Whisper Room

July 1, 2022

After drinking her way out of numerous jobs, crime reporter Geneva Chase is working freelance in her hometown. She is sent by the local newspaper to the home of TV anchor Elliot Carlson, who is holding his wife hostage in a standoff with the police. According to his wife and local media, an escort service called the Whisper Room released video of Carlson having sex with a girl they claim is only 15. Carlson claims they're blackmailing him. As Geneva digs into the stories, the Whisper Room protests that they don't blackmail clients. They've built an app for wealthy men seeking escorts, where both parties are screened. When bodies show up, though, Geneva is the first to recognize them as young women who are, or resemble, former escorts from the Whisper Room. Because she believes the owners don't want to destroy their own business, Geneva digs deeper for someone who does, and doesn't mind blackmail and murder to get it done. VERDICT Kies's sequel to the Sue Grafton Award nominee Shadow Hill is a compelling story for readers who want to follow investigative reporters into the crime scenes.--Lesa Holstine

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August 15, 2022
A last-minute freelancing job covering Connecticut newscaster Elliot Carlson’s hostage situation leads to trouble for reporter Geneva Chase in her busy fifth outing from Kies (after 2021’s Shadow Hill). Carlson, with a rifle, has taken his wife hostage in their mansion after a blackmailer released a salacious video of him having sex with an underage girl. His marriage and career destroyed, Carlson blames the Whisper Room app, an online high-end escort service, and its creators for his downfall. After the peaceful resolution of the hostage situation, Geneva tracks down the owner of the Whisper Room, who claims the blackmailer is Matt Boca, a would-be business competitor. Geneva’s story turns darker with the discovery of Boca’s ties to a sex trafficking ring smuggling teenage girls and the bodies of two Whisper Room escorts surface in Long Island Sound. In the end, Geneva discovers a dreadfully human reason for the murder of the Whisper Room’s escorts. Readers will hope to see a lot more of the down-to-earth Geneva, who manages to raise a foster daughter and resist the bottle’s siren call while flushing out killers. Sara Paretsky fans will find much to like. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron Assoc.