CHAPTER 1


So the deal is this--any cop who tickets me for a moving violation, gets an "attaboy" from the chief and a day off duty, off the books. To their credit, most cops know this is not fair play, but there's still enough of them out there who like the idea of a day off without their wives knowing about it that I keep a close eye on my rearview mirror and a light foot on my accelerator, careful not to let the speedometer of my Mustang sneak past thirty.

I've been on guard against Minneapolis cops since the police chief put a bounty on my "pretty little head" two years ago. He was good and pissed after I did a TV story about some of his officers sleeping in movie theaters and hanging out in strip clubs instead of patrolling the downtown streets. He got even more pissed when I reported other cops falsifying overtime after a tornado blew through town. You'd think by now the man's job would be on the line, but the chief apparently knows some dark secret about the mayor, who reappoints him to a new term every three years.
I knew all this from a source I was rushing to meet.

When the public thinks source, they think Deep Throat. Don't get me wrong, for a journalist, a high-level source is the ultimate rush. But you can't spend your news career waiting for a mysterious cliche in a trench coat to whisper state secrets. A low-level source with remarkable access can do almost as much damage. Give me a secretary with a straight-and-narrow conscience, working for a boss with a crooked soul, and I'll give you a lead story for the late news.
What bosses don't understand is that whistle-blowers don't call reporters first. They call us last. Only when they are completely disillusioned by the knowledge that going through the system doesn't work do they turn to us: the media. That's when we turn scandal into ratings and ratings into money. If I sound jaded, that's a shameful, recent development.

I hit the gas. Speed down the freeway ramp off Lyndale Avenue and onto the interstate. Here's where I make up lost time. City police don't usually make traffic stops on freeways and I'm not worried about the State Patrol. More than a year ago, I became untouchable in Minnesota. Every State Patrol officer from International Falls to the Iowa border knows my name and face. If I'm inadvertently stopped, they apologize sincerely and send me on my way.

My name is Riley Spartz. I'm a television reporter for Channel 3. I'm thirty-six years old, but on a good day I look a decade younger. A big plus in a cutthroat business. Beyond the obvious advantage of youth meaning a longer shelf life, strangers tend to underestimate me--thus I've broken more than my share of exclusives and won more than my share of awards. But none of that matters when contract time comes around. Then, all any news director wants to know is "What have you done for me lately?" Being objective, I have to admit, lately I haven't done shit.
When I first started out in this business, I considered news the stuff that happens to other people. I know better now. I understand why some folks consider news just another four-letter word.



I was across the Mississippi River and had already claimed the back row of seats when Nick Garnett walked in the Highland Theater in St. Paul. I gave him the aisle since his legs are longer. The afternoon matinee wasn't scheduled to begin for a half hour so the theater was empty.

"Been waiting long?" he asked.

"A few minutes."

"Sorry. I got lost on the way." A top Minneapolis homicide detective, Garnett was more talented at telling good from evil than north from south.

"Why did we have to meet all the way over here?" I...

 

If a book ever called out to be turned into a movie, it's this one. Bernadette Dunne excels as the narrator of this engaging novel about a television reporter who investigates a series of murders of women named Susan, which take place every year on a specific day. Dunne's faithful performance captures the back-stabbing intrigue of the newsroom, the political wrangling of police and politicians in a major city, and a love of dogs. She makes listeners want to know these people, some of them anyway, with an energetic performance that just sucks you in. When she lends voice to male roles, she does it so subtly the listener will scarcely remember the gender difference. And it's great that the ending is a shocker. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

 

"Dazzling.... Readers who enjoy Janet Evanovich will soon be stalking Julie Kramer."

 

"A rocking good story.... Chilling, twisty, and clever."

 

"A snappily paced debut thriller.... Truly scary no matter what your name is."

 

"Riley Spartz is a classic spunky investigator. She'll have readers cheering for her gutsy determination to stop the killings and boost her ratings."

 

"Stalking Susan is a fantastic debut. Julie Kramer has crafted a thriller that will get your heart racing."

 

JULIE KRAMER is a freelance television news producer for NBC's Today show, Nightly News, and Dateline. Prior to that, she was a national award-winning investigative producer for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. She lives in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, with her husband and...

Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer
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