A murdered source. A board room power play. Reporting this story may prove fatal.
Investigative reporter Andrea Kellner is under fire. After she inherits a media company from her husband, a hostile board member hires an efficiency consultant to force her out. Turning a blind eye to the power struggle, she throws herself into her next story only to find her key source dying in her home with an X slashed across her mouth.
While even Andrea thinks the victim's corrupt ex-husband is the likely culprit, a second murder with a similar M.O. hints at a much larger scheme.
Two strong, successful women are dead, their only connections are a divorce attorney and ex-husbands with an ugly past.
Can Andrea expose the murderer before the killer takes another victim?
Lies of Men is the third thrilling novel in the Andrea Kellner mystery series. If you like complex plots and smart, ballsy, crime-solving women, youâll love Dana Killionâs page-turning series.
A murdered source. A board room power play. Reporting this story may prove fatal.
Investigative reporter Andrea Kellner is under fire. After she inherits a media company from her husband, a hostile board member hires an efficiency consultant to force her out. Turning a blind eye to the power struggle, she throws herself into her next story only to find her key source dying in her home with an X slashed across her mouth.
While even Andrea thinks the victim's corrupt ex-husband is the likely culprit, a second murder with a similar M.O. hints at a much larger scheme.
Two strong, successful women are dead, their only connections are a divorce attorney and ex-husbands with an ugly past.
Can Andrea expose the murderer before the killer takes another victim?
Lies of Men is the third thrilling novel in the Andrea Kellner mystery series. If you like complex plots and smart, ballsy, crime-solving women, youâll love Dana Killionâs page-turning series.
âIs it my fault that my client was stupid?â
Two women at the end of the jury box shifted uncomfortably in their seats. If Gavin Wright thought ignorance would be his saving grace in these embezzlement charges, comments like that would only pulverize his defense. I could feel the prosecutionâs glee from my vantage point six rows back. It was week two of the trial; the prosecution had rested, and the defense was waging equal battles between the substantial evidence presented by their opponents and the defendantâs narcissistic tendencies. Neither was helping their case.
Wright stood charged with embezzling over $500,000 from the estate he managed for his client, Isaac Sikora, and day by day he was adding a new definition to the word chutzpah. There was nothing more endearing to a jury than stealing money from grandpa.
I turned my head toward the administrative assistant who had discovered the alleged theft. Her hands were clenched in her lap, her head down, and she stared at some stain on the carpet, probably wishing she could sneak out the side door. Since Wright was her boss, sheâd brought the financial irregularities to the attention of the victimâs son, Nathan Sikora, but only after the elder Sikora had passed away. Nathan was now whispering furiously in the prosecutionâs ear. I imagined the expletives were flying.
Tension crackled in the room with each insensitive remark by Wright, but his psych profile prevented him from controlling himself. Oh well, two more points for the prosecution.
It was entertaining, but I was more interested in the juryâs reaction. I furiously jotted notes for the article I would post later that day as I watched the circus unfolding. Despite her best efforts, juror number eight was showing her hand. She despised Wright, but as I knew, that didnât mean she was a shoo-in for the vote to convict. It wasnât unusual for a juror to dislike the accused or even the victim for that matterâafter all, criminal cases didnât always involve the best and the brightest. Nonetheless, it was the juryâs role to set aside personal feelings and bias and draw a conclusion based on the facts of the case, even when you thought the accused was a heartless SOB.
Wright sat back in the witness box, flicked a piece of lint off the sleeve of his custom-tailored Italian suit, then shot a look at his attorney that said, âIâd rather be on the golf course.â His arrogance enveloped him like a storm cloud. As a onetime prosecutor myself, Iâd met many an attorney who seemed to think âIâ was the only pronoun in the English language, but it was a quality usually reserved for trial attorneys, not estate wonks like Wright.
I leaned forward in my seat, stared at Wright, and tried to come up with words to describe the undercurrent in his testimony. The flavor of the setting and the emotion in the courtroom were key components in adding texture to the story I was writing on this case for my employer, Link-Media. Facts were the primary elements, but getting my readers to feel the tension in the room was important for taking this story to the next level. Anyone could throw up five hundred words and call it done, but I was developing a reputation for going deeper. In my fourteen months with the digital news outlet, Iâd broken a story about a casino scheme involving the highest levels of Chicago government and exposed a tainted energy drink product that had taken the lives of three people and nearly killed my sister. This wasnât the time to get sloppy.
The defense attorney made a move to get the questioning back on track, asking Wright about financial reporting cycles and the frequency of communication between him and Mr. Sikora. The legal strategy seemed to be a claim that this half-million sum was largely expenses related to administration of the estate over the seven years Wright and Sikora had been associated. Hell of a fee structure.
A reporter from the local NBC affiliate slid into the bench next to me. I couldnât help but shoot my eyes at the hideous lime-green-and-orange plaid tie knotted around his neck. Had he dressed in the dark, or was he color blind?
âHey, Andrea,â he whispered. âDo you hate this guy as much as everybody else here does?â
I glanced at my colleague and lifted an eyebrow.
âNice tie,â I said, then turned back to the defense attorney without saying more. Did he really think I would respond? The TV news guys seemed to think they stood on top of the pecking order and we peons in the digital world were just wannabes hoping for our shot. Sorry, I wasnât going to add any color commentary.
âMr. Wright,â the defense continued, âyou testified earlier about the monthly administrative expenses charged to Mr. Sikora. How did these fees compare to those of other clients?â
âEvery client is different,â Wright replied. âWe start with a base rate then make adjustments based on the number of man-hours put into the clientâs assets, the types of investments, the complexity of their personal tax situation.â
âAnd was Mr. Sikoraâs tax situation complicated?â
 âHe was an aggressive investor and impulsive about buying assets.â Wright shrugged, bored with the whole thing. âIt was difficult to get a handle on his ownership stakes, let alone the tax implications on the estate when your client doesnât involve his partners. We were in constant contact with his broker, trying to get information on acquisitions. This went on for the entire time I worked for Mr. Sikora. Of course, that meant more work for my firm, and our fees reflect the work our client directed us to do, nothing more.â
Wright tugged on his French cuffs and gave his attorney a practiced smile. Slickwas the word that came to mind when I looked at him. There was an undercurrent beneath the polished exterior that was hard to identify, as if his poise were practiced rather than innate. Throwing punches in a bar fight or dining in one of the fine restaurants his lifestyle afforded him were two scenarios in which I could easily imagine him.
âI might also add,â Wright continued, âthat Mr. Sikora changed his mind frequently about how to distribute his assets upon his death. Some months his son was on the short list, others Mr. Sikora felt inclined to donate his wealth to charity. I canât take responsibility for the lack of communication between my client and his son or the quality of their relationship. I was simply following my clientâs lead.â
Nathan Sikora jumped to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor behind him. âLiar!â he screamed. His face was as red as the burgundy sweater he wore, and his hands trembled with rage.
The judge slammed his gavel as the prosecution took Sikoraâs arm, attempting to calm him down, but he was having none of it. Rage and accusations spilled out uncontrollably as the courtroom visitors watched, erupting into a low rumble of their own. My seatmate chuckled and scribbled in a notebook, delighted with the show.
Two attorneys now whispered in Sikoraâs ears while he ignored them and continued his tirade. As his volume and agitation increased, Sikora pushed off his counsel and made moves toward Wright. Toward what end wasnât clear, but no one was taking the chance. The bailiff stepped forward as the legal team blocked his movement. With control of the courtroom at risk, the judge continued to call for order, eventually having no choice but to have Nathan Sikora removed from the courtroom.Â
As Sikora was led out of the courtroom, the room buzzed with shock and amusement. The judge called for lunch recess, and the jury filed out.
âJust another day at the carnival,â my journalist friend added before rushing out of the room himself. I had a feeling Sikora was about to have his day in the press.
I exited the building into Daley Plaza, hoping the line at the deli salad bar around the corner hadnât yet gotten unbearable. Buttoning my wool coat against the sharp February wind, I pulled gloves out of my pocket and headed west. Twenty feet out I noticed a crowd building around a woman standing near The Picasso, a monumental fifty-foot-tall COR-TEN steel sculpture that  anchored the square. Cameras and voice recorders pointed in her direction. Elyse Wright, the accusedâs ex-wife.
There was no mistaking the sharp line of her blonde bob and the impeccable wardrobe of the ad executive and former Mrs. Gavin Wright. Together the former couple had made a striking pair, she with her fair beauty and he with his dark skin and easy smile. They were photographed frequently in social pages, particularly for their support of the Lincoln Park Zoo.
As I reached the group, I heard Elyse reiterateâfor the benefit of the evening news cycleâthe same line of defense sheâd used in court.
âGavin, and Gavin alone, is responsible for the heartless betrayal of an elderly manâs trust. I was duped just as completely as Mr. Sikora.â
Today Ms. Wright was showing her survival skills. She had kicked her lying husband to the curb and wasnât about to go down with him. I knew the sentiment.
Her testimony had been as harsh and as deadly as a lethal injection, an impressive blend of victimization and ânail the bastard.â Unwisely, she was now holding court on her own. But after hearing her testimony for the prosecution, I didnât imagine the defense wanted anything to do with her. If she could add a couple dozen more nails to her ex-husbandâs coffin, sheâd do it in a heartbeat. This stunt seemed more about self-preservation, and I got the feeling she was a pro.
âMs. Wright? Andrea Kellner from Link-Media.â I pushed around to the side of the small group. âCan you speculate on a motive? Was your husband desperate for money? Were there financial problems in his business?â
Elyse Wright turned to me with a hard stare. âIt was greed and arrogance. Nothing more. But you know all about arrogant men, donât you, Ms. Kellner?â
Lies of Men was the first Andrea Kellner mystery I read. There was enough background to understand her past without overburdening the story, and the plot kept me turning the pagesâall the way to the unexpected conclusion.
The narrator is a journalist/sleuth dealing with men who, at best, are not listening to her; at worst, they are trying to silence her and steal her company. This book could be a fictional tract for the #metoo movement, and every woman isâin one way or anotherâabused. At times the "message" comes on too strong; fortunately, the story is saved from caricature by a token "baddie" on both sides of the sexist divide.
Though I was intrigued enough to keep reading, I have to admit to skimming the second half, wishing that the author had trusted the reader to figure out what Andrea was feeling/thinking. Strong dialogue, instead of being trusted to do the work on its own, is followed up with "author-splaining." For example, here's what happens when Andrea walks in on Borkowski, her managing editor, having a "seemingly intense" conversation with the consultant who's been hired to eliminate Andrea's job:
I looked from one to the other, wondering what I had interrupted.
"Yes?" Borkowski said, a flash of irritation crossing his eyes.
"I need a few minutes with you."
"Give me five. I'll meet you in the conference room."
I nodded, trying to read their faces, but I didn't like the vibe. Whatever was going on between them was not making me comfortable.
(Emphasis mine.)
And then, only one sentence after decamping to the conference room, Andrea tells us again: "For the second time, I had a feeling that some secret activity was going on behind my back."
As an author, I'm guessing this type of over-explanation is a leftover from the first draftâa necessary step to figure out what happens next. But this story (packaged inside a fantastic cover) could be much stronger without all the unnecessary telling. "We know that already!" I kept thinking. Maybe book #4 will get another copy edit before publication? Either way, I do agree with the last sentence of this book's synopsis: "If you like complex plots and smart, ballsy, crime-solving women, youâll love Dana Killionâs page-turning series."