Synopses & Reviews
Edgar Award winner Meg Gardiner returns with a third propulsive, groundbreaking thriller about forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett and the lies that are even more dangerous than fame.
Tasia McFarland is a washed-up country-pop singer desperate for the break that will get her topping the charts again. The tabloids have raked over every part of Tasia's rocky life, following every high and low, her addictions, her breakdowns, her increasingly erratic behavior-and every broken relationship. The highlight of this lowlight reel: her failed marriage to an ambitious Army officer whose political talents earned him a spot in the nation's highest office. Tasia McFarland is the ex-wife of the President of the United States.
So when Tasia writes a song with politically-charged lyrics, people take note and her star begins to rise anew. In the spectacle-driven opener of her comeback tour, she is lowered into a stadium on a zip line and as helicopters fly overhead she fires her prop Colt 45 at the fireworks-filled stage. Tasia is riding high.
Until she's killed by a bullet to the neck, before the shocked crowd of 40,000.
When video can't prove that the shot came from Tasia's own Colt .45 and the ballistics report comes up empty, the authorities call on forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett to do a psychological autopsy and clean up the potential political disaster. But as Jo sifts through the facts, she only finds more questions. Was Tasia's gun loaded? Did she kill herself in one last cry for attention? Were her politically-charged lyrics the rantings of a paranoid woman losing her grip? Or warnings from a woman afraid and in danger? For Jo, pouring over Tasia's past quickly becomes a race to extinguish the conspiracy rumor mill before it incites a level of violence that reaches America's highest corridors of power-and tears apart the very fabric of our nation.
Review
"Breathless suspense, slick plotting and a cast of compelling characters make this a solid addition to Edgar-winner Gardiner's dossier of superlative thrillers."
-Booklist, Starred Review
"If you read Sue Grafton, Lee Child, Janet Evanovich, Michael Connelly, or Nelson DeMille, you're going to think Meg Gardiner is a gift from heaven."
-Stephen King
"Hitchcockian scenes of suspense will rock even the most jaded thriller reader."
-USA Today
"Stephen King was right. . . . Steeped in nonstop action, psychological terror and an evocative use of the San Francisco background, The Dirty Secrets Club brims with surprises and unpredictable twists."
-Orlando Sun-Sentinel
"Gardiner makes every one of her characters leap alive off the page, and I personally am in love with the most compelling of them all, Jo Beckett."
-Jeffery Deaver
"A book you just can't put down. The Memory Collector is a first-class thriller with nonstop action."
-Chicago Sun-Times
"Gardiner has created a tough, intelligent heroine who is as comfortable kicking butt and bad guys in the alleys of San Francisco as she is in a medical lab examining carbon nanotechnology and its effects on the brain."
-Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Gardiner makes every one of her characters leap alive off the page, and I personally am in love with the most compelling of them all, Jo Beckett."
-Jeffery Deaver
"[Meg Gardiner is] the next suspense superstar."
-Stephen King
Synopsis
In Edgar Award-winner Meg Gardiner's third thriller featuring forensic psychologist Jo Beckett, politics and pop culture cross paths- with deadly results.
Tasia McFarland is a washed-up country-pop singer desperate for the break that will get her back atop the charts. She's also the ex-wife of the president of the United States. So when Tasia writes a song with politically charged lyrics, people take note and her star begins to rise anew. In the spectacle-driven opener of her comeback tour, she is lowered from a helicopter, hundreds of feet above her adoring fans, while firing a prop Colt .45 at the fireworks filled stage. Tasia is riding high.
Until she's killed by a bullet to the neck, before a shocked crowd of 30,000.
When video can't prove the shot came from Tasia's Colt .45 and the ballistics report comes up empty, the authorities call in forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett to do a psychological autopsy and help avert a political disaster. But as Jo sifts through the facts, she only finds more questions: Did Tasia kill herself in one last cry for attention? Were those lyrics the ranting of a paranoid woman losing her grip? Or warnings from a woman afraid and in danger? And most disturbing of all: Just what does Tasia's death mean for a president-and in fact a nation- teetering on the brink of catastrophe?
Synopsis
In Edgar Award-winner Gardiner's third thriller featuring forensic psychologist Jo Beckett, politics and pop culture cross paths with deadly results.
Synopsis
When a controversial female singer is murdered during a concert, forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett fears the act was political. The polarizing pop star was also the President's ex-wife, with secrets to die for. Now, Jo finds herself in a race to extinguish the conspiracy rumor mill-before it incites a level of violence that reaches America's highest corridors of power.
Synopsis
When a controversial female singer is murdered during a concert, forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett fears the act was political. The polarizing pop star was also the President's ex-wife, with secrets to die for. Now, Jo finds herself in a race to extinguish the conspiracy rumor mill-before it incites a level of violence that reaches America's highest corridors of power.
About the Author
Meg Gardiner previously practiced law and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Originally from Southern California, she now lives with her family in London. The Dirty Secrets Club is her first novel published in the U.S. She will be promoting The Dirty Secrets Club on a national tour this summer.