Books › The second time around
The second time around
A Novel
First published 2003 · 482 pages
A tense, fast-paced thriller where corporate greed and tangled family loyalties collide in a dangerous search for the truth.
What it feels like
This brisk, suspenseful thriller plunges the reader into a shadowy world of corporate fraud and medical corruption. The mood is tense and increasingly paranoid, driven by the cynical but determined perspective of a journalist forced to investigate her own estranged family. As the narrative unfolds, the atmosphere shifts from a straightforward investigation of embezzlement into a high-stakes game of survival against a sinister, faceless threat. The prose is direct and urgent, keeping the pages turning as shifting loyalties and hidden agendas are brought to light. It is a perfect read for those who devour classic suspense novels featuring capable, relentless female protagonists navigating dangerous conspiracies, where uncovering the truth means risking everything.
- Mood
- tense
- paranoid
- shadowy
- threatening
- Tone
- suspenseful
- urgent
- cynical
- investigative
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- corporate greed · family betrayal · uncovering the truth · shifting loyalties · medical corruption
- The writing
- Direct, fast-paced, and focused on unraveling a complex web of corporate and familial deceit.
- The arc
- Moves from cynical detachment and familial distrust to urgent, life-or-death determination as a sprawling conspiracy deepens.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love classic suspense thrillers featuring determined female journalists, corporate conspiracies, and tangled family dynamics.
Content notes
- embezzlement
- fraud
- threats to life
- missing persons
About the book
When Nicholas Spencer, the charismatic head of a company that has developed an anticancer vaccine, disappears without a trace, reporter Marcia "Carley" DeCarlo is assigned the story. Word that Spencer, if alive, has made off with huge sums of money -- including the life savings of many employees -- doesn't do much to change Carley's already low opinion of Spencer's wife, Lynn, who is also Carley's stepsister and whom everyone believes is involved. But when Lynn's life is threatened, she asks Carley to help her prove that she wasn't her husband's accomplice. As the facts unfold, however, Carley herself becomes the target of a dangerous, sinister group that will stop at nothing to get what they want.
Description from Open Library.
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