This Silicon Valley murder intrigue will keep you on the edges of your seat as you attempt to unravel the clues.
The murder of Bud Nevers, the CEO of a successful computer company, not only leads the authorities through twist and turns of the human element but also keeps them struggling to unlock computer files that hold important information.
The surprises you encounter in this drama will leave you wanting more. A must read for those engulfed in the ‘wave of the future’.
Betty Sullivan La Pierre Murder/Suspense
E-Mail: BZNA93AATaol.com
MURDER.COM
BY
BETTY SULLIVAN LA PIERRE
BUD NEVERS, the CEO of the NEVERS’ COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
COMPANY in Silicon Valley is murdered. DETECTIVE TOM HOFFMAN and his partner DETECTIVE CLIFF MAXHIMER suspect the president of the company, KEN WEBER. Their suspicion heightens when the accountant, RYAN CONNERS is found dead in his office in what appears an act of suicide. Further investigation proves the financial books had been tampered with and Conners was embezzling large amounts of money from the company. It appears that Ken and Ryan were in this together. It was soon revealed that Ryan was also murdered.
ANGIE NEVERS, Bud’s wife finds herself being blackmailed by MELINDA SMITH, who claims to be Bud’s illegitimate daughter. Angie discovers that MARTY CASALES her housekeeper of over twenty years, is the girl’s mother. DNA test prove the girl is not Bud’s.
Through a twist of coincidences, it is discovered that AUTUMN CONNERS, the wife of the accountant, is blackmailing Ken Weber who finally confides in Detective Hoffman. The detectives move in on Autumn and find evidence that she was involved with the murder of Bud, then she murdered her own husband. When the detectives go to arrest her, Tom is wounded. Angie realizes she’s in love with Tom, who’s been in love with her for years.
Excerpt
The young woman hesitantly lowered herself onto the seat a few feet away. Angie knew she'd caught her off guard. Oddly enough, it put her inner feelings at ease. She studied Melinda as she fought for composure. A natural beauty, skin as smooth as silk and hair that shone even under artificial lights. But her eyes distracted Angie. Beautiful as they were, they left her feeling cold and scared.
Melinda's gaze traveled to Angie's face. "You obviously don't know who I am."
"No, I don't have the foggiest notion who you are or where you're from. All I know is that you came to see Bud at our party."
"He didn't tell you?"
"No."
Professional Reviews
Murder.com
MURDER.COM
by
BETTY SULLIVAN LA PIERRE
http://www.geocities.com/e-pub-2000
As she celebrates her 25th anniversary with her husband, Angie Nevers has no idea that her happy, suburban life is about to change forever. But, in Betty Sullivan LaPierre's MURDER.COM, when she answers the door at the party and tells her husband, Bud, that a young woman named Melinda is waiting to see him, it does. Although Bud tells Angie that everything is fine, she senses a restlessness, a feeling of sadness in him that she can't explain to herself. Before she is able to ask Bud about it, he disappears. Terrified, Angie turns to Bud's long-time friend, Detective Tom Hoffman for asistance. After Bud's burned out Porsche is found, the Detective comes to believe that Bud was murdered. As she sorts through the details of her husband's life, Angie realizes that there were so many things about Bud that she didn't know. She finds that everyone and everything look just a little different to her now. What's going on at the company that Bud and Ken Weber own, the company she thought was so successful? What was Bud so worried about? Why has Ken become so angry and abusive to his family? Is it possible that he was involved in Bud's murder? This idea would have been unthinkable to Angie but now her world is so changed that she has to consider it. And who is Melinda Smith? Is she involved? Angie knows that when she finds the answers to these questions, she'll know who killed Bud. But there are so many threads leading in so many directions that Angie and Tom Hoffman both wonder if they'll ever solve Bud's murder.
Betty Sullivan LaPierre has done it again- MURDER.COM is a real winner! This is a fast-paced mystery with lots of twists and turns. I was absolutely convinced that I knew who-dun-it at least twice - and I was wrong both times! The story is completely believable and full of suspense. LaPierre's characters are, as always, full of life and warmth. Angie Nevers has a quiet strength that keeps her going through the total upheaval in her life. This is not the type of woman who falls to pieces when things get tough - this is the type of woman who you'd like to have as a friend when things go wrong. I found myself caring for Angie and the other characters in the book right away. They're just so REAL that they reach out and grab you from the first page. This book has it all: great plot, great writing and great characters. Oh . . . leave yourself some time when you read this book. You won't want to put it down till you've read the very last page!
Elaine Broome, Reviewer
Murder.com
Murder.Com by Betty Sullivan LaPierre
www.geocities.com/e_pub_2000
ISBN: 1-58338-645-9
Bud Nevers stood at his bedroom window and stared into the inky darkness of yet another unseasonable storm pelting the San Francisco Bay area. Deep in thought, he didn't even flinch when the wet branches of a large oak tree slapped against the window.
Tonight he and Angie had invited a group of friends from work to help them celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Normally, he looked forward to entertaining guests, but tonight it had no appeal. Other worries troubled his mind. Like the young eager beaver intern Bill Crane, hired by the company for the summer, who'd uncovered a questionable entry in the accounting books and brought it to Bud's attention.
The young man had pointed out how he thought it odd that the ABC Wafer Company had been receiving fifty thousand dollars on the same day every month for the past year. He'd asked Bud if he knew who they were and what service they provided.
Bud couldn't answer the question. Crane went on to explain that he'd never seen this company listed on the stock market, nor had he ever heard of them. When Bud learned this, he immediately became suspicious.
The promo for this thriller reads in rhyme:
"The CEO is dead.
Suicide they said.
Embezzlement, murder and blackmail,
are the beginning of the trail."
There is no exaggeration here, Betty Sullivan LaPierre, author of the Hawkman series is a first rate writer who knows how to grab readers with class and dash. Her writing style has the energy of melted Ozark Mountain snow headed for the mighty Mississippi and readers find their senses whirled, twirled and swirled leaving them out of breath and dizzy.
The one thing I have always enjoyed about a LaPierre book is its top notch action and extreme level of suspense. True to her form, both are quickly evident in this tale of murder, blackmail, unfaithfulness, and embezzlement.
From the first line you'll know that there is literally something rotten in the kitchen and secrets teem. Clues fall like rocks, hitting the reader and stunning him/her with smart and ambiguous traps. You will find yourself scrolling just one more page until exhausted you'll have reach this book's unanticipated conclusion.
Ms LaPierre has two more novels due out soon, The Deadly Thorn and The Silent Scream.
Jonathan David Masters
Reviewer
www.booktrees.com
Murder.com
MURDER.COM by BETTY SULLIVAN LA PIERRE
Author Betty Sullivan LaPierre claims, "I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of
plotting a good, clean, exciting story," and that's just what she does. Her
characters are distinctly good or evil, totally involved in the plot.
Engaging dialogue turns the pages of her novels, none more so than
Murder.Com.
Bud and Angie Nevers have an idyllic life. They are madly in love with one
another, live in a fabulous house on gated grounds due to the spectacular
success of Bud's technology firm. A little crack in the gloss comes
knocking on their front door one evening when they are celebrating their
25th wedding anniversary with special friends. A beautiful young blond
woman is quickly hustled away, with Bud obviously agitated. A few days pass
and Bud doesn't come home Saturday, after his golf game with his business
partner. The ensuing hours are agony for Angie.
Sandy called a little after eleven. "Have you heard from him?"
Angie gazed out the kitchen window into the darkness and wiped her hand
across her forehead. "Not a word."
"Did you two have a fight?"
"No. I wish it were that simple."
"Maybe you should call the police."
Angie fiddled with a tea towel, rolling the fringed edge between her
fingers. "I thought about calling Tom, but what can he do? Bud's only been gone for hours, not days."
"Call him anyway, he'll understand. After all, this is out of character for
Bud. That might mean something."
She felt relieved that Sandy had suggested the very thing that had crossed
her mind. "You're right. I'll call him."
"I'll talk to you in the morning. Try not to worry."
Angie hung up and drummed her fingers on the table. She still hesitated to
call Tom, but her fears had heightened. Bud could be lying in his Porsche at the bottom of a ravine, bleeding to death.
Once Police Detective Tom Hoffman heads the investigation to find out what
happened to Bud, the reader is cast on a rollercoaster ride to figure out
whodunit, howdunit and whydunit. The villain'll surprise you!
If you've tried Ms. LaPierre's Hawkman series, "THE ENEMY STALKS" and
"DOUBLE TROUBLE", you know you're in for a treat when you curl up with one of her delightful mysteries.
Forensic pathologist Greg Stevens MD is caught in the middle of a bitter struggle between two of his closest friends. Sean Merrick, an attorney specializing in malpractice law, sues Dr. Jason Costanza after Merrick's wife dies unexpectedly, following
Book three in series. Excitement and tension begin on the first day of filming a Restoration drama on location at the historic Jacobean mansion, Ham House in Surrey.
