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BOOK REVIEWS
IDENTITY MURDER by Jean Sheldon
Heartland Reviews
Kerry Grant, is caught in an interesting
dilemma. As a computer guru for the Chicago Police Department, she has
been assigned to an undercover assignment with the mafia’s online
gambling and internet scamming operations. She finds herself caught in
the middle of a mob war over territory rights and having to teach the
mob just enough to make their computer operations effective while still
leaving the means for government agencies to monitor and counter the
mob’s illegal computer activities. Her position is further complicated
by the presence of another government undercover agent with whom she
falls in love.
This book is a wonderful teaching tool as
to the dangers of both the internet and traditional scamming operations
targeted toward an unwary public. Added to these threats is the very
real nightmare of identity theft and how hard it is to prevent, detect,
and curtail. This is a must read for the American public. We rated this
book a high four hearts.
Bob Spear
Midwest Book Review
Jean Sheldon presently hails from Albuquerque,
New Mexico. She is the author of poetry and drawings; a book on car repair;
a "how to" on the subject of cats; and most recently, her Chicago Police
Detective Kerry Grant mysteries. Sheldon has actually published two
additional Kerry Grant mysteries, entitled SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTANCE BE DEAD
and A CHILLING GOODBYE.
Kerry Grant is a Chicago Police Detective who has a dark secret. She lost
her entire family in a RV accident three years before. When her old
childhood friend, Jennifer Kincaid, comes back into her life (with another
78 year old friend who has suffered from identity theft), Kerry's sad life
begins to turn around. Because of her computer savvy, Kerry is asked to join
an undercover agent who has been embedded with the Chicago mob scene for a
number of years in order to train him. Little does she know that love will
find her, and that a little Chicago Cubs teddy bear will symbolize a new
start to her life:
“'I understand not sleeping with anyone for a while, but I figured that was
life after forty.' Jennifer stopped herself and remembered there wasn't
anyone else for Kerry to share her great news. She couldn't talk about it
with Mike, or her sisters and mom. 'I do understand, Kerry, and it's
wonderful. What I don't understand is why Marty turned Cubby Bear around, or
why Cubby Bear watched you to begin with. By the way, the Cubby Bear we're
talking about is the little stuffed bear they sell at Wrigley Field with the
Cubs hat and shirt, right?'"
Not only does Jean Sheldon write against the backdrop of Chicago and the
Eastern border of Wisconsin up to Fond du Lac, she has an excellent
knowledge of police procedural in Chicago. Her writing is infused with a
sense of humor; a fanciful take on romance; characters that share comradely
in the midst of danger; and an excellent view of the mob. IDENTITY MURDER is
a wonderful first effort in what will become a beloved series about plucky
Kerry Grant, her best friend Jennifer Kinkaid; Kerry's partner Mike; and the
inimitable Veronica Cooke. Sheldon includes a mini-course on computer fraud
and identity theft that will give readers much needed information on how to
avoid cyber-crooks. She also writes a darn good mystery yarn.
Shelley Glodowski
Senior Editor
Midwest Book Review
BestSellersWorld.com
Kerry Grant of the
Chicago Police Department is a computer whiz. She loved to play a
computer game called "CyberCop".
Kerry and her partner,
Mike Sullivan, were scheduled to attend a lecture given by
detectives from six Chicago police districts. The topic was about
crimes on the Internet. Not only was organized crime looking for
opportunities on the Internet but individuals were also dreaming up
any possible crime to make money. One of the largest crimes is
identity theft. In one year there were fifteen million victims and
it resulted in losses of over a billion dollars.
Mike informed Kerry
that the Mayor has decided to add neighborhood task forces to the
city's computer crime commission. Lt. Romero chose Kerry and Mike to
head up the new identify theft and computer crime task force for the
six districts who were attending the meeting being held that day.
Things get very
interesting when Kerry gets an undercover assignment with the mob.
Kerry finds they are very willing students because they want to
learn all they can to be the best cyber crooks.
What happens when the
mob finds Kerry hacking into their system?
In addition to trying
to catch cyber criminals, Kerry has many things going on in her
life. One of them is a new romantic relationship.
Will Kerry be
successful in her new undercover assignment and make it out alive?
This is the first book
in the Kerry Grant series. You will enjoy Kerry. She is so "into"
computers. She has a strong determination to get things done and a
great sense of humor. The story has a good plot and combines fact
and fiction since we hear so much about cyber crime in today's
world. Identity Murder is one that will make you keep turning the
pages to find out what is going to happen next. At the end of the
book there is a section titled "What to Do If Your Identity is
Stolen". If your identity is ever stolen, you will find this
resource invaluable. Two more releases are scheduled soon: "Should
Old Acquaintance Be Dead" and "A Chilling Goodbye". We look forward
to these books. In the meantime, be sure to add Identity Murder to
your reading list. This is a book you will enjoy!
Reviewed by Nancy
Eaton
Bestsellersworld.com
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