An excess of puzzles burdens this first mystery, which includes some likable characters, a hard-to-credit serial killer and a partially redeeming final twist. Sabina Shaw is a management consultant hired to design a business plan for the Riverview, Wis., Times, newly acquired by media mogul Matthew Drum. Drum, who is dating Sabina's mother, comes from an egregiously dysfunctional family: he despises his father and his son, while they, supportive of each other, hate him. The murder of a young woman, whose body is found with a cryptic note, challenges the Times policy of giving no media attention to serial killers, who, the editor believes, kill for the attention. Escalating threats from the killer, more murders, complicated business and family dynamics and not-so-complicated Internet practices lead Sabina towards partial conclusions. She's able to close the circle when she solves a fourth murder. Exhibiting too little focus but lots of spirit, Schulenburg's debut shows considerable promise.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"... this is a solid read with a good mix of action and mental machinations." -- Ilene Cooper, Booklist, April 15, 1998
"A crisp, entertaining and thought-provoking novel." -- Scavenger's Newsletter, No. 183, May 1999
"I heartily recommend Murder Off The Record to all my fellow mystery fans." -- Jean Pearenboom, Green Bay Press-Gazette, 6/21/98
Fledgling management consultant Sabina (rhymes with Carolina) Shaw gets her first assignment doing some strategic planning for a small-town newspaper in Wisconsin. The Riverview Times has just been taken over by Matthew Drum, ruler of a modest corporate empire and gentleman friend to Sabina's mother, Peg. As if that doesn't make Sabina uncomfortable enough, Ed Fountain, the newspaper's editor, wants her immediate support on a new policy of "civic journalism"-a news black-out of any manifesto or other communication offered to the media by a murderer who kills for fame.Fountain, whose daughter was killed in a random shooting by a deranged man with a mission, gets the backing of Sabina and Drum. The newspaper refuses to print a rhymed note found on the body of a woman killed at an apartment complex. Enraged, the murderer, dubbed "The Poet" by television news, escalates the killings, and vows that the murders will continue until his poems are published by the Riverview Times.The moral dilemma posed is intriguing. Does the newspaper staff give in to The Poet's demands in order to save other lives in the short run, or stand firm and let future fame-junkies know their deeds and names will not be glorified by the press? In her epigraph, the author quotes some (regrettably) famous murderers on their cravings for notoriety, and it is a chilling roster. However, momentum flags in the opening chapters, when back story and exposition detract from the urgency of the message.When the plot gets off the ground again, there are enough suspects, action scenes add twists to satisfy any murder mystery fan. The main characters, including Sabina and her "quirky new set of friends," are engaging, fully-realized individuals whom we want to know better in subsequent books in this series. Many of the scenes and conversations are downright riveting. I especially like the clever ways in which the writer puts what she knows about management consulting and corporate maneuverings into the service of the plot. -- From Independent Publisher
See all Editorial Reviews
