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"Fast moving! Racina spins a highly cinematic tale set against dramatic backdrops. A memorable villain who generates considerable suspense." ---Publishers Weekly
"A chilling cliff-hanger chase."
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"Snow Angel"
Julia Larsen has stepped into a nightmare. What was supposed to have been a joyous family reunion has become deadly, as she finds her parents' bloodied corpses inside their secluded mountain retreat. Julian, estranged from her husband, turns to longtime friend Matthew Hinson, a charismatic and handsome man to whom she's always been attracted.
Then the unthinkable happens, as Matt is arrested for the brutal murders. Julia is the only person who believes in his innocence. But as the trial begins amid a spectacular media circus, she becomes caught in a war between passion and doubt. Has Matt been framed, or is he the brilliant killer the police claim he is? And if so, just how safe is she in his clutches? |
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SNOW ANGEL – AND THE RECENT YOSEMITE MURDERS! Snow Angel is dear to my heart. The reason is it was the first book of my return to publishing, after 20 years in television. I loved TV, loved being head writer of soap operas, loved making up the stories (a little bit of "playing God"), but I got tired of the grind, the personalities with their great insecurities, the treadmill that is Hollywood, and the morons running rampant in that business. But I also wanted to leave something behind. Granted, some people will remember Luke & Laura's wedding forever, but a book sits on library shelves long after the author has departed for the great soap opera in the sky. So I started Snow Angel while I was still writing daytime. The idea was in my head for a few years, ever since the father of my friend, Sue Breeze, gave me an idea about revenge. Sue and I once got trapped in my beat-up car on the way to Mariposa, California, where my parents live, and I used that snowstorm as the setting at the beginning of the book. At one point it was 600 pages long, and I cut and rewrote and cut and rewrote on and off for about 3 years, until an editor at Dutton liked it. Joe Pittman is his name, and he's edited all my books since. It's a good marriage. We got a deal with Wolper Productions for a TV movie, and ABC optioned it, but it never got made. Hollywood. Go figure. It was a big hit, did well both in hardcover and soft, but the most interesting thing about the book happened this past year, early 1999. Three women were brutally killed in Yosemite National Park, and a fourth was beheaded some months later. When I used Yosemite as the last location in Snow Angel, it certainly was the dichotomy of a brutal murder amidst all that natural beauty that gave it its spin. Real life took it a step further, but real life did me one better when a guy named Cary Stayner confessed to the murders. He lived and worked at Cedar Lodge, a large resort just outside the gates of Yosemite, where my brother Rick's girlfriend also worked. In fact, they were great friends, and she still can't believe he's the one who did it. She's told me stories of him asking her to come to his room to "paint" her, and to go hiking alone with him shortly before he killed the last victim, who looked a lot like Eva. All along, Eva was angry because the FBI kept questioning her friend Cary, who seemed to be the essence of the nice guy, the boy next door, the last person on earth that you'd conceive of committing such a crime. Just like Matthew Hinson in my book. In fact, Eva has talked to Stayner about Snow Angel, and it seems he did know of it, and possibly he even read it. I may never know whether some of his sick inspiration came from the book, but he certainly outdid my story. Nevertheless, I think anyone interested in his story would love the book. It's a fast-paced thriller, with a great twist that takes your breath away. Just check out the reader reviews at amazon.com (but ignore the Kirkus Review, because the guy simply doesn't have a clue about thrillers). THIS BOOK WILL BE REPRINTED AND AVAILABLE AGAIN ON JUNE 1, 2002.
Buy an autographed copy of SNOW ANGEL!
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