A few days ago, I was browsing the Young Adult (YA) section of the library and took notice of Carolyn Hart's book Death by Surprise. I was initially interested in reading this novel because of its title, but then I read the back summary and knew I had to check it out. The novel promised to investigate the clash between two of my favorite areas: law and journalism.
The story focuses on Attorney K.C. Carlisle who comes from the very wealthy and reputable Carlisle family. She works as a storefront lawyer in northern California and takes almost any case that walks through her door. One night, she prepares to leave for home but a so-called journalist Francine Boutelle, who plans to expose dirty secrets about each member from the Carlisle family, blackmails her. Francine promises to not publish any private information on the Carlisles in exchange for money.
One night, K.C. visits Boutelle's apartment in an attempt to uncover secrets about Boutelle and find out where her sources came from, but she finds Boutelle lying dead on the sofa. Initially, the police suspect the members of the Carlisle family, and in the end, Kenneth Carlisle, K.C.'s cousin and also a lawyer, is arrested and accused of murdering Boutelle.
This is a very short and simple read; it only took me about a day or two. Not only is Carolyn Hart a remarkable writer, but she also explores the clash between two of my favorite subjects: law and journalism. The focus was more on law, but the fact that both topics were even briefly touched on immediately got me hooked. Even though this is the main reason why I enjoyed reading it, you don't need to have a passion for law or journalism to love this book as much as I do.