Read, Cornelia Madeline Dare Mysteries. #bk. 1

Read by Hillary Huber

Madeline Dare, a tough-talking, shotgun-toting ex-debutante, is not your average detective. Then again, not much about her life is what she expected. Born of old money into high society, she married into a Syracuse farming family and a bottom-of-the-food-chain job writing puff pieces for the local newspaper. Her emotional barometer these days ranges from dry irony to whining exasperation. Then Madeline discovers mysterious circumstances linking her favorite cousin to a twenty-year-old murder case, and suddenly her roots are a serious matter again-deadly serious. Unwilling to turn her evidence over to the authorities before figuring some things out herself, she will embark on an ill-prepared and harrowing investigation into the real dark side of her world. "Consistently delights. The author's sharp social commentary on everything from the idle rich to the environment adds to the pleasure." "Read's plot crackles and pops, but her characters steal the show. This is sure to be loved by fans of comic mysteries, but don't be surprised if Tom Wolfe readers are equally smitten by Read's venomously witty portrait of a fallen WASP." "Huber portrays the main character's 'attitude' perfectly, reading with a wry wit and self-deprecating humor. Her voices match each individual's background, from Dare's husband's farm family to her own family's upper-crust snobbishness. Older teens and adults with a taste for a combination of mystery and humor will find both in this well-narrated novel." "A Field of Darkness is sheer joy, complete with cutting prose and gleefully off-kilter pop culture references."

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