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Laura Wolfe #1
Death of an Intern
Winner of a Finalist Award in the Mystery Category of the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, this riveting, suspenseful novel is an introduction to Donaldson's Laura Wolfe series. Wolfe, a tenacious beat reporter for The Washington Star, tracks a D.C serial killer who butchers pregnant women and steals their fetuses, dumping the naked bodies with no identification in an obscure part of the city. When Laura is shown the body of victim number two, she recognizes her as someone named Janet who she had met at a reception for the Vice President of the United States. The victim is quickly identified as Janet Rausch, and Laura begins digging into her background. When the public Janet does not match with the private one, Laura begins to question whether there may have been more to Janet’s death than being a serial killing victim. The mounting evidence Laura accumulates stimulates her inquisitive mind into believing Janet’s murder was planned. Yet she is the only one to believe that theory. Her startling revelation confounds both her lawyer husband and her bestfriend, Max Walsh, Captain of Homicide for the Washington MPD. Laura persists anyway and goes from the dirty back streets of D.C. to the nation’s capital, to the Virginia suburbs, and into the polished halls of political Washington, as the public is terrorized by a third murder, very much like the previous two.
402 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 16, 2013
This is a well-written, reasonable paced novel. The characters are interesting but, other than the lead, not particularly well developed. The plot was interesting and the resolution a surprise (at least to me). My main problem was the relationship between the heroine (a reporter) and the chief of homicide. I found their cozy relationship and sharing of information to be somewhat unrealistic and, at times, irritating. I'm not sure how real-world that is and it forms the basis for the entire book. However, I will likely try another book in this series before I decide if I am a fan.
January 8, 2017
Title: Death of an Intern - Laura Wolf Thriller Book 1
Author: Keith M. Donaldson
Published: 10-15-2011
Publisher: BQB Publishing
Pages: 403
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense
Sub Genre: Women Sleuths; Cozy Mystery; Amateur Sleuths
ISBN: 13: 9781937084233
ASIN: B00669806A
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I received a copy of "Death of an Intern" from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Description
Winner of a Finalist Award in the Mystery Category of the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, this riveting, suspenseful novel is an introduction to Donaldson's Laura Wolfe series.
Wolfe, a tenacious beat reporter for The Washington Star, tracks a D.C serial killer who butchers pregnant women and steals their fetuses, dumping the naked bodies with no identification in an obscure part of the city.
When Laura is shown the body of victim number two, she recognizes her as someone named Janet who she had met at a reception for the Vice President of the United States. The victim is quickly identified as Janet Rausch, and Laura begins digging into her background. When the public Janet does not match with the private one, Laura begins to question whether there may have been more to Janet’s death than being a serial killing victim. The mounting evidence Laura accumulates stimulates her inquisitive mind into believing Janet’s murder was planned. Yet she is the only one to believe that theory. Her startling revelation confounds both her lawyer husband and her best friend, Max Walsh, Captain of Homicide for the Washington MPD. Laura persists anyway and goes from the dirty back streets of D.C. to the nation’s capital, to the Virginia suburbs, and into the polished halls of political Washington, as the public is terrorized by a third murder, very much like the previous two.
My Review of "Death of an Intern":
Laura is a character that is driven to find the truth and see that justice is gotten for the victims and their families. She is principled, intelligent woman willing to go to the wall for what she believes in. This thriller is a darker book than I normally read, but that being said I admit to being pulled into the story. It is well written with a compelling plot that is believable. Having been released twelve years ago the reader must take in the changes time have made on the setting and technology. Mr. Donaldson has given us a novel that is guaranteed to send chills down your spine.
My rating of "Death of an Intern" is 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0595413463/...
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death...
GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
Author: Keith M. Donaldson
Published: 10-15-2011
Publisher: BQB Publishing
Pages: 403
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense
Sub Genre: Women Sleuths; Cozy Mystery; Amateur Sleuths
ISBN: 13: 9781937084233
ASIN: B00669806A
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I received a copy of "Death of an Intern" from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Description
Winner of a Finalist Award in the Mystery Category of the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, this riveting, suspenseful novel is an introduction to Donaldson's Laura Wolfe series.
Wolfe, a tenacious beat reporter for The Washington Star, tracks a D.C serial killer who butchers pregnant women and steals their fetuses, dumping the naked bodies with no identification in an obscure part of the city.
When Laura is shown the body of victim number two, she recognizes her as someone named Janet who she had met at a reception for the Vice President of the United States. The victim is quickly identified as Janet Rausch, and Laura begins digging into her background. When the public Janet does not match with the private one, Laura begins to question whether there may have been more to Janet’s death than being a serial killing victim. The mounting evidence Laura accumulates stimulates her inquisitive mind into believing Janet’s murder was planned. Yet she is the only one to believe that theory. Her startling revelation confounds both her lawyer husband and her best friend, Max Walsh, Captain of Homicide for the Washington MPD. Laura persists anyway and goes from the dirty back streets of D.C. to the nation’s capital, to the Virginia suburbs, and into the polished halls of political Washington, as the public is terrorized by a third murder, very much like the previous two.
My Review of "Death of an Intern":
Laura is a character that is driven to find the truth and see that justice is gotten for the victims and their families. She is principled, intelligent woman willing to go to the wall for what she believes in. This thriller is a darker book than I normally read, but that being said I admit to being pulled into the story. It is well written with a compelling plot that is believable. Having been released twelve years ago the reader must take in the changes time have made on the setting and technology. Mr. Donaldson has given us a novel that is guaranteed to send chills down your spine.
My rating of "Death of an Intern" is 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0595413463/...
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death...
GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
August 12, 2013
Review: I thought that Keith Donaldson did a very good job at developing his leading character to be a strong female lead. However, outside of that, I didn't think that the other main characters were fleshed out as well and I had trouble trying to visualize them over the course of the novel. Sometimes, the supporting characters were not given enough background development and I had a hard time understanding their motives or actions.
Donaldson states at the end of the novel that he first wrote this as a screen play and that helps me to understand some of the issues that I had with this. First off, the lead character is always written in first person point of view. That is okay, but sometimes the author forgets that you only see or feel things through that character and would state what the other character in the scene was thinking. In first person, you can't do that. All the other scenes in the novel are written in third person point of view, which is fine. I wish that Donaldson would have just stuck with third person for the whole novel, since it would have made it a much easier read.
The other main issue that I had with this novel was that it had over 100 chapters in it. Some of the chapters were less than a page long. This is just a pet-peeve of mine, but by doing that, it makes it a much faster read and choppy at times. Nothing seemed to get developed and I was using too much of my own imagination filling the spaces in between the main storyline.
However, even though the plot was not entirely original, sex scandal in the White House, it did have a few twists and turns here and there that made it enjoyable. Again, I liked the strong female lead and how the characters themselves seemed realistic and not entirely fictional. I enjoyed this novel and felt that it was an entertaining read.
If you are someone who likes a good, old-fashioned political scandal murder mystery, then this book is for you. If you are into a more modern or fresh approach to a political murder mystery, then this book isn't for you.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I was given a copy of this book by the author via Bostick Communications; I was not paid to review this book.
www.thepensivechronicler.blogspot.com
Donaldson states at the end of the novel that he first wrote this as a screen play and that helps me to understand some of the issues that I had with this. First off, the lead character is always written in first person point of view. That is okay, but sometimes the author forgets that you only see or feel things through that character and would state what the other character in the scene was thinking. In first person, you can't do that. All the other scenes in the novel are written in third person point of view, which is fine. I wish that Donaldson would have just stuck with third person for the whole novel, since it would have made it a much easier read.
The other main issue that I had with this novel was that it had over 100 chapters in it. Some of the chapters were less than a page long. This is just a pet-peeve of mine, but by doing that, it makes it a much faster read and choppy at times. Nothing seemed to get developed and I was using too much of my own imagination filling the spaces in between the main storyline.
However, even though the plot was not entirely original, sex scandal in the White House, it did have a few twists and turns here and there that made it enjoyable. Again, I liked the strong female lead and how the characters themselves seemed realistic and not entirely fictional. I enjoyed this novel and felt that it was an entertaining read.
If you are someone who likes a good, old-fashioned political scandal murder mystery, then this book is for you. If you are into a more modern or fresh approach to a political murder mystery, then this book isn't for you.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I was given a copy of this book by the author via Bostick Communications; I was not paid to review this book.
www.thepensivechronicler.blogspot.com
July 29, 2014
Received a free copy through Goodreads.com.
The problem for me with this novel is it starts off seemingly to be going in one direction, and then does a u-turn and takes off in a completely different direction. Maybe that’s why I was ultimately disappointed in it. The presumed story – killing off pregnant women - had many interesting possibilities, especially since the person deeply involved in the investigation is herself pregnant. That could have added a really nice twist to the plot. Instead, the main character’s pregnancy just becomes annoying and ultimately has no significance in the ultimate resolution.
I didn’t find any of the characters particularly engaging or interesting. The relationship between Laura and her husband is all surface and never really developed. All he does, pretty much, is fret over her the entire novel. It, frankly, comes off as sexist and overbearing. We’re supposedly reading about an adult, independent, professional woman here; not someone who needs to be watched over by not only her husband, but her boss and almost every other character in the novel as well! We get so much emphasis on her diet, stress levels, sleep deprivation, exercise, etc., it becomes tedious and just boring. By the time I got to the ‘who-and-why-done-it’ part, I didn’t really care much anymore.
Can’t recommend it.
The problem for me with this novel is it starts off seemingly to be going in one direction, and then does a u-turn and takes off in a completely different direction. Maybe that’s why I was ultimately disappointed in it. The presumed story – killing off pregnant women - had many interesting possibilities, especially since the person deeply involved in the investigation is herself pregnant. That could have added a really nice twist to the plot. Instead, the main character’s pregnancy just becomes annoying and ultimately has no significance in the ultimate resolution.
I didn’t find any of the characters particularly engaging or interesting. The relationship between Laura and her husband is all surface and never really developed. All he does, pretty much, is fret over her the entire novel. It, frankly, comes off as sexist and overbearing. We’re supposedly reading about an adult, independent, professional woman here; not someone who needs to be watched over by not only her husband, but her boss and almost every other character in the novel as well! We get so much emphasis on her diet, stress levels, sleep deprivation, exercise, etc., it becomes tedious and just boring. By the time I got to the ‘who-and-why-done-it’ part, I didn’t really care much anymore.
Can’t recommend it.
December 28, 2013
I just finished this book and I'm not quite sure what to think. I'd probably give it more like 3.5 stars since I really liked the first half of the book (was up way too late reading it), but then it just seemed to lose focus and spent too much time on random events not connected to the main plot. The book relies heavily on dialogue, but I wasn't always sure who was talking (and maybe that could be because this ARC copy didn't have the best formatting).
For the most part, I liked the main character (Laura Wolfe). She's a smart and strong female lead.
I thought the relationship between Max and Laura was a little too cozy, though. A high-ranking police official would not be handing that much privileged information to a reporter -- at least not with repercussions. But I have to remind myself, this is just a book and it can stretch the bounds of reality.
The ending was...eh. It began abruptly and ended pretty much the same way. The killer and motive seemed a little contrived. There weren't really any clues leading up to who it could be (actually, quite the opposite. It seemed Donaldson spent most of the time trying to throw the reader off).
Despite the criticisms, though, I think this is a pretty solid read for people who enjoy a good mystery.
For the most part, I liked the main character (Laura Wolfe). She's a smart and strong female lead.
I thought the relationship between Max and Laura was a little too cozy, though. A high-ranking police official would not be handing that much privileged information to a reporter -- at least not with repercussions. But I have to remind myself, this is just a book and it can stretch the bounds of reality.
The ending was...eh. It began abruptly and ended pretty much the same way. The killer and motive seemed a little contrived. There weren't really any clues leading up to who it could be (actually, quite the opposite. It seemed Donaldson spent most of the time trying to throw the reader off).
Despite the criticisms, though, I think this is a pretty solid read for people who enjoy a good mystery.
November 5, 2013
Death of an Intern by Keith Donaldson is an engaging mystery/thriller that combines politics, sexual scandal, and murder. Set in Washington DC, the protagonist is Laura Wolfe, a tenacious beat reporter for the Washington Daily Star. Laura covers a story of what appears to be a serial killer. Her keen investigative skills soon leads her all the way to the White House as she relentlessly pursues the truth of who is responsible for the killings.
Laura's character is well developed, but I found her relationship and sharing of information with Max Walsh, the Captain of Homicide for Washington MPD to be unrealistic. Other characters, such as Jerry, Laura's husband, and Lassiter, Laura's boss, were not very well developed and their contributions to the storyline were somewhat pedestrian at times. But all in all, it was a good story with lots of interesting twists and turns. I enjoyed it, but didn't find it memorable.
Laura's character is well developed, but I found her relationship and sharing of information with Max Walsh, the Captain of Homicide for Washington MPD to be unrealistic. Other characters, such as Jerry, Laura's husband, and Lassiter, Laura's boss, were not very well developed and their contributions to the storyline were somewhat pedestrian at times. But all in all, it was a good story with lots of interesting twists and turns. I enjoyed it, but didn't find it memorable.
September 14, 2013
I love strong, smart female characters that are also very human and approachable and Laura Wolfe is just that. From the beginning, the murders don't feel like a serial killing to her and she follows her instincts to uncover the truth. The "who done it" part really surprised me. Enjoyable read.
April 13, 2014
I was asked to review this from Netgalley.
I tried very hard to get into this as I know I usually love my Crime/Thriller books. I sooooooooo struggled to get past the first few pages and I am not usually 1 to moan, but I couldn't even understand the story.
I tried very hard to get into this as I know I usually love my Crime/Thriller books. I sooooooooo struggled to get past the first few pages and I am not usually 1 to moan, but I couldn't even understand the story.
January 13, 2014
Couldn't finish this one. Just did not grab my attention. And with all the books in the TBR pile, decided to say bye bye to it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews