REVIEW: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY KILLER, BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK/ALAFAIR BURKE

 

 

 

 

Katherine Carter (Casey) has just spent fifteen years in prison for killing her fiancé, Hunter Raleigh, III, and even though she was convicted of manslaughter instead of murder, there is nothing that will take away the sting of being found guilty. For Casey has maintained her innocence all along.

Now that she is out of prison, Casey’s first goal is to find a way to be on Laurie Moran’s show, Under Suspicion. With the help of her cousin Angela, who has always felt like a sister, she arranges for an interview.

Laurie listens, looks at the files, and then pitches the story to her boss, Brett. But both he and the new host of the show, Ryan Nichols, don’t think much of the idea, since Casey was convicted. Their show is usually about cold cases…unsolved cases.

But Laurie finally persuades them both, and the search begins for people to interview, including alternative individuals who might have killed Hunter.

The Sleeping Beauty Killer was a fast-paced book with short chapters; the moniker of “sleeping beauty killer” was one the press had hung on Casey. She had claimed to be sleeping deeply that night, having been drugged, and could not have killed him. Rohypnol was found in her blood, but a bottle of the pills was found in her handbag. Therefore, she could have drugged herself. But why would she hang onto the bottle?

More questions arise throughout Laurie’s investigation, as she considers other possible killers, such as Hunter’s brother, Andrew; the CFO, Mark Templeton; James Raleigh’s assistant, Mary Jane Finder; an ex-boyfriend of Casey’s who had written a book after her conviction, calling her “crazy”; and any number of other possible individuals, as yet unknown. The media frenzy continues. Who is the informant that seems to be providing insider information to one malicious blogger determined to “try Casey” all over again? Could the same individual have been feeding the media frenzy during the trial as well? What is the meaning of that individual’s screen name, RIP_Hunter?

All through the book I began to feel a niggling doubt about one individual, possibly the least likely suspect, whom I will not name due to spoilers. I never trusted that person. So I was pleased when finally the pieces of the puzzle fell into place…and I was right! I love when that happens.

I couldn’t stop reading this book, and even though I figured out who killed Hunter, I still wanted to keep going to discover how the answers would come to the characters who needed to know. 4 stars.

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