The Red Scream - Softcover

Walker, Mary Willis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553571729 ISBN 13: 9780553571721

Publisher: Bantam Books, 1996

Synopsis

Texas-based crime reporter Molly Cates has just  published her first book, describing the  blood-curdling exploits of serial killer Louie Bronk. Now on  death row, Louie's sentence is about to be carried  out. Molly will be there as a witness, and she  wants to write about it--the final coda to Louie's  story. But suddenly, she's being strongly  discouraged by her boss at the Lone Star  Monthly and by Charlie McFarland, the millionaire  real estate developer whose first wife, Tiny, was  Bronk's most famous victim--and the only one whose  murder is a capital offense. Then Molly starts to  receive dark hints that Louie may not have killed  Tiny after all. There is another murder following  Louis's M.O.--one he could not have committed.  The veracity of Molly's book is threatened--and then  her very life. Caught between a rock and a hard  place, Molly realizes that by attempting to save  Louis she is putting her own life on the line, and  discrediting her own work. Mary Willis Walker brings  a lusty new voice to the mystery scene. Already  recognized for her first novel, she has now created  a character just cheeky and gusty enough to take  her place among the top ranks of female  protagonists such as Kinsey Millhone and Kay Scarpetta.

About this title

Review:

‘One of the creepiest killers since Hannibal Lecter meets a plot and heroine worthy of Patricia Cornwell. Welcome to the big time, Mary Willis Walker
‘ Kirkus Reviews

‘A masterful writer... an outstanding book’
Booklist

From the Back Cover:

WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR THE BEST MYSTERY NOVEL OF THE YEAR

Eleven years ago, women driving on the desert Interstates were terrified of breaking down and falling victim to the Texas Scalper. But now he's safely behind bars, and one-time barber Louie Bronk is sentenced to die within a week for his final and most famous murder – that of glamorous socialite Tiny MacFarland.

Investigative reporter Molly Cates has just published 'Sweating Blood', the Louie Bronk story. So why is Tiny's husband trying to bribe her to stay off the concluding episode – the execution? Can it be that Bronk confessed to something he didn't do? Time is running out. And now the copycat murders have begun.

Praise for award-winning Mary Willis Walker

“Molly Cates – the ballsiest and best female protagonist”
KINKY FRIEDMAN

“An intelligent, complex thriller”
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0553571729
• ISBN 13: 9780553571721
• Binding: Paperback