Dead Copy

Cauley MacKinnon Mystery #2

by Kit Frazier

Twentysomething Cauley MacKinnon is dying to escape the obituary beat and become a real reporter for the Austin Sentinel. Her best chance at a front-page scoop disappeared when she got too close to a case and almost got killed. Cauley also managed to fall for the smoking-hot FBI agent assigned to protect her.

When Special Agent Tom Logan shows up asking for a fake obituary to make a key trial witness "disappear," Cauley jumps at the chance to help. After all, she's still watching his dog Marlowe–although maybe it's the other way around.

Caught in the crossfire on the courthouse steps, Cauley sees the murder of the man whose death she already helped fake. Now someone is making it clear that they don't want Cauley getting any closer to the case–unless she wants to wind up on the obituary page herself.

Click here to download Book Club Questions for Dead Copy , prepared by the author!

Genres: Mystery, Suspense

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

As an Air Force brat, Kit grew up all over the southern United States and spent countless hours on front porches, listening to stories and tall tales and the extraordinary goings-on south of the Mason Dixon line, some of which were the basis for her first mystery novel.Kit is a professional journalist and is the two-time, first-place winner of the Writers' League of Texas and Merritt awards. She is a member of the Texas Press Association, and is certified in Search & Rescue.Kit lives on Lake Travis just outside Austin, Texas, with her dog, Tahoe, who plays a significant role in the mystery series.

Series:
* Cauley MacKinnon Mystery

Reviews

[Lynsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

great storyline. Loved the story. Would have been 5 stars if it was edited well. Like the first book there were missing commas, missing periods and missing words.

[Robbin Henson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading this author. Had no idea it was a series. I will be looking for more.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is that of obituary writer Cauley MacKinnon who is working the edges of an FBI case against an Argentinian gang making inroads into Austin, TX, that is poised for a gang war with the homegrown Syndicate. MacKinnon assists the feds in trying to protect a witness who is preparing to give testimony. In her spare time, Cauley and her dog Marlowe assist local Search & Rescue operations. In short, Cauley fakes an obituary for the testifier-to-be in an effort to keep would-be assassins at bay. When he is gunned down on the courthouse steps and his sister goes missing, the plot begins to thicken and Cauley's professional and personal lives overlap.

There are several things that seem to get in the way. Most noteably, the fact that the exposition is choppy. The jump in time between chapters is inconsistent, and you wonder how the previous scene ended and whether the author was required to shorten the book and, instead of rewriting, she simply cut entire chapters. Over the course of a 419-page book, this gets old real fast. Also, the writer appears uncomfortable writing an actual sex scene. While that's hardly a huge deal, the fact that the reader is unclear whether the characters have actually had sex or not after a supposed sex scene hardly helps said reader to understand where the characters' relationship stands.

As our protagonist, Cauley MacKinnon is likeable. Her obsesion with FBI agent Tom Logan is tolerable. Her irreverent attitude, and care for animals--her own as well as the possibly abused canine of corrupt sherrif Hollis--are refreshing. However the writing is a bit clunky and gets in the way. And that's too bad, because the plotline--while predictable in its resolution--was quite clever.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cauley MacKinnon is an obit writer hoping to move to the news side of the paper. Dead Copy goes far beyond just being a chick-lit mystery--Cauley trains a search and rescue dog, finds missing people and killers, and tries to keep the flame going with hot FBI agent Tom Logan. There's a lot of stories here and quite frankly, Frazier probably could have gotten two books out of this. But it was a good read, taking place in Austin, TX, with the Mexican mafia, good-old boy connections and Cauley's extended group of eccentric family and friends making it a story worth sticking with until the end.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has a lot of the same characters as Scoop and then some. Finally, the character of Diego is clear to me. Logan is back and her terrific Texan parents and El Patron plays a part. I must say, I miss that sexy John Fiennes fellow from the first one, bad guy or not. This one is very cute. It however, is so much like the first one, it is a bit too predictable. I found the first one to be more action packed and humorous both. Not as much happens to Cauley in this book. She is more a bystander. Everything happens more to everybody else. That limits the excitement from the reader's point of view. All in all, decent book but does not hold a candle to the first one, Scoop.

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. A balance between cozy and intense suspense. It could have used transition, even an extra line between blocks of time and the use of a comma or two would have helped but overall excellent story well worth the time. I wish she subscribed to the Smashwords pricing model. I might stretch to $5.99 for her other books but $10.00 is out of my range. I would love to read more of this series.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and finished it in record time!!!! I lived in TX for 21 years and "Dead Copy" captures the women of TX exactly. For example, a Texas woman never goes to the HEB grocery store looking bad. The book's characters are likable and interesting which makes you want to read more about them in the future. The mystery had some lovely twists and turns as the characters (and the reader)try to figure out what is going on! Happy Reading!

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was great fun, but would have given it higher marks if the punctuation had been better. I had to back up to read many sentences over and over to figure out the meaning because there was no punctuation and sometimes no new paragraph where there should have been one. Maybe it was just my copy. I loved the story, though. I will read another in the series.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

yay more Tom Logan! too bad he was in and out and always on the run! Loved how he has everyone reporting Cauley's mis-adventures! Good storyline with lots of action! Cauley's friends and family are the best!!

[Mel Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Suspenseful, detailed, and at times funny. The main character Cauley was quirky, a great friend and lovable, along with her SAR companion Marlowe. Definitely would recommend.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

lame

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book and i got it personally signed by the author. She is great

[Janna · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good book. only thing i didnt likebwas the end. hope kit frazier writes another one to go along with this to see the relationship between cauley and tom logan

[Debby Stassek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written, very believable mystery. Interesting characters. Well researched. Maybe just a touch long; but I don't know what I would have edited out either.

[Megz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, but I found it harder to get into the sequel. It wasn't half way through that I really had to pry myself from the book.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series and if you haven't read the first, the author does a good job of bringing you up to date. It gets a little long at times but well worth reading.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this story of crazy Texas good and evil. The story had lots of threads and characters, and all came together in a believable and exciting conclusion.

[Tarsha Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read from start to finish a lot of what will happen when you fish for information that doesn't have anything to do with you. Cauley is a woman with a big heart and larger than life ears.

[CJ Hines · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh....

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, would like to read the sequel.Kept you guessing until the end with a twist you didn't see coming.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read with likeable characters and an interesting mystery that kept me reading. Recommended if you like mysteries.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a fun book to read and I loved the banter between Cauley and the hot FBI agent. Can't wait for more!

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Booooo. Giving it two stars because I did manage to stumble all the way through it, at least.