Drop Dead Gorgeous

by Heather Graham

A serial killer turns up the heat in Miami in this gripping romantic suspense thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham.

Fifteen years ago, Sean Black was accused—and then acquitted—of murdering his high school girlfriend. Now, the bestselling crime novelist is back in Miami where he encounters another former girlfriend and discovers that the spark they felt as teenagers is still there. But before Sean and Lori can rekindle their relationship, they must confront the past...

Old high school friends—connected to the events leading to the fifteen year-old murder—are being killed. In order to learn the truth behind the deaths, they must return to the scene of the crime and stop a psychotic killer from finishing what he started so long ago.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Suspense, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell's Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette's Shadows, and for Harlequin's mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children's charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.

Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't familiar with the books by this author so I took a chance and got one of her older books. I actually really enjoyed it. I went into it knowing it was dated. The mystery of it was intriguing. I had an idea who the culprit was but then I changed my mind every other chapter. If you already know this is one of her older books and want to read a simple mystery, then give this a try.

[☺Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't read many books by the prolific Ms. Graham, so I did not know what to expect. I found Drop Dead Gorgeous to be a pretty good little thriller but wished there had been a little more in the way of character development. On the plus side, I had no idea who the killer was right until the very end.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot better than I expected. I'm not big on the romance/sex scenes so I usually tend to avoid those books. I am glad I read this one and I realized that I am definitely a fan of Heather Graham's writing. She tricked me a few times! Also, many times with other books I can tell what's going to happen and I hate it when I'm right and it's so obvious. Heather is really good at baiting a hook and making you think you know what's going on and then snaring you in a completely different way. I will definitely keep reading her books.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read. Kept me captivated the whole time. I could not figure out who was the killer, kept me guessing the whole time. I will be checking out more books by this author

[Pam Marden · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it! So much suspense and it was hard to figure out who the killer was.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a solid mystery. the killer was hidden inside the ranks of a group of friends. i was able to eliminate certain people, but never completely narrowed my suspicions down to one person.

Lori and Sean were friends in high school. all of their friends were popular and beautiful. one of these beautiful people died - murdered, just after graduation. the group sort of scattered in all directions, after that. 15 years later, circumstances brought them together again. what a perfect time for the killer to begin targeting his friends again, yes?

my only eye-rolling moment was at the end, during the big reveal. the scooby-doo moment unveiled a far-fetched why-i-did-it from the killer. in my opinion, anyway...

still though, i'm calling this a solid mystery with hot good times mixed in. bravo

[Amy Sprenkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorry to Ms Graham but her books are the ones I "love to hate" or "hate to love". They are very predictable, and formulaic. Regardless I keep reading them. I felt this book did a slightly better job convincing me that the characters actually cared about one another. Okay, I am having a hard time thinking of examples, but I did feel that this group of friends had a relationship. I also thought she had a couple of chuckles in there which were much better than the usual attempts.

[Cassie Waller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Which gorgeous man is deadly!?

Suspenseful! Intriguing! You'll be sitting on the edge of your trying to guess the killer, while racing to the end to see if you're right?! I have to say, this one had me puzzled and rethinking my guess many times! Well rounded and entwined with romance as well.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sean Black left his home town (Ft. Lauderdale) after being acquitted in his trial for the drowning death of his girlfriend just after graduation. Now 15 years later he has returned a successful horror/mystery writer with a Ph.D. in forensic anthropology. A good friend, Lori Kelly Corcoran has also just returned with her son. Immediately some of their old "gang" start getting murdered.

Sean works with the medical examiner on one and she reveals her theory that there's been a serial killer on the loose for several years, and it's one of their "gang". Sean and Lori must discover who it is before more bodies start appearing.

This is a good book, but not what I want from Heather Graham. Lots of intrigue - showing the seedier side of life - porn movies, menage-a-trois's, affairs, etc. I enjoy her historical's much more.

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Lori Kelly Corcoran returns to Florida with her son, she is surprised by how quickly it feels like home again. But then a classmate of hers is killed, bringing the old gang back together in grief and remembrance. Another classmate, Sean Black, has returned to Florida to do a book tour and to spend some time catching up with old friends and researching and writing. When Lori and Sean encounter each other by chance, sparks fly. But as the old group hangs out, gets reacquainted, and tries to piece together the clues...it seems the killer is stalking people from a horrible tragedy 15 years ago and Sean sticks close to Lori. When another person from their group goes missing, fingers start pointing and everyone is on edge. When Lori and her son are taken things come full circle.

While I really enjoyed the mystery, especially the reunion school group aspect, I figured out 'who-done-it' way before the big reveal, which was so disappointing. Usually, I am surprised by the ending. I can tell this was an earlier work by this author.

[Kari Gulbrandsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was the purpose of the ménage a trois?

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder and suspense that keeps you hooked and guessing until the very end.

[Priety · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book actually made me laugh and I enjoyed it. It was a light read that I would recommend to everyone

[Valerie Dix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!!! A lot of twist and turns till the very end!!! Highly recommend!!!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. The people in the story and the killing. The author kept me guessing until the end.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story about old friends.

[Joy Feazell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, fast read, good who dun it

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Debby Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of the book were a little predictable but there were good characters throughout the story. The real villain or killer was a surprise to me & that doesn’t happen too often!!

[Sandy Gotham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The suspense was great in this book. Enjoyed the characters also. I will read the whole series now. I recommend this book.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first experience reading Heather Graham. I've toyed with the idea of her for a while but have been too caught up with other authors to bite the bait. However, my most recent venture to the library had me staring at her section and this book jumped out at me first. Maybe it's the really cool cover and judging, but it all worked out.

Opened this book and just could not put it down. It reminds me very much of The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton. It had the murder mystery and it had the strong romantic plot. I wasn't surprised by the outcome but I sat in anticipation of the outcome from page 1. Kudos to Heather Graham for that extra enrichment to my eyes and mind with this great story! Loved it!

[Wendy Kalthoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. I just wish all her books in this series were this way. I loved serena. She was a real firecracker, bright, intelligent and spunky. I also loved Liam. He was a wonderful cop. I thought it was terrific that their backstory was told. I found Liam endearing. I loved how they had to fight for their relationship. The mystery had me on the edge of my seat and i never would have gueesed who the culprit was. I also felt that I got to know the other characters better. i could not put it down.

[Cassondra Windwalker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typically I enjoy Heather Graham's writing very much, but this book felt like it was written on autopilot. Drop Dead Gorgeous read like a soap opera, with a large cast of beautiful, successful, wealthy characters about whom it was impossible to care. The two main characters had suffered enormous trials in life, but they seemed so unaffected by them that the reader was left cold as well. Over-constructed and just remotely interesting.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #78 read in 2006

This book was pretty suspenseful. It was obvious right away that the killer was one of the group, but the author did not give many clues as to who it was. This made the reveal exciting. I will probably read more of this author.

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Убийствено красив" на Хедър Греъм е трилър и съспенс. Малко предвидима ми беше, а и героите ми бяха малко бледи като образи, но пък поддържаше напрежението. Става дума за група приятели, които се срещат отново след 15 години и се оказва, че убиецът е един от тях.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book of her's I read that I borrowed from my mother, whom I normally don't have much in common with as far as book selections.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book this past weekend while we were ona mini-vacation to Virginia with some friends. It was a great "who-done-it" read. I had my suspisiions up until the end, but I was wrong! =)

[**lil Momma**]

really good

[Chamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good storyline. Unpredictable in the beginning, overall awesome mystery.