Dead Air

Title: Dead Air

Author: Mary Kennedy

Publisher: Obsidian Mystery

Copyright Date: 2010

Print Date: January 2010

ISBN: 9780451228772

Pages: 300

Series: 1st of the Talk Radio Mystery series

Book Description (from back cover):

Maggie Walsh, Florida's newest radio talk show psychologist, thinks that being tucked away in her studio will keep her safe from all the crazies. But when she hits the airwaves, there's no telling whom she's reaching -- and who wants to reach back.

Maggie left her clinical practice in Manhattan to move to sunny Cypress Grove, Florida, where she became the host of WYME's On the Couch with Maggie Walsh. From codependent wives to fetish fiends, all the locals love her show, but Maggie is not fond of all of its occupational hazards.

Threats start pouring in against one of the station's special guests, self-styled New Age prophet Guru Sanjay Gingii. And when one of the threats becomes a deadly reality, Maggie's new roommate, Lark, is surprisingly the prime suspect. Maggie has to prove Lark innocent while dealing with a killer who needs more than just therapy.

Comments:

Mary Kennedy has written what appears to be some YA Chick Lit or Romance (I haven't actually read it, so I'm not sure), but this is her first venture into the world of cozy mysteries. I saw this book around PaperBackSwap and was interested in reading it. I didn't feel like waiting for it to be offered, though. Luckily, the local library had a copy available.

It's a nice cozy. Maggie's roommate is a suspect in a murder, so she has motivation for poking her nose into the murder. Maggie's mother takes on a fun secondary role. Also, not much is said about it, but she has some background in forensic psychology from when she lived in New York...maybe that will play out more in future mysteries. In this book, it mostly drew attention to the detective Rafe's not-great opinion of psychologists...or at least psychologists that play at police work.

Anyway, the series is nicely set up, and I'm interested in reading more. The 2nd in the series, Reel Murder, is due out in June.

As a note for anyone interested: Mary Kennedy is (apparently) a licensed clinical psychologist who happens to have some background in radio to draw on as she writes this series.