REVIEW: THE CINDERELLA MURDER, BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK & ALAFAIR BURKE

 

This book was featured as my First Book of 2015, hosted by Book Journey.

 

Laurie Moran, TV producer of a new show, Under Suspicion, has plans to feature a twenty-year-old murder as the next installment in her series. The unsolved murder of Susan Dempsey, dubbed “The Cinderella Murder,” because her body was found with only one shoe next to it, has gleaned the interest of her boss at the studio as well. But only after she has done considerable pitching and with the promise that some of the more noteworthy participants will be available.

This was a Hollywood story, in a sense, since Susan was a student at UCLA and a budding actress, who on the night of the murder, was supposed to go to the home of Frank Parker, a director, for an audition. She was a no-show.

Why did Susan’s roommate Madison show up so quickly to take her place? And why had Susan’s body been found in Laurel Canyon Park, minutes from the director’s home, when her car was at the university?

As Laurie and her crew begin investigating the possibilities in preparation for the show, several more questions present themselves. What, if anything, connects Susan’s murder with a cult-like organization called Advocates for God, which has enlisted none other than Susan’s ex-boyfriend, Keith Ratner? How is the leader of that group, Martin Collins, involved in a secret that Nicole, one of Susan’s old roommates, has been keeping for many years?

The Cinderella Murder: An Under Suspicion Novel was more than a Hollywood story, as there were many references throughout to a highly successful technological company launched by a former student and friend of Susan’s, Dwight Cook, and their former professor, Richard Hathaway. How does this multimillionaire dollar company tie in to what happened to Susan?

Secrets seem to be coming out of the woodwork as we move quickly through the short, terse chapters that made this novel a true page-turner, with the stunning reveal building up with a heart-pounding intensity that literally made it impossible for me to stop reading. Recommended for all fans of the author and those who enjoy murder mysteries. 5.0 stars.