The Kill Fee (Van Womer, Laura) (Hardcover)

~ Laura Van Wormer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the fifth installment of Van Wormer's Sally Harrington series, attractive go-getter Sally narrates the latest adventures in her sensational life in a WASP-y, plucky first person. She's just gotten involved with Paul, a young policeman from a moneyed family who has moved all the way to Connecticut to be by her side while he attends law school; she's also conducting an intense flirtation with a married man. Meanwhile, she scores a million-dollar job as a national anchor at the New York TV station where she's executive producer, while her great-uncle Percy, who, at 84, is happily ensconced in a tony retirement community, has gotten his own mysterious property windfall. As Sally investigates her uncle's supposed new land outside Hillstone Falls, N.Y., she entangles herself in a dangerous organized crime land speculation scheme and attempted murder plot. As in previous adventures, such as The Last Lover, Sally becomes the prime suspect. The pace is fast and the writing efficient, moving from upper-crust gloss ("Alexandra is wearing a dark blue suit today, looking very very, if you know what I mean, complete with Tiffany pearl earrings") to gritty matter-of-fact ("I choke on the blood that is streaming down the back of my throat again and have to spit some more out") with ease. Although the book relies heavily on repackaged clich‚s of the American dream of wealth, prestige and fabulousness, Van Wormer supplies genuinely suspenseful moments, tasteful, deftly written love scenes and an ending that packs an emotional punch.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

TV journalist Sally Harrington's life is in disarray. Her young flame, California cop Paul McWilliams, has moved to Connecticut to go to law school. Her great-uncle has received a strange letter about an unknown legacy. A stalker is haunting her mother's house. Her boss's attractive married brother is visiting, and she's been offered her choice of two plum jobs at the network. To promote her upcoming gig as anchor of a morning news show, she agrees to be interviewed by a creepy former tabloid reporter, who ends up in critical condition after accompanying Sally on a trip to research the land supposedly left to her uncle. Van Wormer's fifth Sally Harrington novel is an entertaining combination of light romance and suspense. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mira; F edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551667444
• ISBN-13: 978-1551667447
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,824,729 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better, but not long enough!, November 12, 2003

By A Customer

Sally Harrington's life never has a dull moment, and this book is no exception!

The Kill Fee was by far better than Ms. Van Wormer's last two efforts, Trouble Becomes Her and The Bad Witness; however, I feel there were several opportunities missed:

1. There were enough story lines going on that this could have gone into the same level of scope, detail and content that Riverside Drive and West End have.

2. This book could have easily been twice as long (it is only 300 pages).

3. Again, too much focus on Sally's getting in trouble and messed up love life (the latter seeming forced and concocted for the sake of the storyline), which sacrificed the focus on her career finally taking off.

There were several loose ends left dangling, and now we'll just have to wait another year or two for the next book, which is disappointing after waiting over a year for this one!

Don't get me wrong, after the slow start, the story picked up quickly and it was a very engrossing read, but I was disappointed when the book left all those ends dangling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars engaging Harrington thriller, November 7, 2003

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In Castleford, Connecticut, octogenarian Percy Harrington gives a letter he received to his great niece Sally Harrington to check into. Apparently, somehow Percy owns some property in Hillstone Falls, New York and the Western Connecticut Land Trust Company wants to buy that land.

Sally's West Coast lover, former Hollywood cop Paul Fitzwilliam has transferred to the New Haven force to attend a nearby law school at night. Her boss at DBS News Alexandra Waring is angry and upset as the brass wants Sally to take over for the ailing pregnant Jessica Wright on the latter's talk show. Alexandra offers Sally less money, but a raise if she is willing to work the am news as co-anchor with Emmett Phelps. Sally excitedly accepts, as news is what she prefers to do.

Sally learns that her uncle's five acres are in the middle of a major industrial project that has Mafia backing. The mob comes after her to insure she remains silent and her uncle sells.

The fifth Harrington tale is an engaging thriller that is incredibly realistic especially the ending, but will put off idealistic fans of the series. Sally remains a strong intrepid heroine that has made her a favorite. Still, the story line starts a bit slow as the support players are brought into focus, but once Sally crosses the state line, the action never slows down until the final checkmate occurs.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an engaging feminine character that men can identify with as well as women, July 22, 2005

By	James Neville (Katy (Houston), TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Kill Fee (Sally Harrington Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

I just discovered the Sally Harrington novels and, with "Kill Fee", have caught up on all to date. These novels feature an engaging, independent, very feminine, very ambition-driven journalism/television writer/producer/"talent" named Sally Harrington. At first I thought each novel (there are 5 so far) would be an independent episode in Sally's life. But the stories build an accumulating overall story about how Sally gains increasing professional recognition and opportunities while (ahem) exploring what type of man she wants in her long-term love life and (very busy life!) simultaneously doing battle with bad guys in organized crime. The plots are intricate with some bad guys becoming good guys and vice versa.

There is plenty of action (sexual as well as fighting) and somehow in all of it there are repeating human touches that I MIGHT have called "chick lit" EXCEPT I'm a guy and I like the touches... for example, when characters talk about career choices, family etc.

So in today's culture I find Sally Harrington an engaging feminine character that men can identify with as well as women. She is successful in a profession where competence, ambition, and beauty are requisites just to get in the game.

My only complaint with "Kill Fee" is that I have to wait for the next installment, and having checked out Laura Van Wormer's web site, find that she's writing some OTHER book first. Well, I suppose I could read the OTHER things she's written, now that I discovered Sally...