Book Review: Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellman

Ellie Foreman, single mother of 18-year-old Rachel and an independent commercial video producer and the protagonist in one of the fine mysteries series by Libby Fischer Hellmann, returns in this novel in which she is reunited with another series protag of this author, Georgia Davis, Chicago p.i.

When eight-year-old Molly Messenger is kidnapped, her mother seeks help from her neighbor, who in turn turns to her friend Ellie, who has some experience in these matters, and then to Georgia, an ex-cop. Almost incredibly, the child is released three days later, unharmed [other than being wholly traumatized].

The bizarre set of circumstances raises many questions in the minds of Ellie and Georgia, among them the position of the police department, which has marked the case closed, "no statements, no photos, no comment." The child's mother, Chris Messenger, is the recently promoted director of a local bank. There is friction between her and her ex-husband, each of whom is now involved in new romantic attachments. And when Chris' boss dies days later, in an apparent car accident, things get even murkier.

There are several threads to the plot, all of which are tied up adroitly before the end of the book, and include ethanol production, government contractors, and smuggling [both drugs and humans], and the investigative trail stretches from northern Wisconsin to an Arizona border town, holding the reader's attention all the way. Another enjoyable entry in the dual series.

[It should perhaps be noted that the book has been simultaneously released in trade paperback, ISBN #13-978-1-60648-053-3, $14.95]