In Clark's latest KEY News mystery (after Hide Yourself Away
, etc.), correspondent Diane Mayfield heads to the quaint New Jersey beach town of Ocean Grove, not for a much-needed vacation but because even the sunniest of resorts has its newsworthy, hidden darkness. When Leslie Patterson, a young Ocean Grove woman reported missing for three days, is rescued virtually unharmed and claims she was kidnapped, police, friends and family believe her disappearance was a hoax and a cry for attention. Diane's producer Joel Malcolm sees the pseudo-kidnapping as grist for his "Girls Who Cry Wolf" feature and sends Diane to cover it for the network's Dateline
-style Hourglass
program. But the feature story becomes hard news when a second young woman is kidnapped and found dead. Suddenly, victim number one's story becomes credible, and the police, Diane, and her news crew start to take the investigation seriously as multiple Ocean Grove residents have motive and opportunity to have committed the crimes. Clark's latest competent showing will intrigue her eager fans, if not more discerning mystery readers. Agent, Laura Dail. (July)
