DREAM HOUSE
A Novel of Suspense

Rochelle Krich
National bestselling author of Blues in the Night

Friday, October 31. 9:37 P.M., 100 block of South Martel. A vandal threw a pumpkin through the front window of a house and several eggs at the front door.

The police report read like just another Halloween prank–a nasty, petty act. But the attack is one in a recent spate of increasingly violent vandalisms targeting residents who have paid millions of dollars for their dream homes in the ritziest enclaves of Los Angeles.

Residents are already seething, hotly divided about the growing number of Historical Architectural Restoration and Preservation (HARP) boards that prevent homeowners from remodeling their expensive real estate, forcing them to preserve the traditional integrity of neighborhoods where Hollywood legends once lived. So impassioned are pro-and anti-HARP forces that Crime Sheet columnist Molly Blume suspects that members from both side of the debate may perpetrating the vandalism that claims new victims almost daily.

But the arson that destroys an empty house on Fuller Street doesn’t fit the pattern. This beautiful property belongs to Margaret Reston and her husband, Hank; and the sick old man who dies when it burns is Margaret’s father. Margaret herself has disappeared. She was last seen working in her garden five months ago–and although traces of her blood were found in her car, the police have no idea what has happened to the missing woman.

This intrigue all makes good copy for hard-hitting newshound Molly. Almost in love again with the high-school sweetheart who dumped her and is now a rabbi, Molly can’t stop thinking about Margaret and Hank Reston and the old man whose life was tragically, though accidentally, cut short. But was it an accident? What has happened to Margaret Reston? Where does malice end and evil begin?

In her second Molly Blume chiller, award-winning novelist Rochelle Krich takes us right inside L.A.’s most exclusive neighborhoods and into the elegant old houses whose wrought-iron fences and barred windows offer scant protection from violence. Even in a dream house, life can turn nightmarish in a heartbeat.

Rochelle Krich is the author of many acclaimed novels of suspense, including Blues in the Night (which introduced Molly Blume), Shadows of Sin, Dead Air, Blood Money, and Fertile Ground. An Anthony Award winner for her debut novel, Where’s Mommy Now? (which was adapted as the TV movie Perfect Alibi), Ms. Krich now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their children.

Visit Rochelle Krich’s Web site at www.rochellekrich.com
Praise for Rochelle Krich and *Blues in the Night

“Blues in the Night is superb. . . . Molly Blume is a fresh new presence on the mystery scene. . . . Smart, resourceful, and curious–not much escapes her.”
–SUE GRAFTON

“One of America’s finest suspense novelists.”
–CAROLYN HART

“Molly investigates with both thoroughness and compassion, making this new sleuth worth her salt.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“An authentic, first-rate book . . . [that] demonstrates once again why she has won for herself an important place in the pantheon of outstanding mystery writers.”
–Jerusalem Post

“Smoothly written . . . A charming new series . . . Skillfully plotted, with a satisfying solution.”
–Milwaukee Journal

“An unqualified winner.”
–Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

From the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

What's a girl to do when an article she writes provides an opportunity for a killer to strike or so she thinks? Well, if it's Molly Blume, Krich's Orthodox Jewish true-crime reporter and author, making her second smart, exciting appearance (after 2002's Blues in the Night), she'll investigate the crime herself until justice is meted out. When community members in several Los Angeles districts attempt to impose HARP (Historic Architectural Restoration and Preservation) status on their neighborhoods, effectively preventing the rebuilding and renovation of houses that don't comply with historic architectural standards, anger flares and some buildings are vandalized. Molly thinks she has found a pattern in the attacks, and despite pleas from local officials, includes much of her theory and findings in one of her weekly columns. To her chagrin, the next hit results in the death of an elderly man with Alzheimer's whom Molly has befriended in a fire that police classify as arson and that's the clincher that soon puts her on guard as she, too, becomes a target. With sensitivity, passion and an investigative approach that's on the money, the rebellious and independent Molly displays an uncompromising resolve to unearth the truth. Krich provides just enough clues in just the right places to keep readers on their toes, waiting for the resolution while hoping the mystery won't end quite yet.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Molly Blume is the first to admit she is nosy, impatient, and stubborn. But her character serves her well in her chosen profession: true-crime writer. Molly's radar bleeps when the death of a confused elderly man appears to be related to a rash of vandalism that she's been investigating. Good thing she's curious, as the death turns out to be murder, and the connection to the vandalism fades into the background in the face of the man's family squabbles and the strange disappearance of his daughter, Linney. Molly's ties to her Orthodox Jewish family (and to her new boyfriend, Zack, an Orthodox rabbi) seem especially strong juxtaposed against Linney's sad family history, and they add an extra element of reality to Molly's character, showing how she manages to derive pleasure and solace from both her work and her faith. There's an unusual neighborhood feel about this L.A. crime story that gives a strong sense of people living in a real community. Even readers unfamiliar with Molly's previous adventures can enjoy this one. Stephanie Zvirin
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