Missing Mark

No sophomore slump for Julie Kramer in the second novel in the series featuring relentless, clever Riley Spartz, a TV reporter for Minneapolis’ Channel 3.

In Missing Mark, Riley sees promise in a feature story when she sees a want ad that reads: “FOR SALE: WEDDING DRESS. NEVER WORN.” Turns out she’s found a much bigger story. Groom Mark Lefevre, a parking garage attendant by day and beginning stand-up comic by night, showed up to the rehearsal dinner but not the wedding the next day. Bride Madeline Post, an heiress to one of Minnesota’s richest families, fears that something terrible has befallen her fiancé, as he and his car have vanished without a trace. Police can’t find any credit-card purchases, ATM withdrawals, show more anything.

How did this whirlwind romance between two mismatched people — three months from meeting to the wedding date — even happen? Who was Mark Lefevre really? What could have happened to him? And why would anyone mess with a nobody like him? I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough toward the end! Congratulations to Ms. Kramer for writing a suspenseful whodunit as good as her first, Stalking Susan! show less

This was the perfect vacation beach read - a funny, fast-paced mystery with a quirky heroine in the vein of Stephanie Plu in the Janet Evanovich books. There was almost too much going on, but Kramer did manage to tie together a never-worn wedding dress, a strange neighbor who holds garage sales at all times of the day and night, a police dog that someone is trying to kill, and prosopagnosia. (You'll have to look that one up.) Set against the backdrop of Riley Spartz's work as a television reporter in a Minneapolis TV station with the boss from hell, there's plenty to keep you interested. I'm interested enough to pick up the book that came before this (Stalking Susan) and the one just published this summer (Silencing Sam).

I got tired of bloody murders and heartless killers and I found the perfect antidote in Julie Kramer. Missing Mark is the story of a journalist interested in the story of a bride abandoned by the groom. The groom has not used is credit card or social since the wedding day. This book is like reading champagne. It is humorous in a very discrete way (now you see it, now you don't), well informed on a variety of subjects and I love that in a mystery book. We are introduced to bass fishing, interesting places in Minneapolis, a rare plant, the profits of grocery stores, all kinds of delightful tidbits that do not slow down the action.
As a bonus, the author appears to be a nice person: you would invite Julie Kramer at your home, together with show more Alexander McCall Smith or Colin Cotterill. Many good authors I would not like to meet at all: I got a long list of people I read because I like their books but I would not dream of meeting them: it is like good actors: some are great people, some are despicable. show less

No sophomore slump for “Kramer the Namer”

Julie Kramer's debut novel, Stalking Susan, involved Minnesota investigative journalist Riley Spartz pursuing a serial killer of women named Susan. Some marketing genius at Doubleday thought it would be a good idea to send a galley to every Susan on their mailing list. He must have been right; I couldn't resist reading it. And I found it to be an exceptionally entertaining debut.

In Missing Mark, Kramer is sticking with what works--namely an appealing protagonist and a strong supporting cast. Aside from her considerable mystery solving abilities, Riley is a constant font of info on the TV news biz, and I, for one, find it as fascinating as the cases she investigates. Likewise, the series' show more supporting characters are uniformly interesting without being too quirky to be real.

Good news, the entire gang is back this time around, including some characters I didn't necessarily expect to see again. The plot of this second novel involves a missing persons case. Specifically, it's Mark, a bridegroom who fails to show on his wedding day--or in the several months that have passed since. Riley's cases are never simple, and this investigation quickly grows convoluted, with any number of possible explanations, suspects, and motives. However, Riley's boss thinks a missing bigmouth bass will garner higher ratings for sweeps. She may be right.

Two-thirds of the way through, I figured out who-done-it and why. I have no idea where that intuitive leap came from, but it was no fault of Kramer's plotting, which is tight and well-paced.

I don't have a lot of time for mystery series, but I'm going to stick with Riley & Co. (For readers intrigued by this book, I'd suggest backing up and reading Stalking Susan first. Lucky you, it's just been released in paperback.) So far, the name books are a nice blend of light and dark entertainment. They're not terribly violent or graphic and the mysteries within feel fresh.

In conclusion, I'm Recommending Riley and Judging Julie to be well worth your reading time. show less

Missing Mark by Julie Kramer

What do you get when you mix Mary Richards, female TV news reporter and icon of the 70’s with a TV news reporter of the new millennium? You get Riley Spartz, star of the new series by author Julie Kramer. In the series first book Stalking Susan, which came out last year and I had the pleasure of reading, you’ll again find Riley and her assorted cohorts at Channel 3 following those big stories. Because it’s all about the ratings dontcha know LOL! No, it’s not really necessary to read Stalking Susan first, but since you can’t go wrong with the first book, I highly recommend it since it gives you a much clearer picture of why Riley and her cohorts are the way they are. 90

The book opens with Riley show more pursuing a human interest story about a wedding dress that has never been worn and a groom that failed to show at the altar, which turns eventually and expertly into our murder mystery. During the course of her investigation Riley will also become involved with several other interesting stories; one which involves a large mouth bass and another which involves a ‘Meth’ cartel. Ms Kramer gives us plenty to chew on as we in reader land try to solve the who-done-it and to also figure out just where the next story will come from.

Missing Mark is clever, fresh, funny, fast paced and a wonderful read for a summer day. I loved learning just how a news cast is produced and shot, yet the author never gets overly techie. The fully developed characters are a pleasure to read in this first person narrative. Some may be tempted to compare Ms Kramer’s books to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and while I see how that can be, in my opinion you really shouldn’t try. We have book 2 and already you can see Riley grow to overcome some of her personal issues from Stalking Susan. Highly satisfying!

I’ll leave you with a brief quote or as they say in TV land, a promo---” Exclusive! See Riley Spartz’s Big Bust Tonight At Ten.” show less

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Stalking Susan, so I had high hopes for this one. Thankfully, it delivered! Riley Spartz is nothing if not persistent. Sweeps are coming up again, and she’s under pressure, as usual. TV news is changing, and the chances of her ending up with a story as big as the last one are low. When the ad for a never worn wedding dress shows up in the paper, she hopes she can find a story there. Along the way we get to visit with some of our favorite characters from the first book.

I think Kramer takes this story in some interesting directions. At least one aspect of it was totally unexpected, and something I’ve never seen anywhere else. This surprises me, because it was a very interesting medical show more condition. Also, we see Riley still struggling with her personal life as she continues to recover from the death of her husband. She doesn’t always make the best decisions, but she does get her story.

This is a series I continue to enjoy! show less

Minneapolis investigative reporter Riley Spartz is intrigued by a want ad in local paper. Why do people try to sell unworn wedding gowns? With sweeps coming up and news director Noreen wants Riley to come up with a big hit for the hot female ad age group. Riley pursues Madeline's tale of being left at the alter six months earlier by her groom, Mark. I really enjoyed the twists and turns this mystery took and the insider view of the newsroom life. There is a lot of local flavor as well, I don't think it detracts from the tale any more than a book set in Chicago discusses the local papers and burbs. Luckily, the Mall of America is a big enough site to be known by all.