- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Available on NOOK devices and apps
Need a NOOK? Explore Now
Need a NOOK? Explore Now
C.J. is an expert at spinning her clients’ image in the media—the perfect lawyer to deflect suspicion from Rick Slater, head of security for an influential U.S. congressman. A beautiful model has vanished from a party on Miami Beach, and Slater was the last person seen with her. C.J. has reasons to dislike the congressman, but if she takes this case he can arrange a host position for her on a major news outlet. For a woman who grew up dirt-poor, with a past she would rather forget, the celebrity life has its appeal.
The story of Alana Martin’s disappearance soon sets off a media frenzy. Reporters and paparazzi hound everyone connected to the case, and C.J. must work fast before they uncover her own secrets, too.
When Rick Slater tells her that a friend of Alana’s could be his alibi witness, C.J. realizes the girl is someone she knows: Kylie Willis, a seventeen-year-old runaway from the same north Florida town where C.J. was born. The problem is, Kylie won’t talk. As C.J. digs into the case, she finds connections between Alana and a group of investors in a project on environmentally sensitive land. One of them is the elusive architect Milo Cahill, one of C.J.’s own VIP clients, who may be bribing the congressman. Another is C.J.’s lover, Miami Beach socialite Billy Medina. But when C.J. asks Billy for information, he brushes her off. She wonders if she’s been foolish about Billy. Or is the problem just her growing attraction to her client Rick?
Then Alana Martin is found—dead. Her body washes up on a beach late one night, and the coroner says it was murder. The police have evidence against Slater. C.J. is slammed between the media and the need to defend a client she doesn’t trust. She must find Kylie Willis. The girl could save Rick Slater—but she might also reveal a devastating secret, one that could destroy C.J.’s career, and even, her life.
Expert Miami lawyer C.J. Dunn battles to protect the image of a powerful security agent for a well-known congressman with the hope of striking it rich in the process. However, when the body of a key witness is found, Dunn must battle to save not only the success she so desires but her life as well. Elizabeth Rodgers gives a moderately commanding performance with her sturdy, unwavering bass tone. Sadly, she walks a fine line between reality and absurdity; her poorly realized Southern accent is as phony and cartoonish as Yosemite Sam. The performance is too slowly paced to salvage the story as Rodgers tends to putt about the prose as if struggling for perfection. A Vanguard Press hardcover (Reviews, May 5). (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.This was a fascinating thriller. Different story line, with lots of plot twists and turns. Characters were interesting too. Good read!
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Using a fake ID, high school aged teen Kylie Ann Willis attends a party at the affluent South Beach, Florida estate of Billy Medina. Drunk and unable to find her ride, model Alana Martin is accosted by two men. However, a man claiming to be security rescues her and takes her to her Miami apartment.--------------- Architect Milo Cahill asks celebrity attorney CJ Dunn to defend Rick Slater, the chauffer to Congressman Paul Shelby accused of driving off with the since missing Alana from Medina¿s party although Billy is her boyfriend CJ accepts the case. As she and her private investigator Judy Mazzio work the defense that is now a capital case since Alana¿s corpse came to shore, CJ realizes that her friend¿s adopted daughter Kylie Ann is Rick¿s alibi. However, the teen is missing and her client refuses to mention his witness while the lawyer wonders why the Congressman has hired her to represent an employee who has worked for him for only a few months.------------------ Filled with twists on both a personal and professional level, THE DARK OF DAY is an exciting suspense thriller more than a legal tale in spite of the lead couple¿s initial professional relationship. Although the romance feels more obligatory, the story line is action-packed from the onset as the spins and revelations keep on coming making Barbara Parker¿s tale an engaging read.------------------ Harriet Klausner
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.C.J. Dunn, a successful Miami lawyer, finds herself caught up in more than she bargained for when she takes on the case of a congressman's chauffeur faced with a murder charge. Dirty politics, smooth-talking thugs, pornography, and lots of people with lots of secrets all come into play to complicate the case. C.J., her recovery from alcoholism on very shaky ground, has a secret of her own, which she is forced to come to terms with before the story ends. An absorbing tale set in the tropical heat of South Florida.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 28, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted December 24, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
New York Times bestselling author Barbara Parker introduces one of the most unforgettable female characters in suspense fiction: high-profile Miami defense attorney C.J. Dunn.C.J. is an expert at spinning her clients’ image in the media—the perfect lawyer to deflect suspicion from Rick Slater, head of security for an influential U.S. congressman. A beautiful model has vanished from a party on Miami Beach, and Slater was the last person seen with her. C.J. has reasons to dislike the congressman, but if she takes this case he can arrange a host position for her on a major news outlet. For a woman who grew up dirt-poor, with a past she would rather forget,...