Sudden Exposure

Jill Smith #9

by Susan Dunlap

An Olympic athlete finds her life in danger when she starts a feud with a ruthless gym ownerHomicide detectives don't chase streakers. So it shouldn't be Jill Smith's problem when Berkeley's new public nudity ban stirs the spirit of the city's exhibitionists, unleashing a horde of indignant flashers on the city streets. But department infighting has resulted in Jill being stripped of her gold detective badge and put back in uniform to pursue the naked radicals. She's pursuing one of these "au naturel "miscreants though a patch of poison oak when she's stopped by Bryn Wiley, Olympic diver, gym owner, and local hero. Bryn is in a feud with a rival fitness club, whose owner she suspects of shooting bullets through her car windows. Jill can't help her--she has nudists to apprehend!--and so Bryn resolves to take matters into her own hands, holding a press conference where she calls her rival out. It's a bold move, and may also be a foolish one. Her assailant's next target will be something far more valuable than a car. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Susan Dunlap including rare images from the author's personal collection.

Genres: Mystery

Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

Susan Dunlap is best known for her Jill Smith detective series, but she is a prolific and much loved writer of crime and mystery fiction, including award-winning short stories.

Reviews

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Smith had enjoyed being a homicide detective, but a department shake-up has her back as a beat cop. Set in Berkeley in the 1990s, the whole “People’s Park” Demonstrations, and naked run-throughs are common. Right after chasing “the naked man” through the hills and poison oak of Berkeley, Jill is sent to the home of an Olympic Diver, Bryn Wiley, who, although she didn’t win a medal, still is admired for her gumption and grit. Bryn is a spokesperson for the healthy life style and her health club “The Girl’s Club.” Now her nemesis, Sam Johnson, is slowly remodeling the house next door to be “low cost housing units.” He also has a health club to rival Bryn’s. Bryn wants him shut down and shut down NOW!! Of course, there is a murder, house / car damage, shots taken, missing persons etc. all circling around Bryn, her neighborhood. Jill has one week where she returns to her homicide position while her replacement is out of town. In this one week her lover, also a police officer, is out of town so she is alone to solve the crimes before she must turn the case over to her replacement and go back to being a beat cop. – Although some of the dialogue -particularly in the beginning of the novel is a little over done, it’s a good story – particularly if you are familiar with the Berkeley seen of the 1990s.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm staying at my aunt's house on Shasta Road and she recommended I read this book since most of the story happens just a block or two away. I walk the hills and do the Tamalpias Path steps as well as many others on the hill. These naked characters running through the paths are in great shape. I'm huffing and puffing most days as I gain my hill legs.

What I like about the book is that it's local. I don't have to imagine the setting. I'm here. Also, even though the book was copywritten 25 years ago, there are still homes being built nearby and looking at how the construction crews are adapting to the hill is amazing.

Some of the writing is awkward to me. This is my first book by Dunlap and I'm not accustomed to her voice. And in writing this review, I see that it's #9 in a series, so if I had read the others, I may have had a different opinion.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this so I am sure some of the details I usually enjoy were missed.

I dislike the plot line that she is back to patrol because someone with seniority has arrived, in passing, waiting for another leg up the ladder.

I wonder if the author decided that there was more the character could do as a patrol office than a homicide detective.

Did not work for me.

Quirky characters.

I own the book and the audio book.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about life in Berkeley. This was my first and it's the ninth in the series, so I felt I was missing something. The mystery was decent.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished re-reading this one after about ten years since the original read. It was like meeting old friends after not seeing them for years. Jill Smith mysteries were always fun and in this one, Jill got returned to patrol in Berkeley after having been in Homicide for years when another detective with more seniority came back from an extended stay in Sacramento. Jill's patrol duties take her into a murder which she must solve before her replacement gets the case. Need I say more? Great characters and the Berkeley scene is as good as ever. I wonder if it is still he same...

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

SUDDEN EXPOSURE - Good
Dunlap, Susan - 9th in Jill Smith Series

Back in uniform and back on the streets, Berkeley cop Jill Smith pursues a naked protestor through town, until her chase is interrupted by Bryn Wiley, a former Olympic diver, who claims that someone with an old grudge is trying to kill her.

This was a perfectly good read but I think I'm just tired of the protagonist, who doesn't seem to be growing. I don't know that I'll read many more of these.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another series that started off fresh and then settled into comfortable mediocrity, like a new friend who one never becomes close to and you only see once a year or so; telling the same story in different ways. Have a couple beers and a pleasant evening, but don't expect to recall what you talked about the next week.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jill Smith #9

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes all I can read are mysteries. This one was okay, set in the Bay Area, so it was familiar territory.

[Pat]

This novel started very slowly and the murder didn't happen until page 100! Then, fortunately, the story took off like a bullet and ended with a cabin in the woods shoot-out. Good characterizations.