Sudden Exposure (A Jill Smith mystery) [Paperback]

Susan Dunlap (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 1997 | Series: A Jill Smith mystery

Berkeley cop Jill Smith is back in another adventure that could only occur in this brazen, eccentric town. Gym owner and former Olympic diver Bryn Wiley is in a turf war with sixties radical Sam Johnson, who owns a competing gym. When Bryn is shot, Sam is a prime suspect. Throughout her investigation into the naked truth, Jill is sidetracked by a band of nude citizens protesting the city        s new anti-nudity ordinance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Berkeley, Calif., police officer Jill Smith, last seen in Time Expired, turns in another absorbing performance in a case that blends the colorful eccentricities of Berkeley and the drab procedures of law enforcement. Squabbles between aging radical Sam Johnson and former Olympic diver Bryn Wiley leave Jill "feeling like a playground monitor." Sam says Bryn has cut a hole in his fence, while Bryn says Sam has shot holes in her car windshield and is trying to run her health club out of business. Ellen Waller, Bryn's live-in cousin and employee, whose contribution to their home decor is a refinished confessional booth, seems to rise above the ruckus. Then a gunner targets Bryn's car again, killing the person sitting in it. As Jill prods Bryn's neighbors for information, she notices that few of the people surrounding her are exactly what they seem and that one, if background checks are reliable, doesn't even exist. Gradually determining that there's no grudge like an old grudge, Jill provides a stable center that keeps the story on course while its many suspects, who range from odd and harmless to odd and deadly, spin along in their own orbits. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Dunlap's California Detective Jill Smith (Time Expired, LJ 5/1/93) finds murder among ex-Sixties radicals.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dell Publisher (February 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440215633
• ISBN-13: 978-0440215639
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,358,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is one author who keeps getting better and better, March 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Sudden Exposure (A Jill Smith mystery) (Paperback)

Jill Smith enjoys being a homicide detective in Berkley. However when Detective Jeffrey Buckner, who has return rights, comes back from another assignment, she is demoted back to the streets as a patrol officer. Jill resents Jeffrey's return just as he resents returning. While patrolling her beat, Jill sees a nude protester which is a violation of a local ordinance. Jill gives chase, but stops when former Olympian Bryn Wiley asks for her help. Bryn, a local heroine, claims that someone fired a shot at her car. ........ Jill begins to investigate Bryn's claims. The vehicle does have bullet hole in the window. Bryn believes that her aging hippie neighbor Sam Johnson is the culprit. As Jill looks deeper into the case, trying to figure out who is actually the culprit in this not so neighborly spat, Bryn disappears. Jill, realizing that this case could return her to homicide, digs deeper. However, the case is about long term hatreds that are never forgotten and sometimes leads to murder. Jill must set aside her personal agenda and solve the case before someone is actually killed. ........ SUDDEN EXPOSURE brilliantly and tenderly exposes the Berkley counterculture in a humorous who-done-it. Jill is a great police officer/detective, who in her ninth entry, remains one of the best female characters in a continuing mystery series. This reviewer enjoys all of Susan Dunlap's novels (including her other two series: O'Shaunessy and Haskell) and strongly recommends them to anyone who enjoys a quirky female detective surrounded by eccentric heroes and antiheroes (especially the latter). Exposure to Ms. Dunlap's works is good for one's health. ........Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay book., November 30, 2009

By 

C. Eaves (Maryville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sudden Exposure (A Jill Smith mystery) (Paperback)

The writing is not awkward, and the plot is alright. That is to say I haven't figured out who done it yet.
I haven't finished the book, but I'm losing patience with Berkeley already. Unless you do live or have lived in Berkely you may not like to rehash the politics of every character through the years or read fictional accounts of constant political turmoil in every neighborhood. I'm hesitating to say it's overdone (unless I just did), but the book seems to be more about Berkeley than the characters. Perhaps Berkeley really is that politically obsessed, but surely not in the 2000s.
I like Jill Smith but can't say much about the other characters, since they're rather sketchy to me.
Alright, I'll say it. I don't really like the book. Still, it's not horrible, so there you have it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Berkeley Remains in the 1960's, February 27, 2009

By 

Bonnie Brody "Book Lover and Knitter" (Port St. Lucie, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sudden Exposure (A Jill Smith mystery) (Paperback)

Berkeley homicide detective Jill Smith investigates a murder in a truly Bezerkeley fashion. This book is peopled with a wide array of 1960's radicals, Telegraph Avenue freaks, and lots of hippies.

I foud this book readable and fun. It brought back fond memories. I recommend it for plane, beach, or vacation.