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In Plain View
SFX: Ker-flush
That's the sound of my career going down the toilet. Three months ago, I was the freelance reporter to call for full-color images of an international crisis.
Now? I'm stationed at the far edge of the Chicago flyover as a disappointing mother-sub to my eight-year-old niece and the babysitter for a newsroom College Boy.
Camera still: a man in Amish clothing hanging from a tree. Dead.
One photo of the lifeless man was all I needed to see-there's more to this story than anyone wants to admit. Especially Sheriff Jack Curzon, with his death-ray eyes watching my every move. I have a feeling that man wants more than my cooperation.
Quick-cut, pan, tilt and-run.
Someone is hiding, just out of sight. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect my new family.
Seeing the truth can be dangerous...
...when evil is In Plain View.
That's the sound of my career going down the toilet. Three months ago, I was the freelance reporter to call for full-color images of an international crisis.
Now? I'm stationed at the far edge of the Chicago flyover as a disappointing mother-sub to my eight-year-old niece and the babysitter for a newsroom College Boy.
Camera still: a man in Amish clothing hanging from a tree. Dead.
One photo of the lifeless man was all I needed to see-there's more to this story than anyone wants to admit. Especially Sheriff Jack Curzon, with his death-ray eyes watching my every move. I have a feeling that man wants more than my cooperation.
Quick-cut, pan, tilt and-run.
Someone is hiding, just out of sight. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect my new family.
Seeing the truth can be dangerous...
...when evil is In Plain View.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
13 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
J. Wachowski
2 books5 followersFROM THE PUBLISHERS'S WEBSITE:
J. Wachowski writes stories, screenplays, school excuses and anything else that pays. She lives with her family on the midwestern edge of civilization
J. Wachowski writes stories, screenplays, school excuses and anything else that pays. She lives with her family on the midwestern edge of civilization
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 11, 2017
Quite good for a debut suspense novel! Maddy and her young protégé Ainsley make an unlikely team that works here.
June 25, 2024
While researching a panel on the films of Lana and Lilly Wachowski, I came across this novel written by their sister Julie. A small town mystery story from the perspective of a network affiliate TV news producer, it creates a compellingly flawed character in the lead, a brusk biker journalist being forced to settle down as she finds herself the new parent of her orphaned young niece, and while there's frustrations in how she walls people off and misprioritizes focus, there's a depth to how that's explored as a characteristic she's often confronted by. The mystery itself is a little lackluster, trying to build a twist that's pretty easy to guess early on, but fares better as an anchor to explore the ins and outs of news production, the barriers between press and law enforcement not wanting to show all their cards to each other, and an interesting tragedy involving those torn between the Amish community and the outside world. There's a romance that doesn't land, but the supporting cast of characters is interesting. For a debut novel, it's awkward in places, but an interesting read that kept me hooked, and kudos for the witty Hammett-esque prose that dug into everything with a snappy bite. It's the type of book that makes me want to check out more from the author. Alas, she hasn't released any more in the ensuing 14 years. Hopefully that'll change one day.
January 8, 2018
Intense, fast-paced plot, this mystery/suspense,'who done it', kept me turning those pages!
September 26, 2010
Investigative journalism for a local station is not the choice she would have made but Maddy has given up her hard earned career as a crisis correspondent to care for her orphaned niece in the suburbs of Chicago. When a young man hangs himself in an Amish community, Maddy intends to exploit the more salacious possibilities for her six minute piece, until she begins to uncover the secrets of the man's troubled background.
Wachowski has crafted a solid mystery where the motivations of the individuals are the focus. Maddy wants to know why Tom suicides when the it becomes clear that his reasons are not straightforward, which inadvertently puts her in the sights of her sister's murderer. It's obvious fairly on who killed Gina but the motivations, and his tie with Tom, are not clear until the climax. Overall the pace is good,for me the tension of the final scenes were well written and I found the ending satisfying.
In this novel we have perspectives from Maddy, her niece Jenny and the murderer. I am not sure that this approach worked for me, particularly as the killer's perspective made it easy to identify him. Scenes from Jenny's perspective emphasised the distance between her and her aunt, and provided a part of the story that Maddy couldn't reveal, but I found them disconcerting. I would have preferred that we had stayed with Mandy's perspective through the book.
Having said that, I found it difficult to relate to Maddy for much of the novel because of the neglect (however unintentional) of her niece. I can understand her difficultly with inheriting the care of a child in tragic circumstances, and how far from Maddy's own experience being a suburban mom is but still it bugged me that she put her own needs above Jenny's. I felt her character could have done with a little softening even though I liked her upfront attitude.
Maddy's supporting characters are likeable. Ainsley bears up well under Maddy's cynicism and I liked what we see of Tanya. There is a minor romantic subplot between Maddy and the sherrif and their mutual attraction and banter is a pleasant inclusion.
I wasn't enamoured with In Plain View but it was a respectable read and
I have to say I really like the Book Trailer for In Plain View, especially that creepy voiceover.
Wachowski has crafted a solid mystery where the motivations of the individuals are the focus. Maddy wants to know why Tom suicides when the it becomes clear that his reasons are not straightforward, which inadvertently puts her in the sights of her sister's murderer. It's obvious fairly on who killed Gina but the motivations, and his tie with Tom, are not clear until the climax. Overall the pace is good,for me the tension of the final scenes were well written and I found the ending satisfying.
In this novel we have perspectives from Maddy, her niece Jenny and the murderer. I am not sure that this approach worked for me, particularly as the killer's perspective made it easy to identify him. Scenes from Jenny's perspective emphasised the distance between her and her aunt, and provided a part of the story that Maddy couldn't reveal, but I found them disconcerting. I would have preferred that we had stayed with Mandy's perspective through the book.
Having said that, I found it difficult to relate to Maddy for much of the novel because of the neglect (however unintentional) of her niece. I can understand her difficultly with inheriting the care of a child in tragic circumstances, and how far from Maddy's own experience being a suburban mom is but still it bugged me that she put her own needs above Jenny's. I felt her character could have done with a little softening even though I liked her upfront attitude.
Maddy's supporting characters are likeable. Ainsley bears up well under Maddy's cynicism and I liked what we see of Tanya. There is a minor romantic subplot between Maddy and the sherrif and their mutual attraction and banter is a pleasant inclusion.
I wasn't enamoured with In Plain View but it was a respectable read and
I have to say I really like the Book Trailer for In Plain View, especially that creepy voiceover.
April 9, 2016
Meh. This book had some really interesting elements to it and the beginning was quite promising, but it ultimately fell flat for me.
Initially, I found the heroine, Maddy O'Hara, intriguing. She's worked as a photojournalist in some of the world's worst conflicts. Following the mysterious death of her sister, she's now working at a station outside of Chicago while caring for her 8-year-old niece. While working on a story, she stumbles into the dramatic death of a young Amish man who had left the local Amish community.
All of this starts off in interesting fashion, and I found myself getting sucked in. However, the book starts to lose direction and meander as it approaches the halfway point. By the end, I wasn't sure the solution to the mystery made much sense - and worse yet, I wasn't 100% sure I cared.
Then there were all the loose ends. We learn that the things Maddy has seen have affected her, but the author never really explores that. There are also hints that the death Maddy witnessed is part of something much larger and while we do get some explanation on that, there are still hints of unresolved mystery left out there.
As I said, the book starts off well, and the author does provide interesting information on the Amish community. However, the end result just didn't entirely work for me.
Initially, I found the heroine, Maddy O'Hara, intriguing. She's worked as a photojournalist in some of the world's worst conflicts. Following the mysterious death of her sister, she's now working at a station outside of Chicago while caring for her 8-year-old niece. While working on a story, she stumbles into the dramatic death of a young Amish man who had left the local Amish community.
All of this starts off in interesting fashion, and I found myself getting sucked in. However, the book starts to lose direction and meander as it approaches the halfway point. By the end, I wasn't sure the solution to the mystery made much sense - and worse yet, I wasn't 100% sure I cared.
Then there were all the loose ends. We learn that the things Maddy has seen have affected her, but the author never really explores that. There are also hints that the death Maddy witnessed is part of something much larger and while we do get some explanation on that, there are still hints of unresolved mystery left out there.
As I said, the book starts off well, and the author does provide interesting information on the Amish community. However, the end result just didn't entirely work for me.
June 20, 2015
I'm pleasantly surprised. I downloaded this book on a whim from the library. I was searching for Amish fiction, and this came up in the results. The Amish aspect is more in the background than anything; the primary story is that of a photojournalist who is back home after the death of her sister. She takes a job with the local station so she can keep her niece in the same school and the family house. When she gets an early tip about an odd story, soon she's plunged into a web of secrets and lies. Where it leads is surprising, as I didn't quite anticipate that. The narration is a little odd, but I didn't find it as off-putting as some other reviewers did. It's the kind of book where you actually wish there was a follow-up, just to see how Jenny's doing, how Ainsley gets along in his job, etc.
December 13, 2014
I'll give this 2 1/2 stars. The writing style is kind of weird,(with all it's, "Pan", "Cut", "Shift", "Zoom", "Voice over", etc.) and this is coming from a photographer who was drawn to this book BECAUSE of the photojournalism aspect. There wasn't nearly enough suspense or action in my opinion, and I didn't find any of the characters all that interesting or even likeable; I definitely didn't feel any attachment or connection with them. I enjoyed some of the humor, and having grown up surrounded by the Amish community, this book did make me look at them and their thought processes a little differently (in a good way). But overall the book was just meh for me.
April 8, 2014
I had to read this one via Overdrive (library)...not my favorite ebook platform. interesting premise which is why I have more than the usual number of categories.
Most of the bad language in the story fits; I.e. it's not included just to use a 4 letter word. lots of twists and turns with this one. A good read.
Most of the bad language in the story fits; I.e. it's not included just to use a 4 letter word. lots of twists and turns with this one. A good read.
February 2, 2016
if I could I would give this book a 3.5 rating. it was an ok book. nothing earth shattering and not a leave you at the edge of your seat but it was ok. there were a few topics that were brought up but there was never a real reason as to why they were put out there. like I said it was ok. not the worst but not the best. I think I would try the author again though.
July 8, 2012
The very beginning was a rough start for me.....confusing and scrambled....but I stuck with it. I'm glad I did because it turned out to be a great story within a story. Couldn't put it down until I finished!
October 17, 2011
J. Wachowski's In Plain View is a "Can't Put It Down," read. Loved College Boy (Ainsley) and look forward to seeing what eight year old Jenny will be up to next.
June 24, 2013
not as good as a Heather Graham book.
August 23, 2011
Good story! Enough suspense to keep you turning the pages...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews