--These 2 are FREE at Amazon US:
(1)
AN EYE FOR MURDER (The Ellie Foreman Suspense Mysteries #1) - Libby Fischer Hellmann
--This Book was originally published by Poisoned Pen Press/Berkley in 2002
(2)
The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared (Ellie Foreman Series Prequel) - Libby Fischer Hellmann
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(1) AN EYE FOR MURDER (The Ellie Foreman Suspense Mysteries #1) - Libby Fischer Hellmann
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Book Description:
August, 1944, Prague is where the story begins with a seemingly casual exchange of information. But in wartime, is any act, any one thing, trivial? Decades later, in contemporary Chicago, the consequences emerge through the medium of television. Documentary filmmaker Ellie Foreman gets a letter prompted by the success of her show "Celebrate Chicago." One viewer was the elderly Ben Sinclair. When he suddenly dies, his landlady Mrs. Fleischman finds Ellie's name among his effects and writes to her. Ellie, who hasn't a clue about a connection to Ben, is curious. And she agrees to help dispose of Ben Sinclair's possessions. She became a filmmaker to help people tell their stories. The books and wartime relics Ben left behind--will they be enough to tell his?
All too soon, Mrs. Fleischman dies. Then Ben's things are stolen from Ellie's suburban home. The single mom, working to move past her ex, doesn't know what to think. But she has to scramble for work and is soon embroiled in producing a campaign video for a steel magnate running for a Republican seat in the Illinois Senate. Despite these distractions, Ellie stays focused on her odd link to the dead man and turns to her father, a retired lawyer with deep roots in Chicago's Jewish community, for insights into the mystery of Ben Sinclair. In time, a terrifying scenario develops that reaches back into several pasts. From the political present of the North Shore to the buried memories of the city's ethnic neighborhoods, the components of Ben's story eventually merge into an explosive climax.
AN EYE FOR MURDER is the sequel to the author's award-winning short story "The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared." EYE was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best First when it was released; it also won the Best First Readers' Choice Award.
Editorial Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly:
Sharp humor and vivid language distinguish Hellmann's Chicago-set debut. Ellie Forman, a recently divorced suburban mom, supports herself and her daughter by making documentaries, including a historical film, Celebrate Chicago, which has gained her local fame. The discovery of her name on a scrap of paper among the effects of an elderly gentleman, recently deceased in a Chicago rooming house, sets off a sinister chain of events and weaves an ever tightening web of intrigue. Preoccupied with her former husband's mounting stock losses, Ellie fails to put the pieces together until two more deaths and two attempted murders hit close to home. When her ex disappears and leaves her with a staggering amount of debt, Ellie panics, then turns her fear into determination to control her destiny. After taking on a new assignment to produce a campaign video for GOP Senate candidate Marian Iverson, she uncovers coincidences too startling to ignore. Soon Ellie is digging into a legacy of money and murder dating back to WWII and the Holocaust. A masterful blend of politics, history and suspense, this novel is well worth reading despite an overly complicated plot. Ellie is an engaging amateur sleuth whose wisdom grows as she learns the hard way that "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." Readers will hope they won't have to wait too long for Ellie's return.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review:
This is Libby Fischer Hellmann’s first novel. It grew out of a story she submitted for the 1999 Bouchercon Short Story contest, which she won. It is a complesx tale of decades’ old secrets."--Mystery News
"A mystery in the great tradition with sins of the past returning to haunt the present." --Barbara D'Amato
AN EYE FOR MURDER is a well-written debut novel that will keep you turning the pages. Hellman delivers her plot at a tempo that keeps the action moving and the reader intrigued. The characters are strong and the mystery demands a solution. I will be looking for the next offering from this talented new author."-MyShelf.Com
“Everything I want in a mystery: characters I care about; credible motivations; a complex plot. A wonderful book. Read it!”—Michael Allen Dymmoch, author of Incendiary Designs
“[A] gutsy heroine. [A] fast-paced, entertaining mystery.”
—Rochelle Krich, award-winning author of Dead Air
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(2) The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared (Ellie Foreman Series Prequel) - Libby Fischer Hellmann
Quote:
Description:
In 1938 sixteen year old Jake Foreman spends his free time with his friend Barney Teitleman in Lawndale, a prosperous Jewish community on Chicago’s near west side. Jake develops a crush on Miriam Hirsch, an actress in the Yiddish theater who lives at the Teitleman’s boarding house, but Miriam only has eyes for Skull, who might or might not be a gangster. THE DAY MIRIAM HIRSCH DISAPPEARED was the first short story I wrote. Little did I know then that the story would become the “prequel” to my Ellie Foreman series. Or that the Ellie Foreman series would be the prequel to the Georgia Davis series. The story, which won the Bouchercon short story contest in 1999, was first published in the Bouchercon Program book. It was later published in ANTHOLOGY TODAY, where it also won a contest, and in the now defunct FUTURES MAGAZINE.
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