The Cinderella Murder
Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke
Simon & Schuster, Nov 18 2014, $26.99
ISBN: 9781476763125
Two decades ago, UCLA student Susan Dempsey skipped her father’s
sixtieth birthday bash to audition for a role in director Frank Parker’s
production. She was found strangled to
death near the director’s home. Because
a shoe had fallen off the victim, the media dubbed this The Cinderella Murder.
In the present, Under
Suspicion TV producer Laurie Moran wants to do a recreation show on the
cold case. Susan’s still grieving mom
Rosemary agrees as she sees this as an opportunity for her daughter Susan to
become known as a victimized person rather than a fairy tale in which everyone
has ignored that the ogre won. No one
else from Susan’s inner circle including her then boyfriend actor Keith Ratner,
her college roommates (Madison Meyer and Nicole Melling) or her close friend Dwight
Cook want to participate; though their motive for avoidance may have to do with
their present elite stature rather than guilt. In spite of a persistent refusal to help from
those who knew Susan; Laurie and show attorney Alex Buckley continue their inquiries.
The latest (and first collaboration with Alafair Burke) Under Suspicion (see I’ve Got You Under My Skin) is a
thrilling cold case whodunit as the TV protagonists investigate what happened
twenty years ago, but with practically no cooperation from the victim’s friends. As readers will try to guess whose lead
character seemingly represents which of the two authors, The Cinderella Murders
is a super mystery.
Harriet Klausner
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