander drowns in her hot tub at her L.A. penthouse apartment, Lindsey's business manager, Ivan Novak, hires handwriting analyst Claudia Rose to look into the authenticity of the block-printed note left at the scene. Ivan believes it was penned by a murderer, not a suicide victim. Claudia, who was once Lindsey's friend before being alienated by her pathologically malicious behavior, isn't surprised to learn that Lindsey liked to blackmail her famous clients by threatening to tarnish rather than shine their images. When hunky LAPD detective Joel Jovanic enters the investigation, the "grapho lady" and the cop make a hot team, in and out of the sheets. The author's large nonfiction fan base augurs well for the series. Author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Handwriting expert Claudia Rose is asked to analyze her old friend Lindsey Alexander's suicide note by Lindsey's associate, Ivan Novak. Although her death has officially been ruled a suicide, Novak doesn't think the flamboyant, self-centered Lindsey would have killed herself. When Claudia goes to Lindsey's penthouse to meet Ivan, she finds him dying, and his killer fleeing. She discovers a flash drive under Ivan's body and impulsively takes it. The flash drive reveals that Lindsey was involved in a kinky sex scam with numerous prominent citizens as clients. Claudia shares the information with the detective in charge, Joel Jovanic, with whom she is developing a romantic relationship. Although the occasional plot element strains credulity--Joel taking Claudia along on official interviews, for example--debut novelist Lowe wins readers over with her well-developed heroine and the wealth of fascinating detail on handwriting analysis. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Capital Crime Press (March 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977627608
• ISBN-13: 978-0977627608
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,899,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Like her Forensic Handwriting Mysteries series (Penguin/Obsidian) character, Claudia Rose, Sheila Lowe is a real-life court-qualified handwriting expert who testifies in a variety of handwriting-related cases. With more than forty years experience in the field of handwriting analysis, she holds a degree in psychology.

A frequent guest in the media when there are interesting handwritings to comment on, Sheila recently interviewed with Mike Taibbi of Dateline NBC, discussing the Clark Rockefeller case. She's the author of the internationally acclaimed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis, and Handwriting of the Famous & Infamous, and the award-winning Sheila Lowe's Handwriting Analyzer software(which is used around the world).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The handwriting is on the wall and it says: Good Read, March 20, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poison Pen (A Claudia Rose Mystery) (Paperback)

Lindsey Alexander is dead, presumably by her own hand. After all, she left a suicide note, in her own handwriting (printed in block letters), or did she? A number of people think the powerful publicist for the glitzy stars of Hollywood was murdered.

Claudia Rose, a handwriting expert, is retained by Ivan Novak to prove the suicide note was a fake. Claudia and her best friend Kelly have experienced Lindsey's cruelty numerous times in the past and neither woman wants anything to do with her--even if she's dead. But business is slow for Claudia, Kelly may be involved in the murder, and Ivan is persistent.

As Claudia searches for handwriting samples to compare to the unusual sample supposedly left by Lindsey, she inadvertently learns of the darker side of her former friend's life. If Claudia doesn't learn what really happened to Lindsey, she might lose her own life. She joins forces with police detective Joel Jovanic and their relationship soon goes beyond solving the crime.

Sheila Lowe, author of Poison Pen, has written a fast-paced, crisp and gritty novel that penetrates the world of celebrity and the dark appetites of those who live in that world.

Lowe's plot is intriguing and incorporates her intimate knowledge of handwriting analysis. The characters are richly drawn and complex. Claudia is tough, yet vulnerable and immensely likeable.

Sheila Lowe is a handwriting analyst who has authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis and Handwriting of the Famous & Infamous. Lowe was recently involved with the Jon-Benet Ramsey/John Mark Karr case.

Armchair Interviews says: Sheila Lowe's Poison Pen is highly recommended and proof that good mysteries are being published by small houses.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Well Do You Know Anybody?, October 21, 2007

By 

Gayle Bartos-Pool - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Poison Pen (A Claudia Rose Mystery) (Paperback)

Sheila Lowe keeps you guessing to the very end whether Lindsey Alexander killed herself or was murdered. There are enough good reasons it could be either that you have to race to the end to find out. There are lots of suspects. Lindsey wasn't exactly a rose.

And then there's Claudia Rose, the hero of the piece. She knew Lindsey, maybe too well, then again, maybe not at all. When this onion has been completely peeled, Claudia knows a lot more about everyone around her, as well as herself.

But the coolest things threading through the entire book are all the insights into people through their handwriting. Lowe is a professional handwriting expert and she knows her stuff. Maybe too well. Watch out. You might learn a few things about yourself.

And be careful how many keys you carry.

This was a fast and exciting read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poison Pen, April 11, 2007

By 

M. Clare Harper (Healdsburg, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Poison Pen (A Claudia Rose Mystery) (Paperback)

What a delight it was to read this book! I ordered it because I am an avid mystery reader but, also, have studied graphology and have been a medical writer. To read such a well-written first mystery book was indeed a pleasure for me, and I hope that Sheila Lowe will be considered for a first mystery book award, as her book is every bit as good, if not better, than those I have read in that category. I have enjoyed her graphology books as well.