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 ex-wife 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.

Death is No Bargain

Michael W. Sherer
Five Star (2006)
ISBN 1594143684
Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (10/06)


A sign of a good mystery novel is one that keeps the reader guessing until the end.  A brilliant author is able to successfully “go where no (wo)man dare go.”  Michael W. Sherer has managed to accomplish both in his novel “Death is No Bargain.”

Emerson Ward, former stock broker, spends his days as a freelancer.  For the most part he picks up freelance writing at a tolerable pace and spends the rest of his days in a relaxed and laid back pace having made enough as a stock broker to keep him comfortable between jobs.  It’s his other freelance work, however, that seems to keep him living close to the edge.  By doing more favors for friends than actual jobs, Emerson has a knack for attracting himself to danger.

A year before Emerson had run into a disoriented young girl and brought her back to recoup and recover at his place before convincing her to find her way back home.  Now her father has showed up on his doorstep ready to kill him for seducing and harboring his daughter who has once again run away.  After escaping the near-death experience he finds himself unable to deny his help to the saner ex-wife.  In the twists and turns of the ensuing events, Emerson soon finds himself dedicated to solving the mystery of her disappearance. 

Michael W. Sherer tackles the complexities of pregnancy, abortions, adoptions, and shady connections to a Catholic convent.   Although these events are at the forefront of the novel they are presented in a brilliantly uncontroversial way – simply as details for the reader to ponder and digest while diligently trying to determine “whodunit.”

“Death is No Bargain” brings more to the reader than the thrill of a good mystery.  It is brimming with controversial subject matter successful in transporting the reader to a higher level of intellectual stimulation.  As the battles in Emerson’s world ensue – so too do the battles within the reader.