A Crack in Everything

By Angela Gerst

Susan Callisto is pushing thirty and taking stock. The man in her life, Massachusetts police lieutenant Michael Benedict, has unaccountably left her without a word of goodbye. Her consulting firm caters to entry level candidates, and while business is good, money is short.

Late in the season, political novice Charles Renfrow begs Susan to help him run for mayor of Telford. But Renfrow is a scientist not a politician, and his pockets are far too deep. Susan is tempted—Renfrow knows how to seduce—but her suspicions, if not her libido, are aroused.

When a friend insists Renfrow’s biotech company is dumping deadly toxic waste, Susan decides to find out the truth before committing herself. Instead of truth, she finds a corpse, Renfrow’s gorgeous assistant Torie Moran. The murder weapon is a microtome blade, razor sharp and accessible to anyone at Renfrow’s lab. After Torie’s murder, violence shadows Susan and people close to her. She is attacked in her driveway. An elderly client is beaten and left for dead. The young daughter of a candidate is abducted on her way to play camp. All sticky strands of a web with her name on it, Susan fears.

Then Renfrow himself turns up dead. Was he was the spider, the liar, the pitiless master of cause and effect? The murders bring Michael Benedict back into Susan’s life, and when another of her candidates is charged, she elbows her way into Michael’s investigation.

Working on parallel tracks, Susan and Michael uncover trails no one else wants to follow…..

• Language: English
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Release date: Sep 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781615953202

Angela Gerst

After law school, Angela Gerst moved from New York to Massachusetts and worked at journals. As a suburban desk reporter, she covered local happenings for the Newton Times and the Boston Globe, with a detour as press secretary for a Boston cultural organization. Her interest in local issues became a passion for campaigning and political consulting—which led inexorably to this first Susan Callisto mystery novel. Using her experience in magazine sales and marketing, she has helped define and set up Meadowlark Media. She and her husband live near Boston.

Reviews for A Crack in Everything

[liscarey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Susan Callisto has left the law firm where she started out as a real estate attorney for a career as a political consultant, supporting candidates for local office. When Charles Renfrow walks in, asking her to work on his campaign for Mayor of Telford, MA, offering a $20,000 retainer, she should be thrilled. She's not, in part because he's crowding her. But Renfrow is persistent, persuasive, and that $20,000 will make a big difference in her struggle to pay her bills. They make a handshake deal that she'll advise his campaign if he can get the necessary signatures by the filing deadline--just a few days away.

Friends warn her away. Friend and client restaurant owner Nino says Renfrow has cold eyes. Another political consultant tells her Renfrow's biotech company is being investigated for toxic dumping. And before the filing deadline arrives, Susan discovers the body of Renfrow's aide,

As she uncovers one lie after another, from Renfrow, his (ex?)wife, one of her other clients, Roddy Baird, candidate for alderman in Newton, she soon has no idea who to trust.

And if life weren't complicated enough, the murder has brought her former boyfriend, police detective Michael Benedict, back into her life.

There is nice characterization here, and great plotting, plus the fun of it being set in the greater Boston area, by a writer who clearly knows the area. I'm looking forward to reading more of Susan's adventures.

Recommended.

I borrowed this book from the library.

[iambookish-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed her writing style and her descriptive sentences were terrific. What's amazing is I rated it so high and I didn't ever warm to the main character!

[bookdivasreads · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A Crack in Everything by Angela Gerst is a mystery suspense novel featuring betrayal, politics, real estate and of course murder. Unfortunately Susan Callisto finds herself dragged into the drama of all of these.Susan Callisto is a lawyer and political consultant. After working for a few years with a large firm she decided to go solo. Most of her work relates to a few real estate consultations and consulting on political campaigns. Susan is currently dealing with a former elderly client - Nino Biondi - that refuses to leave his restaurant's rental property and an entrepreneur and political candidate - Roddie Baird, while trying to figure out why her relationship with Detective Lieutenant Michael Benedict fizzled out. She must also deal with a walk-in client that appears to want to run for political office but may have a hidden agenda. Charles "Chaz" Renfrow says he wants to run for mayor to allow his business a fair shake but he's left it a bit close as applications must be submitted within four days. Susan advises him on what needs to be done and briefly meets his assistant, Victoria "Torie" Moran, and his son, Glen Renfrow. As if she didn't have enough to deal with she uncovers Torie's body the day after meeting her and a few days later Chaz is dead. The good thing is these investigations have brought Michael back into her life, the bad thing is that her political client Roddie appears to be the prime suspect. Can Susan figure out what is going on to free Roddie and save his political life? What do these murders have to do with real estate? The more Susan uncovers the more mysteries and betrayals she finds. Can she uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim?There's a lot of drama and action going on in A Crack in Everything. The characters are well developed and even likeable. Regrettably I just couldn't get past the somewhat convoluted storylines. At the end all of the little connections are tied together, but while reading it just seemed like it was a bit much.

[eleanor_anders_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***My Look:Former real estate lawyer and current political consultant, Susan Callisto is ready to go home for the day, when a man needing political advice enters her office with a hefty check in hand. She questions the man, his motives, and she questions his check, but Susan puts "Chaz" Renfrow into the maybe client category and sets out to find out about this candidate and the man.Getting in touch with one of her friends, she receives a cryptic message in return and an urgent message to meet him about Renfrow.In the meantime, the maybe client fails to show at a scheduled meet while her other client seems to be the needy type requiring something from her at every turn. However, it's Nino Biondi that's giving her most of the trouble; he's still in a never-ending, bitter lawsuit with his landlord and refuses any sensible settlement offer.Finally, she meets with her friend and discovers that his concern about Renfrow seems to be based on a business arrangement gone sour and a personal bias toward the man, his company, and his campaign. However, she's gonna question her possible client to be sure her summation is a fair and, most importantly, an accurate one.When she speaks with Charles "Chaz" Renfrow he invites her to his company to allay any doubts that this friend, whom he knows well, has planted, and he actually does alleviate her worries.After accepting "Chaz" as a client, Susan discovers this check has come with some distinct disadvantages. Susan lands smack into the middle of a murder investigation, when she discovers the body of Renfrow's assistant, whom she met the day before she dies. Tori left a memorable impression, as a drunkard who was pawing her boss. Now, Susan's forced to face her former boyfriend, a police detective, who is in charge of the case, and she's believes he's a coward for making another detective question Susan.Then even more problems begin to plague Susan and those that she cares about.Biondi's, her stand-in grandfather, apartment is the subject of a breaking and entering by thugs who'd smashed apart everything the man owned. Soon his skull meets the same fate landing him in a coma. Using her power of attorney, she must make a decision that is for his best interest, all the while she knows he would disapprove, if he could. Now, the ex-boyfriend comes calling on her, after someone attacks Susan and the police find another one of her clients' dead.My Take:A CRACK IN EVERYTHING by Angela Gerst is book I recommend. From the quirky stand-in grandfather to latest dead client, Angela Gerst's supporting characters are as intriguing as Susan Callisto is. You will find a mix of personalities inside a mystery that is more than murder in a story that's in constant motion.Moreover, just when you think you might know whom or why, you'll find that avenue a dead-end as the next twist brings you down a new road where anything can happen.A CRACK IN EVERYTHING will leave you wanting another of the SUSAN CALLISTO MYSTERIES.