Ring of Truth

Rating:
Summary: Like rabbits out of a hat
Review: A few years back when True Crime stories were plentiful, I greedily goobled them all up. Suddenly they disappeared. Not to worry. Along comes Nancy Pickard to take the genre of True Crime, merge it with a fictional murder mystery filled with psychologically satisfying characters and PRESTO CHANGEO-a great series is born.Alchemy to be sure!
To the reviewer who mentioned that she wondered about Marie's own childhood..I suspect you have a treat in store. In the first book of this series -The Whole Truth, Marie received 2 mysterious phone calls from someone who claimed to know her "real" parents. I think Ms.Pickard has some more tricks up her sleeve and I cant wait for this very clever writer to use her deft sleight of hand to baffle her audience at every turn.Just when you think you know what you thought you knew....

Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery
Review: A mystery with many twists and turns that keep you intrigued and trying to guess who did it until the very end. A pastor, who has strongly opposed the death penalty is accused of killing his wife, and is sentenced to death himself. While writing the story on this crime, Lightfoot is having trouble putting all the pieces together, and gets in the middle of the crime. She discovers that the pastor was not the killer after all, and that the next person scheduled to be put to the death penalty is in fact innocent. Lightfoot discovers who the true murderer is, and nearly gets killed in the process, but in the end, it turns out that none of the facts that the police had uncovered were true and it is up to Lightfoot to set the record straight. Ring Of Truth is an original, intriguing mystery that sucks you in and doesn't let you go until the very end. I could not put this book down!

Rating:
Summary: Totally engrossing
Review: Crime writer Marie Lightfoot has written a book about the case of a preacher accused of the murder of his wife in collusion with his mistress. The preacher was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death while his alleged accomplice was acquitted. Case closed, right? Not quite. As an aside in her book, Marie wrote briefly about the case of a young woman murdered several years before and the conviction and death sentence of her killer. In a strange twist of fate, Marie is given cause to second-guess her belief in the guilt of both accuseds and sets out to reinvestigate both cases. The witnesses and evidence she uncovers create more questions than answers, and this is one exciting read as Ms. Pickard ties it all together.

Rating:
Summary: Totally engrossing
Review: Crime writer Marie Lightfoot has written a book about the case of a preacher accused of the murder of his wife in collusion with his mistress. The preacher was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death while his alleged accomplice was acquitted. Case closed, right? Not quite. As an aside in her book, Marie wrote briefly about the case of a young woman murdered several years before and the conviction and death sentence of her killer. In a strange twist of fate, Marie is given cause to second-guess her belief in the guilt of both accuseds and sets out to reinvestigate both cases. The witnesses and evidence she uncovers create more questions than answers, and this is one exciting read as Ms. Pickard ties it all together.

Rating:
Summary: Devious Plot Twists
Review: Marie Lightfoot has been working on her latest true crime book for the past year. The two murders in her book seem to be solved, but now that her book is in the hands of her editor, she is beginning to think that all is not as it appears. The scene moves back and forth between Maire Lightfoot's book and her life as a writer. This, the second installment in the Lightfoot series, is very well written and as enjoyable as all of Pickard's books. Her characters are shown with all their warts and pimples. Some are quite likeable, others are easy to dislike. There are devious plot twists aplenty in this story and that is what makes Pickard one of my favorite authors. A very well put together story.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Maybe it was just a good night to stay up with a page-turner. Ring of Truth, the second installment in Nancy Pickard's new series about true crime writer, Marie Lightfoot, kept me up well past bedtime the other night. It's not a perfect book - I'd give it 4 and 1/2 stars if the system allowed - but it's a good read.

Lightfoot continues writing about true crime in her home state of Florida (including a nice essay pondering why Florida spawns so many wierd criminals - shades of Carl Hiaasen). This case involves a liberal minister sentenced to death for killing his wife. Ironically, the minister is a leader in the anti-death penalty movement in the state and has be advocating the release of another condemned killer. Marie's book looks at both murders. She's sent it to her publisher but has nagging doubts that something isn't quite right. When new evidence turns up, Marie can't resist revisiting the case...

There are a number of things that set this book apart from the usual mystery fare. First, Pickard really knows how to write. Secondly, a true crime writing protagonist provides a great angle on crime. Marie, in theory, can talk with everyone involved. Even better, for the reader, is that Pickard alternates chapters between Marie's book and Pickard's narrative about Marie's ongoing investigation. It's a refreshing mix. Third, the conclusion is clever without coming completely from left field.

I'm still a bit ambivalent about Marie. In a genre stuffed to the gills with protagonists "haunted by their pasts", it's a bit wierd to have a protagonist with virtually no past. This book has a bit more about life as a writer and Marie's love affair. But she still has no family or childhood. Definately different.

Bottom-line: A good page-turner. Reading of the first book "The Whole Truth" would be helpful but isn't imperative.

Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Read
Review: This is a mystery with a difference! Our heroine, Marie Lightfoot, is not a lawyer, police officer, private detective or journalist for starters. She is a best-selling True Crime novelist. What vistas this opens up for a series! She has every reason to be nosing around the crime scene, the courtroom, the witnesses and families of victims; and she has no boring boss to slow her down. She has a highly comfortable life style, easily explained. Marie has no background, so the reader is sure to exercise his/her own imagination. I have always felt Kinsey Mahone was far more effective before Sue Grafton hung a back story around her neck giving her a plethora or relatives and details about an ex-husband.

Marie switches from first person observation to chapters from her current manuscript with the lackluster title, "Anything To Be Together." It is the story of a charismatic minister convicted of beating his attractive wife to death, probably with the aid and assistance of his girlfriend. Rev. Wing is awaiting execution on Death Row. Ironically, the rector has received much local publicity in the past for his anti-death penalty activism. She has just completed the text, but feels dissatisfied with parts of it, particularly the lack of background and insights on the principal players.

The plot is excellent, complex with a labyrinth of twists and turns. There are a few attitudes that boggle my mind, but perhaps that is just me. Ms. Pickard is a fine writer and has created a thoroughly likeable heroine. A fine read.

Rating:
Summary: A page turner
Review: This is a tightly written book that overtly pits good against evil, and until the very end the reader does not know which is which. The characters and dialogue are so sharply observed and clearly limned that they no longer seem like characters and dialogue, but part of your world. The setting is Florida. I've never been there, but now I know the feeling of the place.
The story starts with the death of a minister's wife. He is a charismatic, widely respected man of high moral principles, but he may have been cheating with a beautiful woman, a member of his congregation. The plot has depth and many unexpected twists and the sleuth is a woman that most women will be able to identify with. The writer uses viewpoint in an original way (or variety of ways) and this makes the tale more immediate and dramatic.

I loved this book as a good story well told, but I was even more impressed with the way the writer adressed the moral dilemmas surrounding the issue of capital punishment. No preaching. No moralizing. Enjoy the story and draw your own conclusions.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read-Kept Me Turning Pages!
Review: This is the first I've read of Nancy Pickard's books, and I liked it very well.

Marie Lightfoot is the main character and she is writing a true crime novel on a charming minister's love affair with a beautiful wealthy church member. His wife Susanna is murdered in the process, and no one really knows who the guilty one is. The accused sits on death row, while his lover will walk free. Justice looks as though it has been served, but Marie knows better. She realizes there is a lot more skeletons in the closet that others don't know about, and she is going to work until she figures it out. But she better watch out, as she may learn a bone-chilling lesson in the process.

Rating:
Summary: A chilling thriller
Review: True crime fighter Marie Lightfoot has completed her latest true crime novel, Anything To BE Together, and sends it to her editor in New York. Her latest book centers on Robert F. Wing, a Florida minister, convicted of murdering his wife. Robert's co-defendant, Artemis McGregor, the woman he was allegedly having an affair with, received a not guilty verdict.

Marie feels the case has too many loose ends to fully satisfy her that Robert killed Susana. When she obtains new evidence, she uses it to bait the person she thinks committed the crime. However, that ends tragically with the person guarding the information dead and the evidence gone. As Marie digs deeper, she places herself in danger from someone who prefers the status quo rather than the truth.

Once again, Nancy Pickard has created a fascinating thriller centering on people who are not what they seem to be. The novel contains several shocking revelations, but nothing matches the frightening climax. Proponents of the death penalty will reconsider their position after reading RING OF TRUTH as Ms. Pickard makes her views quite clear on the subject.

Harriet Klausner