Product Description

Interesting read .. Recommended. Former police office, private investigator Corbin Douglas has been hired to find red-haired model Nikki Rouke and to keep an eye on her while she is in New York. According to the information Corbin receives from wealthy Forrest Gray; Nikki is to be staying at the St Regis hotel for two weeks. Rourke is not on the plane, a beautiful red head is murdered in the JFK terminal and Douglas is soon embroiled in anything but the cupcake deal he had expected.

A murdered red head in France, and a third found in the room Nikki Rourke was to use all add up to a whole lot more than Corbin Douglas had bargained for. Corbin's old partner Charlie Miller is drawn into the case, each of the murdered women have a tie to Rourke, a tie to billionaire Forrest Gray and a tie to the owner of a new club: the Scarlet Ribbon. It is up to Charlie and Corbin to try to sort it all out before another red head comes up dead.

A mob hit against a red head, an auction at Sothebys, Nikki hides out in the old family estate, The Blue Gibson blues club, a chance meeting, wedding in the planning goes awry when the wedding planner comes up missing, Corbin suffers amnesia, Charlie issues a warning, helpful neighbors, a woman's body is fished out of the Hudson River, a secret wall safe, a break in, the wedding of the century and a confession of murder all figure in the tale.

With the advent of The Shadow of Her Smile Writer Taylor-Murray has produced another in her exciting succession of complex narratives filled with energetic, engaging characters, thrill a minute story line rounded out with twists and turns in addition to varied and efficacious motivations. Hard hitting dialogue filled with convincing passion set against an atmosphere overflowing with manipulation, mendacity and maneuvering moves the narrative along at breakneck speed.

As we have come to expect from her previous works, Taylor-Murray's characters are robust, often precipitate and always filled with the human frailty, faults and imperfections common to us all. The reader is caught up in the narrative from the opening paragraphs as writer Taylor-Murray sets down a vivid picture of the New York City environs in which Corbin Douglas and Charlie Miller reside and work.

Reader interest is held fast in this roller coaster ride teeming with homicide, disingenuousness, and cupidity from opening lines to the last paragraphs as we face the faceless terror with Nikki, the harsh reality of death and deceit with Charlie Miller and Corbin Douglas' grappling with trying to remember who he is and what he is doing at the Rourke Estate.

Writer Taylor-Murray has grown in her writing, I have reviewed many of her narratives and would rate this one as the best of the lot. The Shadow of Her Smile is true to the genre, has a reader friendly, credible plot, the narrative holds reader interest and is filled with plausible characters readers can support or ridicule with balanced ebullience.

Corbin Douglas - PI, Former New York City Homicide Detective his former partner and best friend Charlie Miller - New York City Homicide Detective are an interesting duo I hope to see in more works from the fertile mind of writer Taylor-Murray. The Shadow of Her Smile is not for everyone there is some profanity and some graphic sex. Happy to recommend for those who enjoy the genre.

Reviewed by: Molly Martin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #696616 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 184 pages

From the Publisher
Reading The Shadow of Her Smile was like slurping a long, cold lemonade on a sultry, summer day--I couldn't devour it fast enough!

The story started off with a bang, and grew increasingly suspenseful as Victoria Taylor Murray drew me into her exciting plot with the ease that only the best writers can achieve. From Trump Tower to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to Little Italy to NYPD and a grandmother's run-down mansion, she painted a New York seldom seen by outsiders. I especially relished the historical vignettes of The Big Apple woven in at appropriate places in the story.

Although many of the supporting characters were ultra-worldly-- obviously shallow, greedy, and lustful--each one was unique and thoroughly fleshed-out. Even billionaire Forrest Gray--who set the stage for this novel when he hired Corbin Douglas to find Nikki Rourke--became larger than life as Murray wielded her magic pen to craft him.

Through all these marvelous, mixed-up, often malevolent characters, Murray captured the true essence of the city's diversity of cultures and life-styles. And the hero and heroine were to die for!

Corbin, a cop-turned-private-investigator, is every woman's dream: handsome, strong, and sexy, yet kind, caring, and ethical, while Nikki is the beautiful, charming, smart, gutsy, red-haired woman who is at the center of everything. Corbin hooked me right from the start, but I had to wait awhile to meet Nikki. The wait was worth it, and she quickly won my heart by the tender, loving manner in which she cared for our hero when he was injured. And then there's Charlie, Corbin's friend and former partner, and the love-of-his-life Bette. What a joy it was to meet them. Of stronger moral fiber, these four characters more than made up for the "indiscriminate" behavior of the minor characters. They became so real to me, I'll think of them often in days to come.

The excitement was nonstop as Corbin searched for Nikki--"a woman in a photograph" with an unforgettable smile--overcoming death-defying, breath-stealing obstacles to help her.

This well-written, fast-paced story has everything: believable characters, realistic dialogue, suspense, romance, and "original" humor. When Corbin, told his former partner, "I have a headache the size of Stephen King's Buick 8," I laughed out loud ... a welcome relief from the tension of the book's drama.

The Shadow of Her Smile takes you through a series of twists and turns that makes your goosebumps sprout more goosebumps as you question: Who are the dead dancers? Who is killing red-haired women? Are they after Nikki too? Will Corbin find her in time or will she be the next victim? What's going on with the billionaire's wife? What does the chauffeur's "pretty-boy" son have to do with it? And the gangster and his hit squad? Is it all connected?

The very talented Victoria Taylor Murray won my heart with this book. I join her growing legions of fans in applauding her on penning another winner. My one regret is that I didn't discover her from her very first book.

-- Betty Dravis, author of The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley

From the Author
Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. -- Oprah Winfrey

I have always enjoyed writing as far back as I can remember. My Mother has been and will forever be the driving force behind my love for writing, and even though she passed away many years ago, I truly feel her presence in any writing project I undertake.

From the Inside Flap
“The Shadow of Her Smile” is a gripping tale that will have the day’s stress draining from your feet. This imaginative romance/suspense offers a downpour of danger, sex, and murder which will certainly put it on your “must read” list.

Customer Reviews

Beguiling
As beguiling as her heroine's smile, Ms. Taylor's newest mystery is a novel that entertained me. Easy to read, this book has all of the elements that created a fan base for the author. Yet, with The Shadow of Her Smile, Ms Taylor has come to a crossroads. The over-the-top, soap-sudsey, often hilarious style of the Lambert Books I found utterly delighting and totally gutsy has been toned down in this new book which begs to be taken more seriously.

The three main characters, Nikki, Corbin, and Charlie are well drawn and I liked them a lot. The interaction between Nikki and Corbin charmed me. As for the mystery and plot, we shall leave that alone. I wouldn't want to spoil surprises.

To Ms. Taylor, I say, "You have a knack for story telling. Whether you decide to improve your craft and get serious or to stick to the earthy, unstifled, and joyous writing that won you so many fans, you'll succeed as an author."

I look forward to reading many more stories by this gracious lady.

Realistic Characters, Indepth Descriptions, Page Turner
This is a wonderful novel to relax with. You find yourself believeing these characters are real. Nice people stand out drastically against the corrupt rich society they must mingle with.

The heroine is childlike, humble, non-judgemental. However, she is intelligent. You find yourself rooting for her as she realizes that she can no longer trust anyone who is close to her because any of them could be the one who wants her dead.

Victoria Taylor Murray creates a world of beautiful redheaded women who could pass for clones of different ages and social standing. She keeps you in the dark as to whom the killer until the end.

(...)

The Excitement Was Non Stop!
"Reading The Shadow of Her Smile was like slurping a long, cold lemonade on a sultry, summer day--I couldn't devour it fast enough! The story started off with a bang, growing increasingly suspenseful as Victoria Taylor Murray drew me into her exciting plot with the ease that only the best writers can achieve. From Trump Towers to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to Little Italy to NYPD and a grandmother's run-down mansion, she painted a New York seldom seen by outsiders. I especially relished the historical vignettes of The Big Apple woven in at appropriate places in the story. Although many of the supporting characters were ultra-worldly--obviously shallow, greedy, and lustful--each one was unique and thoroughly flushed out. Through them, Murray captures the true essence of the city's diversity of cultures and life-styles. And the hero and heroine are to die for! The excitement was nonstop as handsome Corbin Douglas searched for beautiful, red-haired Nikki Rourke--a "woman in a photograph" with an unforgettable smile--overcoming death-defying, breath-stealing obstacles to help her. This well-written, fast-paced book has everything: believable characters, realistic dialogue, suspense, romance, and "original" humor. For example, when Corbin, a cop-turned-private-investegator, told his former partner, "I have a headache the size of Stephen King's Buick 8," I laughed out loud... a welcome relief from the tension of the book's drama. I join this talented author's legions of fans in applauding her on penning another winner. My one regret is that I didn't discover her from her very first book." -- Betty Dravis, author of "The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley."