Deadman's Switch | Barbara Seranella | Intriguing new series tragically cut too short

Deadman's Switch | Barbara Seranella | All the ingredients of a great mystery

books:

Deadman's Switch

	Deadman's Switch Barbara Seranella St. Martin's Minotaur, 2007 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

From the author of the acclaimed Munch Mancini crime novels comes a new mystery series featuring an appealing and resourceful sleuth.
Charlotte Lyon is a woman who can handle a crisis. She?s turned that talent into a lucrative business in crisis management, in which she supplies excellent, and often unusual, advice to suddenly troubled company heads about how to handle the press, shareholders, and the public. When necessary, she goes beyond the basic job description to discover the cause of the crisis itself, and whether it was an accident or not.
The job she has now is one of the latter. The mysterious derailment of a train has killed both the engineer and a famous movie actress. The disaster gets international attention and Charlotte is brought in to manage the heated situation. But Charlotte has her own demons to contend with---the recent death of her husband and a dangerously narcissistic mother. And the more she investigates, the more danger surrounds her. But no matter the threat, she will get to the bottom of this tragedy, or die trying.
Barbara Seranella, a unique and beloved voice in crime fiction, delivers a crafty puzzle and vivid, unforgettable characters in this first book of an exciting new series.

for more information click here

Intriguing new series tragically cut too short

I enjoyed reading from the late Ms. Seranella's Munch Mancini titles. Charlotte Lyon, the main character her new projected mystery series, is likewise a resilient, flawed, but sympathetic lady. Charlotte, 33 and a widow, operates a crisis management consultant business in California. She's good at what she does, and commands top dollar doing it.

In this case, Charlotte is hired by Sun Rail after their train derails under suspicious circumstances. During Charlotte's subsequent dogged investigation, we learn lots of cool details on trains and railroads. Interestingly, what emerges is Charlotte's forceful personality and her somewhat chaotic personal life.

Saddled with an OCD like TV's Adrian MONK, Charlotte learns to channel her energies and phobias to do good. She cultivates a budding romance with Todd Hannigan, a NTSB investigator, and reconciles with a difficult mother. The proper elements, then, are successfully established to grow a new, winning series. That fact alone captures my first vote.

However, sadly Ms. Seranella passed away on Jan. 21, 2007 while waiting for a new liver transplant, leaving behind her mysteries for her many reader fans.

for more information click here

All the ingredients of a great mystery

Deadman's Switch is one of the best murder mysteries I've read all year. Seranella creates an engaging heroine with OCD (did she know about the Monk television series?) who functions best amidst others' crises. Hired to manage a specialty train's derailment, she digs deeply into the mechanics of trains. She combines her PR knowhow with her unique specialty of crisis management.

The book's plot and pacing are superb. The end might follow mystery conventions a little more closely than some readers will like but is ultimately realistic and satisfying.

As a special treat, readers will learn a great deal about trains and about the world of public relations.

I must admit I got totally involved. I found myself enjoying the story and wanting to learn more about the characters. Not being familiar with Munch Mancini, I checked the back flap and was horrified to learn there will be no sequel. The author's untimely death will leave readers wondering how the characters would have developed in future. That's the only bad part of reading this book.

for more information click here

The End

I didn't realize that Barbara Seranella had passed away until I was 3/4 done with the book. The Munch Mancini series was very good and this series showed a lot of promise. Ms. Seranella will be missed in the crime fiction world.

I enjoyed the new character of Charlotte Lyon. A type-A OCD inflicted character is always interesting since they tend not to be cookie-cutter. **I absolutely adore Monk.** While the character was good and the plot was reasonably suspenseful, I felt much of the novel was bogged down in railroad technicalities that were a bit dry (except perhaps for railroad buffs).

for more information click here

A well-done, final book

First Sentence: Bob Peterson scanned the track before him.

Charlotte Lyon may suffer from OCD, but she is an expert at crisis management. A train crash has resulted in the death of two people; the conductor, even though no cause of death is immediately apparent, and a woman who turns out to be a well-loved actress. In order to contain the crisis for the rail company, she has to know the cause of the accident and whether it was an accident.

Barbara Saranella's last book was the start of what would have been a wonderful series. The human elements in the story are so well done; Charlotte's OCD, relationship with her mother, possible romance, and handling of the crisis. I learned a lot about trains and was never bored by it. There were a couple, small weaknesses in the plot, but the story definitely held me all the way through. In some ways, I like the character better than Munch and am very sorry we've lost such a talented author.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2

products you might be interested in