Death Is No Bargain

Written by Michael W. Sherer

Narrated by Gene Engene

Freelance writer Emerson Ward is minding his own business one sweltering July day when Larry Forrester shows up at the door of his Chicago brownstone, accuses him of seducing his teenage daughter, Ellen, and tries to kill him. A week later, when Larry's exwife tells Emerson that Ellen has gone missing and asks him to find her, Emerson also learns that his girlfriend, Nell, is pregnant. While Nell and Emerson confront the difficult decision of whether or not to keep their baby, Emerson discovers that Ellen may have been facing the same dilemma. When a girl fitting Ellen's description turns up dead 250 miles away, Emerson drops everything to find out what happened before he can face his own conflicted feelings. Suspecting the worst, Emerson adopts an alternate identity and leaves his Chicago life behind, unsure if he'll live to return. The trail leads him on a twisted and deadly journey through the heated and sometimes violent debate over abortion and the sex scandals rocking the Catholic Church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books in Motion
• Release date: Jan 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781614533030

Reviews for Death Is No Bargain

[newsieq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ellen Forrester, whom Emerson Ward had earlier befriended, has disappeared and the teen’s mother asks him to help find her. Emerson, a Chicago free-lance writer and sometime knight in shining armor, reluctantly agrees. But before he gets out of second gear, however, the girl is dead a long way from home – in a small town in northern Wisconsin. Her death appears accidental but her parents, friends and Emerson himself have unanswered questions. How did she get there? Where did she spend the last weeks of her life? Why did she run away?Emerson decides to take a hiatus from his writing (and dealing with his lady love’s unwanted pregnancy) to go snooping in Wisconsin. He takes on the persona of a deceased family friend to whom he has an uncanny resemblance. He just happens to have the man’s driver’s license, Social Security card and other means of identification. By simply growing a beard and speaking illiterate English, Emerson becomes Norm Wilson.“Norm” lands a job as a maintenance man for a convent that takes in pregnant women who wish to give up their babies for adoption. (Quite conveniently for Emerson at least, the job’s previous occupant is laid up with medical problems.) The more he sniffs around, the more he believes there’s something very fishy going on at the convent.Although I must admit Death is No Bargain’s plot sucked me in, I found myself quite put off by the egocentric Mr. Ward. A few of his actions were so despicable – he’s definitely no Alan Alda – that I almost stopped reading in disgust. It’s only the strength of the author’s quite amazing storytelling that kept me turning the pages. At some points, the believability level was lower than most cozies – and this is no cozy.By Diana. First published in Mystery News, Feb-March 2006 edition. (Note: this is an example of a book I liked despite its many annoyances. I awarded it 3.5 Quills (B-). I decided to add here based on the strong storytelling and interesting plot.Review based on publisher- or author-provided review copy.