FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Angelle Barbazon at (574) 350-4501 /
angelle@jkscommunications.com
Accolades for Lori Rader-Day’s debut
novel THE BLACK HOUR:
·
WINNER! 2015 LOVEY AWARD FOR BEST
FIRST NOVEL
·
2015 MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD NOMINEE!
·
LEFT COAST CRIME ROSEBUD AWARD - BEST DEBUT
MYSTERY NOMINEE!
"An exceptional
debut.... An irresistible combination of menace, betrayal, and
self-discovery."
—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
"An unputdownable
read."
—Booklist STARRED REVIEW
≡ ≡ ≡
“An atmospheric unpeeling of
painful secrets, Little Pretty Things
will resonate with everyone who has ever been a girl in trouble or ever tried
to save one. A serious message skillfully wrapped in a gripping page-turner. Irresistible.”
—CATRIONA MCPHERSON, multi-award-winning author of the
Edgar® nominated The Day She Died
Little Pretty Things
Lori
Rader-Day
OLD RIVALRIES NEVER DIE. BUT SOME RIVALS DO.
Juliet Townsend is used to losing. Back in high
school, she lost every track team race to her best friend, Madeleine Bell. Ten
years later, she's still running behind, stuck in a dead-end job cleaning rooms
at the Mid-Night Inn, a one-star motel
that attracts only the cheap or the desperate. But
what life won't provide, Juliet takes.
Then one night, Maddy checks in. Well-dressed, flashing a huge diamond ring, and as beautiful as ever, Maddy has it all. By the next morning, though, Juliet is no longer jealous of Maddy--she's the chief suspect in her murder.
To protect herself, Juliet investigates the circumstances of her friend's death. But what she learns about Maddy's life might cost Juliet everything she didn't realize she had.
Lori Rader-Day
(Chicago, IL) is the author of The Black
Hour. She has also published fiction in Good Housekeeping, where she
won first place in the magazine's first short-story contest; The Madison
Review, which awarded her the 2008 Chris O'Malley Prize in Fiction; TimeOut
Chicago; Southern Indiana Review; Crab Orchard Review; and
other journals and magazines. She lives in Chicago, where she is active in the
Mystery Writers of America Midwest Chapter, Sisters in Crime Chicagoland
Chapter, and International Thriller Writers. In addition, she is an instructor
for Story Studio Chicago, where she teaches mystery writing.
284 pages • ISBN 978-1-63388-004-7
• Paperback: $15.95 • On Sale Date: July 7, 2015
Ebook ISBN 978-1-63388-005-4
• Ebook $11.99
More Advance Praise for Little Pretty Things
“A
searing, psychological suspense novel about small-town dreams shattered by a
deadly secret.”
—TERRY
SHAMES, Macavity Award–winning author of A Killing at Cotton Hill
“Little Pretty
Things will have you turning pages faster than the cars zipping by on
the interstate. A gripping tale of old wounds, dark secrets, and the
simmering regrets of those left behind, this is psychological suspense at its
finest.”
—LYNNE
RAIMONDO, author of Dante’s Dilemma
Praise for The
Black Hour
“An exceptional debut.... An
irresistible combination of menace, betrayal, and self-discovery.”
—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
“Captivates from page one.... This reviewer was
bowled over by the novel's alternating points of view, superb storytelling, and
pitch-perfect take on academia.”
—Library Journal STARRED REVIEW and Mystery Debut of the
Month
“This accomplished debut bears favorable comparison to
the work of Gillian Flynn (more Sharp Objects than Gone Girl),
Cornelia Read, and S. J. Watson. Chicago writing instructor Rader-Day ably
manipulates the elements that constitute academia’s dark side (competition,
campus politics, quests for identity, and, of course, sex) without the over
long academic digressions these settings sometimes court. Amelia Emmet is a
sympathetic, yet jaded and darkly witty main character. An unputdownable read.”
—Booklist STARRED REVIEW
“An unusual
protagonist, a timely crime, and outstanding writing make The Black Hour
a stand-out debut.”
—SARA PARETSKY, Mystery Writers of America
Grand Master and New York Times-bestselling author
“The
Black Hour is a fine addition to the genre, ditching the classic whodunit
trope for a twisting psychological puzzle.”
—Chicago Magazine
“Rader-Day's
compelling novel pits the worst of human nature against those merely trying to
survive. Those who believe themselves to be entitled feel no remorse
when taking what they want, even if it means someone's life. Everyone is not
who they seem and it's a challenge to figure out where each belongs.” 4 Stars –
Compelling.
—RT Book Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lori
Rader-Day’s first creative act was plagiarism. She borrowed the characters from
Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series, and started writing her own Ramona story. Call
it fan fiction. Call it her first foray into crime.
Originally from central Indiana,
Lori attended a high school surrounded by cornfields and lived in a house
surrounded by cornfields. She doesn’t like corn. She attended college at Ball
State University in Muncie, Indiana (yep, more corn), receiving her degree in
journalism graphics. She also earned sixteen credit hours of Russian, but this
has little bearing on her life. Lori later earned a master’s in journalism
writing and then much later, an MFA in creative writing from Roosevelt
University in Chicago (no corn). She lives in Chicago with her husband and dog.
Lori works in higher education
administration and teaches mystery writing classes at StoryStudio Chicago. Her
fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine, Time Out Chicago,
The Madison Review, and others.
Best-selling author Jodi Picoult chose one of Lori’s short stories for the
grand prize in Good Housekeeping’s
first fiction contest. Lori is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters
in Crime, and International Thriller Writers.
LITTLE PRETTY
THINGS
284 pages • ISBN 978-1-63388-004-7
• Paperback: $15.95 • On Sale Date: July 7, 2015
Ebook ISBN 978-1-63388-005-4
• Ebook $11.99
