Product Description

For newly widowed Lucy Greene, each day is a blur of isolating sorrow. Until a sinister midnight prowler shocks her out of her numbing grief, plunging her into a harrowing world where nothing makes sense, least of all her scientist husband Carl's so-called accidental death.
But why did Carl contact Lucy's high-school sweetheart Kevin, a recently discredited TV journalist, just a few days before he died with promises of a big story? Why does an intruder break into Carl's home office after the funeral? And what does any of this have to do with a rash of prison TB, their baby's encephalocele, or Lucy's brother's post-Gulf War illness?

Lucy wants some answers, and before she knows it she's careening across the western landscape with a hired killer on her trail, warned that she's messing with some very big players. She's not alone-in helping her, Kevin wants to resuscitate his career and ex-con Darcy wants to protect her junkie sister who's still on the inside. But with her loved ones dead and a Glock for a new best friend, Lucy is the one who will do whatever it takes to uncover the real story behind her husband's death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #890053 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-05
• Released on: 2003-12-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.com Review
Right after he contacts an investigative journalist, hinting at a big story, biotech executive Carl Greene dies in an accident on a lonely Northwest road. A series of troubling events follow his funeral: two burglaries, the removal of Carl's files by his former colleagues, an attempt on his widow Lucy's life, and the murder of her brother Chick, a Gulf War veteran suffering from a mysterious illness. What's the connection between the break-ins, the murder, Chick's illness, an epidemic of TB in a nearby prison, the neural tube defect that killed Carl and Lucy's infant, and an ex-con named Darcy who's being blackmailed by the warden of the women's prison where her sister is an inmate? This incisive thriller lays out an all-too-believable conspiracy scenario involving biological weapons and government cover-ups; Siler's hard-edged prose, tough but believable female characters, and fast-paced narrative make her third mystery (after Easy Money and Iced) a standout. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
Silers third novel continues in the vein of Iced, a kind of light feminista mystery. Lucy Greene, living in the small Colorado town in which she grew up, knows that she is unhappy (despite the pool, the cars, the house), but is unable to break free of the suburban mold. After husband Carls accidental death, she is mired in depression. A not-so-random break-in and the strange demands of Bioflux, Carls biotech employers, lead Lucy to the burning question asked by so many amateur sleuths: What if it wasnt an accident? Aiding in her search for the truth are Kevin Burns, disgraced journalist and Lucys old flame, and Darcy Williams, an ex-con protecting her junkie sister. This task force of three ferrets out a secret that (as the novels version of Deep Throat says) is bad shit. Deep and high. Youre gonna make some powerful enemies if youre not careful. Bioflux is responsible in some way for several biological phenomena dating from 1970 (when U.S. germ warfare was officially banned), among them the neural tube disorders that killed Lucys child, Gulf War syndrome and a strange and fatal illness that ravaged the Colorado prison system in the 1990s. Equipped with quirky characters, a quicksilver plot and chase scenes aplenty (especially when the government becomes involved), this novel makes up in spunk what it lacks in credibility. The biological weapons angle is patently unbelievable, as is the survival of this shaky triumvirate as they simultaneously challenge big business and government. In the real world theyd be dead in ditches or rotting in prison, but in Silers dirty but redeemable universe, everyone ends up on higher ground.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Three years ago, Siler burst onto the scene with her first novel, the thriller Easy Money, which was followed in 2001 with Iced. Readers who have waited anxiously for her latest will not be disappointed. After Lucy Greene's husband, Carl, dies in a car accident while on a business trip, someone breaks into their house, turning Carl's study upside down and causing her to question the cause of his death. Lucy also discovers that a few days before his death Carl had contacted Kevin, her old high-school sweetheart and a recently disgraced reporter. Lucy's quest to piece together the puzzle results in a frantic, nail-biting journey. Accompanied by Kevin and an ex-convict named Darcy, she is chased by someone hired to kill her before she discovers the truth. Like Siler's previous heroines, Allie Kerry and Meg Gardner, Lucy is a smart, strong, easily likeable character. This tightly woven suspense novel is recommended for all popular fiction collections. - Nanci Milone Hil, Lucius Beebe Memorial Lib., Wakefield, MA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A low impact novel that falls short of being a real thriller
The subject of bioengineering and the notion of germ warfare are as timely today as they were decades ago. In the 1970s and early 1980s novelists began to write stories with these themes. Their mission has always been, and still is, to inform the public and to expose the kinds of experiments (allegedly) performed by drug companies and the government. In SHOT, Jenny Siler's new suspense novel, she adds her take, telling the story of the humans who are damaged after being subjected to such experiments.

Siler brings seven characters together who, for one reason or another, need to take possession of the information hidden in the files of a company that is doing research on mycoplasma ---"the smallest and simplest subclass of bacteria...capable of replicating itself...mycoplasma has no cell wall, enabling it to invade tissue and even white blood cells" --- which could cause serious immune system illnesses, since mycoplasma does not respond to any known antibiotic.

The "good guys" and the "bad guys" are clearly defined in this made-for-TV style novel. The prose is simple and direct, but the characters are not strong enough to make readers really care about them or their troubles. Instead of exploring in full the reason for her characters' actions (the biochemical/germ warfare programs), Siler chooses to concentrate on just moving the plot along. In taking this route, the writer loses a great opportunity to expose what, in our time, is a threat to the world as we now know it. Thus, the novel has a very low impact, and readers may find it difficult to get angry about the two murders, blackmail, robbery, and cover-up that destroy lives and have an everlasting impact on millions of people through the manufacture and testing of "dirty drugs."

With a plot that is so simply drawn, one-dimensional characters, and action confined to a small and claustrophobic arena, the novel loses its potential for being a real thriller. Some of the events in the book stretch credulity, and readers will find nothing more than an afternoon's escape in SHOT.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Alarming and Suspenseful
Lucy Greene has just lost her husband Carl. The authorities are calling it an accident.

If that's true, then why are there suddenly people breaking into her home to rummage through Carl's office and take his files? And why does her life seem at risk?

The death of her husband has brought more of a change to her life than Lucy ever could have imagined. She's on the run with only the help of a former friend (ex-MSNBC reporter, Kevin) and a new acquaintance (Darcy, the woman who broke into her home). They embark upon a research expedition that will take them from one area of the country to another picking up new information along the way which points to the presence of a biological weapons program tested on American soldiers.

The men behind that program are extremely powerful and don't want its existence brought to light. They'll do whatever it takes to prevent it.

Lucy's not about to be scared off, though. Her need to know has become an obsession...one that could get her and everyone around her killed.

Interspersed with the words that tell the main story is the freshness of originality brought on by Siler's use of non-cliched similes and metaphors. To add to the mix, the characters have real faces made thus by just enough background information to allow the reader to empathize with them.

Jenny Siler's peek into the world of biotechnology is both alarming and suspenseful. Her writing suggests a knowledge that shows she must have done her own research on the subject to make the book that much more believable.

Most importantly, there is a much-appreciated lack of the holier-than-thou attitude that could have come across with a subject such as this. The scientific aspects are put into terms that anyone can easily pick up and understand, making "Shot" an enjoyable - rather than confusing - read.

a resounding thriller
Seeking the truth about her scientist husband's sudden death, Lucy Greene, her childhood friend, a recently fired tv journalist, & an ex-con who's being blackmailed, stumble onto lethal secrets about a government biological warfare program among Colorado's prison population.

Jenny Siler's writing is lean, mean & clean - she gives the Reader enough history to bring everyone to life & then tells her story with relentlessly focused intensity.

The ending is classic Siler - & leaves you praying she'll write another.