The Watcher

by Kay Nolte Smith

Humanitarian and social critic Dr. Martin Granger is dead. Was it a tragic accident, or a horrible murder? The principle witness in the case is Astrid Cain, a journalist out to expose him as a monster hiding under the sackcloth of sainthood. But there is another witness, an unknown lurker in the gloom.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

324 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 1999

About the author

Kay Nolte Smith (July 4, 1932 – September 25, 1993) was an American writer. She was for a time friendly with the philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand, who was her leading literary and philosophical influence.

Smith was born in Eveleth, Minnesota and grew up in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Smith launched her literary career after her separation from the Ayn Rand circle. Her first novel was the mystery story The Watcher. Smith's Catching Fire is set in the world of the New York theater, with an anti-trade union political stance. Mindspell centres on the conflict between science versus religion, with Nolte Smith stating this fiction was written "to challenge strongly the belief in the occult".[4] Her novel Elegy for a Soprano is a roman a clef inspired by Rand, Nathaniel Branden, and the circle around them. Elegy for a Soprano also portrays the life of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia and Norway. Two of her novels — Elegy for a Soprano and A Tale of the Wind — were nominated for Prometheus Awards in 1986 and 1992, respectively.

She published seven novels before her death from cancer at age 61.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Nol..., accessed May 25, 2012)

Reviews

[Beth Haynes]

Fun. Suspenseful. A quick read that is overall uplifting.

[Michael Norwitz]

Nolte Smith's first outing, a well-done mystery (which segues into a trial case). Characters are reasonably intriguing though I'm going to take for granted the courtroom stunts are legal. Weirdly, the villain in the case is almost a Rand/Ditko/Harrison Bergeron-esque satire of a liberal.

[Marco den Ouden]

Nolte's first novel won an Edgar Award for best first novel.

[Booknblues]

When a humanitarian died in a horrible accident the question is if it truly was an accident.