When Day Breaks [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Jane Clark (Author), Isabel Keating (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008

When Constance Young, the undisputed star of morning television, is found dead at the bottom of her swimming pool, her colleague Eliza Blake is shocked. Determined to discover who wanted Constance out of the way—and why—she enlists the aid of three coworkers: Annabelle Murphy, who can switch from producing to sleuthing at a moment's notice; cameraman extraordinaire B.J. D'Elia to add brains, brawn, and a much-needed male perspective to the team; and Dr. Margo Gonzalez, on-air psychiatrist, who understands the complex puzzles of the human mind. Calling themselves the "Sunrise Suspense Society," they set out to get to the bottom of the heinous murder, in a case that will test their ingenuity and their courage to the very limits.

The only sure thing is that Constance Young made a lot of enemies—and now one of them is Eliza's enemy as well. And the closer she and the Society get to unmasking the murderer, the less chance they have of making it through each night alive . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Clark, a CBS News writer and producer for many years, does only a superficial job of portraying the behind-the-scenes backstabbing and intrigue at a major network in this first of a new series, a sequel of sorts to her KEY News thrillers (Lights Out Tonight, etc.). When Constance Young, a Katie Couric–like mega–news star, is found dead in her pool, New York evening news anchor Eliza Blake, producer Annabelle Murphy and cameraman B.J. D'Elia join forces with psychiatrist Margo Gonzalez to investigate. Young died on the eve of her debut as morning host on a rival network, and her selfish, abrasive personality made her many enemies, ranging from her former boss to a nerdy millionaire who stole a rare Arthurian ivory figurine in an effort to win her heart. Others have evoked this world more convincingly, notably the late Bill DeAndrea in his Matt Cobb series, and the sleuths miss an obvious clue that any six-year-old could have figured out, as one character concedes at the end.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Just as Constance Young was set to make the leap from the KEY network's national morning show to their competition, she is found dead at the bottom of her pool. Suspects abound: her sister, Faith, a stay-at-home mom who was caring for their ailing mother without much help from the very wealthy Constance; Boyd, her assistant at KEY who was the whipping boy for many degrading requests; Stuart, the spurned boyfriend who risked everything to treat Constance as his queen; Linus, the head of KEY News, who had molded Constance into the cheery morning host adored by millions, only to be betrayed by her leaving; Annabelle and D. J., her producer and cameraman, who put up with countless complaints about everything they did; Lauren, the new girl in town set to take over for Constance; and even Eliza, the beloved doyenne of the network, who had no tolerance for Constance's prima donna posturing. Clark knows this territory well, both as a best-selling author of formulaic but always readable mysteries and as a writer and producer for CBS News. For fans of light mysteries, the combination of network-news melodrama and a frothy whodunit plot should prove irresistible. Wilkens, Mary Frances --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Reprint edition (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061286087
• ISBN-13: 978-0061286087
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Jane Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels: 12 KEY News media thrillers and 2 Piper Donovan/Wedding Cake Mysteries. A former writer and producer at CBS News in New York City, Clark is the daughter of an FBI agent and mother of two. She lives in Florida and New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific suspense story of life and politics in the TV news world., August 29, 2007

By 

Valerie Matteson "Bookaholic" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Day Breaks: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

This is an exciting suspense thriller in Mary Jane Clark's series of books set in the "KEY TV" network world. There is "KEY to America," a morning show, and "KEY Evening Headlines," a nightly news show just for starters and the competition is fierce. The events happen over a week's time span in May.

The story opens in a Manhattan animal shelter where an unknown person is intent on getting a dog, a large dog that is roughly 112 pounds. The attendant there convinces the stranger to take a Great Dane named Marco who was well-trained by his previous owner who had to move and couldn't take him with him. The new owner takes the dog far out in the country to Constance Young's get-away country home and convinces the dog to play fetch with a rubber ball and, as the dog gets muddy, throws a ball in the pool so the dog follows it. As Marco is swimming in the pool he sees something big and shiny thrown in the pool by his new owner. It is a toaster connected by an orange outdoor cord and the dog dies. This is a very scary prologue to the mystery and murder that is about to start and gives us insight into the murderer's character. This killer not only hates enough to kill a lovely dog that never hurt anyone but is also ready to take a human being's life, as well.

Constance Young took over the show "KEY to America" after Eliza Blake went to anchor "KEY Evening Headlines." Constance became the "undisputed star of morning television" and was now quitting "KEY to America" and moving to the competition. At KEY News, co-workers and bosses alike have mixed feelings about Constance's new job as it either makes their job easier or much harder. Her replacement at "KEY to America" is going to be a young woman who is friend/lover to the producer. Constance enjoys her farewell show and luncheon and heads to her country house to relax before taking her new job. The next morning, Constance is found by her housekeeper; drowned in her pool. While it looks like an accident at first, the coroner and other evidence found by police soon lead to the conclusion that she was murdered.

As Eliza Blake and her friends at KEY begin to investigate the murder on their own, the suspect list gets longer and longer and the danger to Eliza and her friends come closer and closer to home.

Full of great plot twists and turns, this is a suspenseful and enjoyable read. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars best book, February 22, 2008

By 

Stacey M. Potter "book Fein" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Day Breaks: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed the book and find it interesting how the stories seem to come from the news with their own little twist to them. There's always twists and turns and just when you think you know who it is something happens to send you in a different direction.

4.0 out of 5 stars When Day Breaks, February 21, 2008

By 

Linda S. Denny "linddnn" (Louisville, Ky USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Day Breaks (Sunrise Suspense Society) (Kindle Edition)

Enjoy all works by Mary Jane Clark. Wish a full list of her titles were available for Kindle.