Delivering Death

Riley Spartz #6

by Julie Kramer

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Book Club

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

Julie Kramer has moved from journalist to novelist. She writes a mystery series set in the desperate world of television news—a world she knows well from her career working as a freelance news producer for NBC and CBS, as well as running the acclaimed WCCO-TV I-Team in Minneapolis.

Her thrillers, STALKING SUSAN, MISSING MARK, SILENCING SAM, KILLING KATE, SHUNNING SARAH and soon to come - DELIVERING DEATH (January 7) - take readers inside how newsrooms make decisions amid chaos. She's won the Minnesota Book Award and the RT Book Review's Best First Mystery. She has also been a finalist for the Anthony, Barry, Shamus, Mary Higgins Clark, Daphne du Maurier, and RT Best Amateur Sleuth Awards.

Julie grew up along the Minnesota-Iowa state line, fourth generation of a family who raised cattle and farmed corn for more than 130 years. Her favorite childhood days were spent waiting for the bookmobile to bring her another Phyllis A. Whitney novel. An avid reader, she tired of fictional TV reporters always being portrayed as obnoxious secondary characters who could be killed off whenever the plot started dragging, so her series features reporter Riley Spartz as heroine.

Julie lives with her family in White Bear Lake, MN.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew what I was getting into when I started reading this, so I guess I can't fault the novel too much for delivering exactly as advertised. It's your typical mystery novel, this time set in Minneapolis and starring a crafty TV reporter who gets pulled into a murder involving a...who cares? Ultimately, if you are looking for your standard mystery novel that hits all the necessary notes that it's supposed to and doesn't really break any new ground, this is an ok way to pass the time.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faced with a long bike ride and nothing to listen to, I picked up an audiobook of Delivering Death from my library on a whim. I wasn’t disappointed. Delivering Death is a fun little cozy with a likable protagonist and an engaging, if rather facile, plot.

For me, the most interesting part was Kramer's portrayal of TV journalism. The protagonist, Riley, is an investigative reporter for a television channel. As I don't tend to watch much TV, let alone news, I've never thought much of -- or about -- TV journalism, and the minimal opinions I have were probably shaped by the plethora of newspaper journalists who go on to write fiction. Newspaper journalists seem to be uniform in their scorn for their television counterparts; they tend to portray TV journalists as always going for facile visual retakes on the news that their hardworking counterparts unearthed. Perhaps surprisingly, I don't think this book really changed my opinions much. TV journalism does indeed seem to be as much about acting as it is about investigation. Riley spends a lot of time trying to find props and images to support her news rather than the facts of the news itself. At several points, the necessity of photogenic reporters is discussed, as well as the issue of Riley's "advancing" age (she's somewhere around 30, so obviously she's already passed the peak of her career.)

I also really enjoyed Riley's trips back to her hometown. Kramer does a wonderful job in capturing small town life, with the added bonus that I now know (a) how to pronounce "Hormel" correctly, and (b) that somewhere in its origins, Spam really does contain actual meat.

Less engaging to me were some of the secondary characters, including Riley's ex-flame, who dumped her because she had the temerity to kiss another man during a previous breakup. Can anyone say "creepy control freak"? Even so, I found his antics in the ending rather amusing.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the book and will be on the lookout for more of the series.

Cross-posted on BookLikes

[Betsy Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery involving a reporter and a group of criminals keeps the action moving. From identity thieves to a sicko who pulls teeth and causes a man to drown to a white collar criminal who swaps his identity to send a friend to prison in his place, the mystery tightens on every page. Fun read for rainy fall days.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing the series, I now want a new book series that continues 10 years later in Riley's life.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great vacation read. The enjoyed it so much.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

a most excellent 5 star read, review to come...:)

Let me just start out by saying if you have never read a Riley Spartz book, you are really missing out. Every paragraph in Julie's books are funny and filled with her dry wit, one liners and local insider jokes that make you chuckle and laugh out loud the whole way through the book. Sometimes the Joke is on Riley but, the best jokes are when Riley turns the tables on the bad guy and gets the story all in one fell... scoop.
Wonderful to see the characters in all The Riley Spartz books back again, Riley's on again/off again ex-fiancé Nick Garrett as well as her always loyal photographer Malik, computer sleuth Xiong, her always fun parents and her news director and sexual twerp Bryce. Another favorite part in the books is the delightful back and forth Riley & Nick do with movie quotes they throw to each other such as... Riley to Nick "you don't even know how much you'll miss me"... Nick to Riley "Shirley MacLaine, terms of endearment, 1983" there are many more of these scattered throughout all the books and they will make you smile and try to guess the answer every time.
Riley Spartz is a TV investigative journalist for channel 3 news in the Twin cities MN area. One day she opens her mail at the station and finds a set of loose teeth, newly pulled with no note or explanation. This sets Riley off all over the cities looking for who, what, where, they done it and why they sent them to her? I love to ride along with Riley in our hometown as she sets off hunting down the story, knowing where she is and who she's really talking about is part of the fun! Riley and her mouth frequently get her into trouble but her quick wit usually gets her out, sometimes with the help of her ex Nick. Since channel 3 is really about channel 4, WCCO in the twin cities, I will read you one of the comments from WCCO ... "From the author of Stalking Susan comes the latest installment in the compulsively readable best selling Riley Spartz thriller series, featuring a smart, sassy and always entertaining TV reporter as she matches wits with a media savvy killer." This is spot on Riley!
This is one of the funniest, best mystery series out there and that reason alone would keep me coming back but the great stories, humor, characters, issues and having it be local is enough to keep me reading about Riley as long as Julie will write about her!
There are lots of stories going on for channel 3 news this time around... the teeth sent to Riley & Saint Apollonia to protect them, missing dogs, animal & environmental issues, the FBI & Nick, a large fish painting & off shore accounts, bomb scares, weddings and movie stars at MOA, funeral homes & coffins, greedy & ruthless business people, high school reunions, lost and then found again love, you name it and Riley was covering it.
I received this book because I have a BIG MOUTH, hehehehe.... since reading the first Riley Spartz book years ago, I have been hooked & blabbing about them and I'll continue to do so!

[Benjamin Sobieck · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Delivering Death, TV investigative journalist Riley Spartz (a little art imitating reality) receives a package full of teeth. Whom they belong to, and how they relate to a well-known Minnesota fraudster serving time in prison (loosely based on either Denny Hecker or Tom Petters, I suspect), makes for a fast-paced A plot.

Still, much of the novel focuses elsewhere. The B plots involve other stories Spartz chases, a mass marriage at the Mall of America, missing dogs, an ex she must turn to as a source and a TV news director sacrificing quality for cheap entertainment during sweeps.

Much as she likely did in real life, Kramer balances each without losing the reader. The writing is crisp, the chapters quick and the plot deceivingly smart. Kramer lobs a few softball homeruns for readers to run the bases with, but clears the floor with a couple bombshells no one will see coming.

However, as my old journalism mentor would say, the "story is done when it's done." I thought the story ended when the A plot wrapped up, but the book kept going for a jaunt to the Mall of America. It felt tacked on to fill pages, but forgivable in light of Delivering Death's other strengths.

One other point, this time about nuts and bolts writing. Delivering Death shifts between first and third person points of view. That's something I pull in my WIP crime novel, and hadn't seen it done before now. Honestly, I was worried that format would throw off would-be readers. But seeing Kramer pull it off so effortlessly - sometimes even within a single chapter - is enough verification to me.

Kramer made a fan out of me with Delivering Death. I can't wait to dive into her other novels. She's my kind of crime writer. You'd do well to be her kind of crime reader.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delivering Death by Julie Kramer is the sixth in the Riley Spartz series and left me wanting to read the seventh, which to my knowledge, hasn’t been written yet. After reading heart-pounding, sleep-depriving thrillers, a little lighter fare was just what I needed. That’s not to say that this is a cozy mystery, because it’s not. Spartz is a no-nonsense investigative reporter who takes her job seriously. Very seriously.

She receives a strange package in the mail at the television station one day, and she soon becomes involved in a bizarre murder case. The package contained human teeth, and Riley is once again battling the police, her boss, and her ex-fiancé as she tries to dig up the truth.

Besides the local flavor that I always enjoy in Kramer’s books, there are the usual supporting characters: photographer Malik, computer whiz Xiong, and her on-and-off fiancé Nick Garrett, with whom she has a running game of name that movie where they throw out movie quotes to each other. Having read all six of Kramer’s Spartz novels, I think I finally like Riley now, even though she finds ways to irritate her boss and her coworkers. TV news is a competitive business, after all.

I found this mystery to have the usual twists and turns; I was more baffled by this one than by her previous books. My heart didn’t miss any beats, and I’m pretty sure that I slept just fine, but Delivering Death was mystifying, fun, and entertaining.

If I could, I would give it 3-1/2 stars.

[Judith Starkston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another page-turning, alternately funny and bone-chilling mystery from Julie Kramer. Riley Spartz, investigative journalist for Channel 3 in Minneapolis is still sparring with her intellectually stunted, over-sexed boss while trying to keep her career afloat. Then there’s her ex-fiancé who she’s not so sure should stay exed, except he seems to be awfully tight with his attractive new boss so there seems no hope there. Misery does love Riley, but you won’t be miserable reading as Riley’s dry, cynical humor carries a twisty plot that will keep you guessing. Perhaps I should have opened with “tooth-aching” instead of bone-chilling because that’s the clue that starts Riley off on her lethal investigation—the arrival of human teeth in an envelope. Were they taken out while someone was alive? What on earth do they mean? Someone less brave (or less in need of a story) might have left it up to the police to sort out, but Riley plows right through a mass-marriage, a mortuary and any number of other gruesome settings to get things uncovered. Her persistence might get her killed—or someone else she cares about.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Kramer is "Delivering Death" in a masterful new book!

Julie Kramer is back with a delightful alliterative titled new book featuring Riley Spartz, investigative reporter for Channel 3. Riley receives a package in the mail, and so begins the fast paced road for Riley to travel, through a murder investigation, white collar crime and a group wedding set to take place in the oddest of places, the Mall of America. In a mix of danger, office politics, unresolved love and the art world, this page turner gives us all the twists, turns and surprises we expect in a Julie Kramer novel. First time readers can enjoy a look into the television world and the dangers of being a reporter today, and long time readers can revel in another romp in Riley's world. Julie delivers everything you have come to expect, suspense, danger, character depth and a backdrop that real people live in, and make you want to visit over and over! Well done, Bravo!!! Add this author to your list of favorites today......she is one of mine!

[Silverblue · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story starts good but declines and loses momentum very quickly. It starts with a number of teeth sent to a TV investigative reporter and what she does to investigate to solve the mystery.

Unfortunately, the story's mystery loses momentum very quickly. It becomes about the inner workings of the TV station - the jealousy, the competition, management incompetency blah blah... the inner workings of a TV station run by arrogant host and incompetent management plus the love life of the investigative journalist herself. It feels like it was written very quickly without well prepared and intricate plot. As you read along it is obvious what to anticipate in the story and the ending.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure how I feel about this being the last Riley Spartz book. This series has been a love hate relationship for me. I tend to become invested in series, and cannot walk away, even if I do not like them and yet I am saddened when they end. I know, it makes no sense, but now I can leave knowing that I have finished what Julie Kramer had started.

As an investigative reporter, Riley Spartz has had her share of interesting stories, but when an envelope shows up on her desk with human teeth, her research goes into over drive and darn near gets her killed. This is all in addition to the on goings at the Mall of America where two very different stories are playing out and both will involve Riley running into her ex-fiancé Nick Garnett. There is also a piece of artwork won at auction that has hidden messages, a man in prison is impersonating another, and all of this will be leading Riley down a dangerous path.

Where the teeth came from is a bit twisty, and by the end of the book, seemed like an “oops, guess I need to get back to that” moment, yet the author seems to have pulled the impossible together with only a few, “oh, ok” moments.

There is a great deal going on in this book and Julie Kramer has to pull it all together by the end so Riley can have her chance at the happily ever after that she has been after since book number one where you learned of the death of her first husband. Will I miss Riley – that is hard to say, but I am glad that the series ended where it did.

[Jovdb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light hearted mystery involving tv news reporter Riley Spartz investigating multiple stories.

After receiving a gruesome package in the mail, Riley takes it to the police and the mystery begins. To whom do these teeth belong? What does a convicted felon’s death and a rich con man have in common and how do they connect to the teeth?

As usual, Riley follows her instincts, gets into trouble, argues with her nasty boss, Bryce, and has an interesting relationship with Nick.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the previous book, I was hoping this one would be lighter in tone. It wasn’t but it did have some humor and it wasn’t as dark as the previous book.

The negative is I felt like I missed something. Apparently, events happened b/w the books with no real explanation of what it was.

But there were lots of surprising twists.

I liked the ending.

I hope the writer will one day do another in the series as this is listed as the last one for now.

[Tess Mertens-Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author Julie Kramer was a writer for the The I Team, a Twin Cities based investigative reporting team.
She writes great mystery.
Riley Sparks is an investigator who receives a package of human teeth. This take her on a road to find who they belong(ed) to and if they are alive.
There are many twists and turns and some romance. A great page turned – loved it

[Jazz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading a mystery novel based in a city you're living in can be fun. I also enjoyed reading from the perspective of a female protagonist. The pacing of the story, however, was terrible. A sleepy beginning and a rushed ending. Every couple of chapters was action point after action point. The plot was interesting. The execution wasn't.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the reasons that I enjoy Riley Spartz mysteries is that they take place in the Twin Cities. Riley even goes to some of the same restaurants I enjoy. When she receives a set of human teeth in the mail, Riley begins a convoluted quest for the the body. Soon the question becomes who is really dead? Enjoyable mystery. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Louise Pledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love the Riley Spartz books! I admire Riley a lot for her spunk and stick-to-it-iveness! Most likely traits that her creator has, also. Since we haven't had a new RS addition for awhile, I really hope there will be more coming up!

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reporter doggedly finds the murderer of an identity thief informer by pulling out his teeth and the whereabouts of the actual identity thief who arranged the abuse. He was thought to be in prison, but had paid his dying barber to take his place. The barber was killed in prison by other inmates.

[Glennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. Sorry that it is finished.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy her books. Love the Minnesota settings

[Mary Cassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a problem with the fact that the main character twice escapes a violent death and apparently suffers no post traumatic stress at all. Too formulaic.

[Chick Marks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but not outstanding

[Janis.lickness · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I’d go back and read the first in the series and maybe I’d be more invested in the characters.

[Elta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good but the ending/resolution felt rushed.

[Shae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series. I’ve been reading it for years. This last book, however, was a struggle to get through. It was anticlimactic is a way and felt like it lacked a bit of soul.

[Bryan Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awwww..the last Riley Spartz! I enjoyed this, even tho I figured things out early on. I'll miss Riley. I found her to be really fun!

[Barbara DeCramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be sure to read Julie Kramer’s other books in the Riley Spartz series before you read this. Fun book - sadly, it feels like the end of the series.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun to catchup with Riley Sparks! And what an ending! Getting married at the Mall of America after catching the bad guy!

[Nicole Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the ending!