Synopses & Reviews
Chapter One
The faces in the photograph were sharply different, despite their laughter on the day the picture was snapped on a sunny summer afternoon at Laguna. It wasn't simply a matter of age. Gina's short-cropped white hair and Dresden china pale skin and Iris's richly raven curls and creamily dusky complexion made a lovely contrast. Gina's sharply planed features were arresting, her light green eyes curious and skeptical, her smile amused yet with a sardonic undercurrent, as befitted a woman who'd been one of the cleverest political reporters of her time. Iris's face was cherubic, still so young there were no lines. Her eyes were also green, but there was no challenge in Iris's gaze. Instead eagerness vied with uncertainty. Iris's bow of a mouth was marked with brilliantly red lipstick, but the vivid color couldn't hide vulnerability.
The two sets of green eyes were the only real resemblance in the photograph. What had Gina once told me? She'd looked out the window at Irisplaying in the yard and smilingly observed, "Iris is the image of her father, except for her eyes."
Iris. The name brought to my mind the vision of a slim blonde with startlingly blue eyes. But not this Iris. Not Iris Chavez, whom I remembered as a giggling little girl with a mop of curly black hair and later as a plump, eager-to-please teenager. A sweet, bouncy, cheerful girl. I'd not seen his or Gina in several years. Yet when the phone rang yesterday at my daughter's home in east Texas, I'd immediately recognized Gina's voice and just, as swiftly known there was trouble. Or, to be precise, realized immediately that Gina was terribly afraid.
Gina hated to ask for help, but there is nothing you won't do, no mile you won't walk, no mountain you won't climb, no effort you won't make for a grandchild. I understand that. I have two grandchildren of my own.
"Nothing, Henrie 0, nothing since last Wednesday. And Iris never misses E-mailing on Saturday mornings without telling me in advance that she will skip. I've sent message after message. I've called and called. There's no answer. I thought of contactingthe police. But what could I tell them? That I haven't received an E-mail? That I can't get her on the phone? That's not enough to report her as missing." She paused. "And maybe she's just out of town with a friend. Oh, there could be many reasons. I don't want to embarrass her. But I can't wait any longer." Gina's voice quavered.
E-mail. It links us to the world no matter where we live. It was through a casual E-mail that Gina knew I was visiting my daughter, Emily, and that I was only a three-hour drive from San Antonio, where Iris lived. And yes, my days were free. I was no longer teaching, though I'd decided to keep my home in, the Missouri college town where I'd been on the journalism faculty for several years. And yes, I could easily go to San Antonio and yes, I would do that for my frightened friend.
I'd received Gina's call early this morning. Now, the answer was near. Perhaps I would find Ids at her apartment. If I didn't find her, I would go to the store where she worked and perhaps we'd both laugh andafter she'd called her grandmother, assured her she was fine-Iris would offer to buy me a cold raspa, the shaved-ice confection so dear to San Antonians, and I would stay a few days in this lovely city-what better place to do some early Christmas shopping?--then resume my visit at my daughter's.
Synopsis
San Antonio's famous River Walk is the setting for this fifth installment in the Henrie O mystery series. The ex-reporter's search for her friend's missing granddaughter takes her to the Tesoros Gallery on the River Walk, where the granddaughter was employed. Henrie O discovers that amidst the exquisite objects in the prestigious gallery is hidden a dark secret that she must uncover if she is to find the missing girl.
Synopsis
Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins no longer chases hot stories all over the world, but murderous mysteries seem to find her. This time, a frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O rushing to the fabled city of San Antonio to check out the baffling disappearance of her friend's devoted granddaughter, Iris Chavez. Iris, employed at the Tesoros Gallery on San Antonio's famous River Walk, has suddenly dropped from sight without a word.
Soon Henrie O discovers that amidst the exquisite objects in the prestigious gallery and among the family members is hidden a dark secret--one Henrie O must uncover if she is to find Iris. Late one dark night on the River Walk, Henrie O sees a sprawled body...and realizes that treachery and disgrace lurk in the shadows of an old and respected business...and death awaits anyone daring to uncover the truth. Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins no longer chases hot stories all over the world, but murderous mysteries seem to find her.This time, a frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O rushing to the fabled city of San Antonio to check out the baffling disappearance of her friend's devoted granddaughter, Iris Chavez.Iris, employed at the Tesoros Gallery on San Antonio's famous River Walk, has suddenly dropped from sight without a word.
Soon Henrie O discovers that amidst the exquisite objects in the prestigious gallery and among the family members is hidden a dark secret--one Henrie O must uncover if she is to find Iris. Late one dark night on the River Walk, Henrie O sees a sprawled body...and realizes that treachery and disgrace lurk in the shadows of an old and respected business...and death awaits anyone daring to uncover the truth.
About the Author
An accomplished master of mystery, Carolyn Hart is the author of twenty Death on Demand novels, the creator of the highly praised Henrie O series, and two previous Bailey Ruth mysteries. She has won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards, and received the Lifetime Achievement award from Malice Domestic. Her first Bailey Ruth mystery, Ghost at Work, was named one of the best mysteries of 2008 by Publishers Weekly. She is one of the founders of Sisters in Crime, and lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.