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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010098288 | PS3563.A649 S54 2004 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000010098293 | PS3563.A649 S54 2004 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Ashley Spencer learned whattrue horror was the night a serial killer invaded her homeand brutally murdered her father and her best friend.But the terror did not end there ...
A year after the unspeakable events, Ashley is still trying to piece together what is left of her life. But the nightmare is reawakened at the elite private school that had appeared to be a safe haven for Ashley and her mother, Terri, when a new book called Sleeping Beauty hits the national bestseller lists -- a shattering true account of the crimes that ripped Ashley's world apart. And now Ashley must run for her life again.
Author Notes
Philip Margolin was born in New York City in 1944. He received a bachelor's degree in government from The American University in 1965. From 1965 to 1967, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia. He graduated from New York University School of Law in 1970. From 1972 until 1996, he was in private practice in Portland, Oregon, specializing in criminal defense. He has tried many high profile cases and has argued in the Supreme Court. He was the first attorney to use the battered woman's syndrome defense in a homicide case in Oregon.
His first novel, Heartstone, was published in 1978. He has been a full-time author since 1996. His other works include The Last Innocent Man; Gone, But Not Forgotten; After Dark; The Burning Man; The Undertaker's Widow; Wild Justice; The Associate; Sleeping Beauty; Capitol Murder and Sleight of Hand. He also writes short stories and non-fiction articles in magazines and law journals.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews 3
Publisher's Weekly Review
The criminal at the heart of bestseller Margolin's unsatisfying 10th thriller is particularly heinous. Late one night in Portland, Ore., he assaults teenager Ashley Spencer, rapes and kills Ashley's friend Tanya, a sleepover guest, and stabs Ashley's father to death. Ashley miraculously escapes, but her brush with terror is far from over. A few months later, just as she and her mother, Terri (out of town on the night of the attack), are beginning to re-engage with the world, the killer strikes again, murdering Terri and leaving another woman, Casey Van Meter, in a coma on the grounds of Ashley's new school, the exclusive Oregon Academy. Ashley doesn't witness the crime, but she sees Joshua Maxfield, the school's writer-in-residence, at the scene, clutching a bloody knife. Wondering why her quiet, loving family has been targeted by this madman, she goes into hiding in Europe, returning to Portland years later to bear witness when Maxfield is finally apprehended and tried. But is he guilty? And what was the motive for this crime spree? The search for answers generates a modicum of suspense, but the book never really commands much interest, thanks to clumsy plotting and even clumsier prose. Much of the story is revealed in flashbacks, framed by scenes from a reading in a Seattle bookstore given by Casey's twin brother, Miles Van Meter, who has written a bestselling true-crime book about the case and his comatose sister (and yes, it's as contrived as it sounds). Margolin (The Ties That Bind, etc.) has imagined a particularly lurid and sensational crime, but he fails to realize virtually any of its inherent dramatic potential. (Apr. 2) Forecast: The publisher is making a big promotional push, including a 14-city author tour, that should ensure placement on bestseller lists. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Ashley Spencer and her best friend, Tanyaones, both high-school soccer superstars, had just gone to bed at Ashley's house after a postgame pizza party. Their rest was disturbed by an intruder, who slaughtered Ashley's father (her mother was out of town) and proceeded to rape Tanya. Then he inexplicably stopped for a snack, giving Ashley an unexpected opportunity to escape. Although she avoided physical assault, the haunting memory of her father's cries, Tanya's sobs, and the clinking of fork on plate as the intruder raided the family refrigerator have left Ashley emotionally numb. A transfer to a prestigious prep school with a good soccer program seems to be helping, freeing Ashley's mother, aspiring novelist Terri, to take a writing class with best-selling authoroshua Maxfield. When Maxfield's novel appears to be based on the Spencer family assault, Ashley and Terri find that their nightmare is not yet over. Margolin knows how to put together a high-concept thriller, piling plot twist upon plot twist and keeping the narrative pounding ever forward, even, on occasion, at the expense of believability. This time he pulls off a genuinely surprising ending, too, making up in part for the torment he heaps upon poor Ashley, who undergoes more trauma than any teenager should be forced to endure, even for the sake of a good story. --Mary Frances Wilkens Copyright 2004 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Ashley Spencer's life is shattered when a killer enters her home one night, brutally stabs her father to death, and rapes and murders her best friend. In an attempt to help her regain some stability, her mother enrolls Ashley in the prestigious Oregon Academy. Ashley's mother seeks diversion by taking a creative writing class from former best-selling author Joshua Maxfield, who startles her by reading a chapter from a work in progress that mirrors the murder of her husband. The twists and turns of the plot keep the suspense ratcheted up to an excruciating level. Using the law and an insider's knowledge of the writer's life, Margolin has created another sure winner. His first novel, Gone but Not Forgotten, has long been one of the hallmark novels dealing with serial killers and their motivation. In this work, Margolin has brought new life to that subgenre. This is for jaded readers who believe that there is nothing new and fresh in the mystery field. For all fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/04.]-Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
