Stalking Susan

I started somewhere in the middle of the Riley Spartz series - so needed to finally start from the beginning. Glad I did! It's so fun reading a book set in Minneapolis. I had my suspicions about the killer near the end (not that I could prove it), but came out great anyway. Very exciting! A quick, recommended read.<br /><br />Remember, we work for God.<br /><br />Call me Aunt Santa.<br /><br />One person's nosy neighbor is another's guardian angel.<br /><br />You don't declare friendship, friendship just happens. <br /><br />Criminal insanity is and should be a rare diagnosis. <br /><br />Society frowns on picking the time and manner of one's death. We call it suicide. <br /><br />

Truly enjoyed this book. I had been listening to it on car rides to/from work...drove extra slow home to listen to as much as possible before pulling in the driveway tonight. Was sooo happy I had the actual book as well to rip through the last 20 pages. Great story line, kept you guessing and interested in the finish. I've already read the first 2 chapters of Julie Kramer's next book, Missing Mark

What a fun debut! Riley Spartz is a fast-talking, story-chasing, determined reporter. She’s got spunk, but she’s also carrying some deep scars – specifically, the death of her husband.<br /><br />At the beginning of this novel, Riley’s police contact gives her a file on the deaths of two women named Susan, who each died by strangulation on the same day, a year apart. Riley is on the case, because she wants to make it the lead piece of November news sweeps; add to that investigation a feature about a lying veterinarian, and our heroine has her hands full!<br /><br />Kramer packs this book with insider information on the ways the news world functions, and it’s not always pretty. This is a great, light read, reminiscent of Janet Evanovich but with a heroine who has a bit more know-how. The second book in the series was released in 2009, and the third is due out this summer. I will be reading both.

I read this book back in March, and it is now December. Ah, yes...it was winter then, and it is winter now. I live in southeastern Minnesota and spent thirty years in the Minneapolis area, so it was wonderful reading about a Twin Cities television reporter.<br /><br />Riley Spartz is an investigative reporter returning to work after a personal leave that she needed because her husband had died tragically. She immediately finds herself up to her eyeballs in not one, but two stories. One is about a veterinarian who seems to be up to no good, and the other concerns the murders of two women who are both coincidentally (?) named Susan and who are killed on November 19, exactly one year apart. The investigations go back and forth from one story to the other. Riley, who normally butts heads with her boss, has an ally when she covers the dog cremation story. She has more trouble selling the Susan story, which she doggedly pursues until…well, no spoilers. Stay tuned for news at 10:00.<br /><br />I found this to be an enjoyable first book. The characters were rather one-dimensional, but I think they show promise. I found Riley to be a bit glib, but perhaps she was wearing protective armor due to her recent loss. Or maybe that’s just who she is. I did have a pretty good idea who the killer was fairly early on, but I was curious about the dog story. I am a big of a softie when it comes to four-legged creatures too.<br /><br />I know that part of the appeal was the Minnesota connection. I am not sure if anyone who has never been to the Midwest would find this book amusing, but even though it is not a perfect thriller, there is enough here to like to make me want to read more by Julie Kramer.<br /><br />3 stars

I think the hype for this book was a little optimistic. I did not find it "dazzling", "chilling", or even particularly suspenceful. It mixes elements of a procedural mystery with some romantic suspence. There is humor mixed into the darker elements. I wouldn't call this a "cozy" but it was a nice, light, fast-paced read. The characters are moderately appealing, and Twin Citians will enjoy the "insider" knowledge of the area, and details of local events like the collapse of the I35 bridge. The author is a former news reporter, which leant a great deal of authenticity to her main character, but I found all the insider TV stuff a bit distracting. I guess the story is more character-driven than mystery-driven. It will be interesting to see what my book club has to say about it.<br /><br />Description:<br />Inside the desperate world of TV news, a reporter discovers a serial killer is targeting women named Susan. Riley Spartz is recovering from a heartbreaking, headline-making catastrophe of her own when a Minneapolis police source drops two homicide files in her lap. Both cold cases involve women named Susan strangled on the same day, one year apart. Riley sees a pattern between those murders and others pulled from old death records. As the deadly anniversary approaches, she stages a bold on-air stunt to draw the killer out and uncover a motive that will leave readers breathless.<br /> <br />Series info:<br />Riley Spartz series<br />1. Stalking Susan - read<br />-------------------------<br />2. Missing Mark <br />3. Silencing Sam <br />4. Killing Kate <br />5. Shunning Sarah <br />

TV reporter Riley Spartz is looking for a big sweeps story and may have found it when an informer, Nick Garnett, feeds her some cold case information about two seemingly unrelated murders, save for their names, Susan. Using a station computer geek, Riley discovers another Susan death, and the methods seem similar. These cold cases are over a decade old, but the families she interviews remember the details, good and bad, like it was yesterday. Has Riley manufactured a story out of nothing or is there really someone stalking women named Susan in some sort of revenge-type serial killing spree? <br />I expected more from this novel and enjoy supporting MN authors, but Kramer's narrative voice in Riley was somewhat annoying, moreso in the beginning of the novel. The book picked up in the latter half, and as always, info on local Twin Cities landmarks and attractions are interesting. I would recommend <i>Monkeewrench</i> and it's following novels by mother/daughter duo P.J. Tracy if you are looking for some gritty, MN mysteries.

Julie Kramer's first novel, "Stalking Susan" doesn't strive to break any new ground in the realm of mystery/thrillers. Then again, it doesn't really need to thanks to her first-person narrator, Riley Sparkz.<br /><br />Riley is an investigative journalist for channel 3 in Minnesota. Riley's returning to work after a three-month personal leave and finds two stories dropped into her lap. One is about a vet who is charging grieving pet owners for cremation services that he's not delivering and the other involves a mysterious wave of murders of females named Susan on November 19th of each year.<br /><br />"Stalking Susan" ably juggles both plotlines and some stories about Riley's co-workers and personal life with deft ease. The mysteries here aren't challenging or elaborate, but they don't need to be. The story is a fun, breezy character driven thriller that's ideal for as chewing gum for the brain or to read while relaxing in the summer sun.<br /><br />

Riley Spartz is a television reporter on Channel 3 in Minnesota. After returning to work from a leave of absense that resulted from her feelings that her actions led to her husband's death in a fire, she needs new stories to keep her job. She is handed two tips on two potential stories - a tip from an ex cop about the deaths of two women named Susan on the same day years before -- which might be the work of a serial killer except no one believes it and a tip from a dog owner that the ashes of his cremated dog do not look like the ashes of a former dog. The novel follows Riley Spartz as she investigates both cases and breaks both stories on the news. This first novel and first person narrative is pretty engrossing as is how Spartz tries to solve the Susan crimes, and the insight into the tv business seem very real to me. Not just another serial killer novel, this one is very good.

This is the debut mystery and I was quite pleased with it. However, my one complaint is that at times (and especially in the beginning) I felt the narrator talked down to the reader. At times the narrator over explained things that a mystery buff (or even a regular watcher of CSI) would know and this slowed down the narrative pacing). On the author hand, the author is a freelance television producer and certainly knows her subject and I was impressed with the details and things I learned about a news station.<br /><br />Overall a promising debut. and I wonder if Riley is going to become a series character. I certainly would like to read about another adventure of hers.<br /><br />

Mystery by MN author. First book Former WCCO investigative reporter. So far VERY engaging.<br /><br />A winner! Interesting characters. Tricky plot. Not too much blood.<br />It's told in the first person--newspaper investigative reporter, Riley. A cop friend gives her a tip about cold case murders that might be linked (same date, different years, same name, SUSAN).