From Publishers Weekly
In Edgar nominee Pickard's third gripping Marie Lightfoot mystery (The Whole Truth; Ring of Truth), the Florida-based true crime writer is working on a book about her parents, civil rights activists in Alabama who disappeared in 1963 when Lightfoot was a toddler. She's suddenly threatened by a mysterious fan, who signs his emails Paulie Barnes and demands that she collaborate with him on a book about her own murder, or he'll start killing her friends, including her lover, Franklin DeWeese. As the police work feverishly to find the elusive Barnes, he sends Lightfoot to the town where her parents were part of a modern-day "underground railroad" network, and to meetings with their former associates. As in her sensational earlier entries, the chapters alternate between Lightfoot's third-person manuscript in which she reconstructs her parents' last days and a first-person narrative of her harrowing personal experiences. This makes for slightly disjointed reading, although it effectively shows how the present is tied to the past. Pickard excels in recreating the dangerous atmosphere of the South in the early '60s, when the white establishment used threats and murder to prevent the enforcement of civil rights laws. A solution that's obvious to the reader long before Lightfoot discovers it and some repetition undercut the suspense a bit, but Pickard succeeds with the daring Marie Lightfoot, attractive secondary characters, vivid Florida setting, a keen sense of history and a singular plot device.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Pickard's new Marie Lightfoot mystery (after The Whole Truth and Ring of Truth) has an intriguing premise. A tabloid has just published a lurid article featuring Marie, focusing on her personal life and the unsolved disappearance of her parents in 1963. Marie then receives an e-mail from Paulie Barnes, who takes credit for the article and threatens to hurt her if she does not cooperate with his demands. He wants her to collaborate with him on writing a book about her own murder. Marie wonders if he is someone she has written about who wants revenge. She begins to believe that the connection is more personal, though, as Paulie forces her to investigate the circumstances of her parents' disappearance. What is the truth behind their apparent betrayal of the underground railroad they had founded? And can she find out in time to save herself? Pickard's narrative flags a bit in the middle, but the suspense returns in plenty of time for the denouement. Fans of the series won't be disappointed. Recommended for most public libraries. Laurel Bliss, Yale Arts Lib., New Haven, CTCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In the third Marie Lightfoot mystery (Pickard was nominated for the Edgar for The Whole Truth [2000], the first in the series), the heroine, a famous writer of true-crime books, receives the ultimate assignment. A madman threatens Lightfoot with the deaths of her intimates unless she chronicles his campaign of terror against her, up to the moment that he murders her. This unnerving device is launched by a tabloid story that accuses Lightfoot of hiding her racist past, implicating her parents as segregationists in the fifties. The story was planted by Lightfoot's tormentor and, to clear her good name and perhaps save her life, Lightfoot must retrace her convoluted family history. Although Pickard's style is somewhat labored, with strained humor and superficial characterizations, the plot here never sets a foot wrong. The campaign of terror against Lightfoot, involving psychological torture through devices like e-mail and FedEx, is wickedly well constructed and convincing. For another fictional true-crime author, see Krich's Molly Blume, whose latest adventure, Blues in the Night, will be reviewed in the August 2002 Booklist. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Fast-paced, thrilling, original.


Book Description
MURDER BY THE BOOK It's the most bizarre and frightening proposal true-crime writer Marie Lightfoot has ever received: a killer wants Marie to collaborate with him by becoming his next victim -- and writing a book about her own murder. But for Marie, it may be the key to solving her most personal mystery and at last uncover the truth about the disappearance of her parents. They were underground Civil Rights activists who vanished during the explosive summer of 1963. Now Marie must follow the instructions of her "co-author" to find the answers she seeks in a small Alabama town -- while racing to outwit her would-be killer before she is forced to write her own final page. Following The Whole Truth and Ring of Truth, award-winning author Nancy Pickard pens the sensational third novel in the acclaimed series starring Marie Lightfoot. It's no lie that The Truth Hurts is her most hair-raising page-turner yet.


Download Description
"With The Whole Truth and Ring of Truth, award-winning author Nancy Pickard introduced the intrepid Marie Lightfoot, a gutsy and charismatic true-crime writer, and kicked off a sensational new series that sealed her reputation as one of today's top practitioners of "chilling, fast-paced, and original" thrillers (Detroit Free Press). Now Marie Lightfoot faces an unusually challenging case because this time it's personal -- painfully so, as it concerns the central mystery of her life: her parents' disappearance. My dear Marie, Do you give any thought to life after death? They say that when dead people hover around the living, it is because they are stuck at the place where they died. They can't move on. I hope for your sake that doesn't happen to you, Marie, because I don't think you'll want to linger in the place where I will kill you.... When the first E-mail arrives it seems like a joke: A man writes that he loves Marie's work and wants her to collaborate with him by becoming his victim and writing a book about her own murder right up to the moment of her death. If she doesn't cooperate, he promises, he will hurt someone close to her. Marie is merely unsettled until more threatening E-mails arrive and the young children of her lover, State Attorney Franklin DeWeese, become targets of vicious pranks. Until the police can apprehend her tormentor, Marie has no choice but to play along, following her "co-author's" instructions to write her life story and return to her birthplace, a small town in Alabama. There Marie seeks out a group of the town's most prominent citizens. Forty years ago, they worked clandestinely in the civil rights movement alongside her parents, who disappeared during the explosive summer of 1963. Filled with rich characterizations, steadily escalating suspense, and a rare depth of emotion, The Truth Hurts draws readers into a mystery that spans the present day and the tense.


About the Author
Nancy Pickard, creator of the acclaimed Jenny Cain mystery series, won the Anthony Award for Say No to Murder, a Macavity Award for Marriage Is Murder, and two Agatha Awards for Best Novel, for Bum Steer in 1990 and I.O.U. in 1991. Her critically acclaimed mystery series featuring true-crime writer Marie Lightfoot began with the Edgar Award-nominated national bestseller The Whole Truth, followed by Ring of Truth and The Truth Hurts. A former reporter and editor, she is a past president of Sisters in Crime. She divides her time between Kansas and Florida.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"When the first E-mail arrives it seems like a joke: A man writes that he loves Marie's work and wants her to collaborate with him by becoming his victim and writing a book about her own murder right up to the moment of her death. If she doesn't cooperate, he promises, he will hurt someone close to her. Marie is merely unsettled until more threatening E-mails arrive and the young children of her lover, State Attorney Franklin DeWeese, become targets of vicious pranks." Until the police can apprehend her tormentor, Marie has no choice but to play along, following her "co-author's" instructions to write her life story and return to her birthplace, a small town in Alabama. There Marie seeks out a group of the town's most prominent citizens. Forty years ago, they worked clandestinely in the civil rights movement alongside her parents, who disappeared during the explosive summer of 1963. Trying to untangle the divided loyalties, secrets, lies, and misunderstandings that have obscured the truth about her parents, Marie races to unravel the secrets of the past and outwit a killer before she is forced to write her final page.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In Edgar nominee Pickard's third gripping Marie Lightfoot mystery (The Whole Truth; Ring of Truth), the Florida-based true crime writer is working on a book about her parents, civil rights activists in Alabama who disappeared in 1963 when Lightfoot was a toddler. She's suddenly threatened by a mysterious fan, who signs his emails Paulie Barnes and demands that she collaborate with him on a book about her own murder, or he'll start killing her friends, including her lover, Franklin DeWeese. As the police work feverishly to find the elusive Barnes, he sends Lightfoot to the town where her parents were part of a modern-day "underground railroad" network, and to meetings with their former associates. As in her sensational earlier entries, the chapters alternate between Lightfoot's third-person manuscript in which she reconstructs her parents' last days and a first-person narrative of her harrowing personal experiences. This makes for slightly disjointed reading, although it effectively shows how the present is tied to the past. Pickard excels in recreating the dangerous atmosphere of the South in the early '60s, when the white establishment used threats and murder to prevent the enforcement of civil rights laws. A solution that's obvious to the reader long before Lightfoot discovers it and some repetition undercut the suspense a bit, but Pickard succeeds with the daring Marie Lightfoot, attractive secondary characters, vivid Florida setting, a keen sense of history and a singular plot device. Agent, Meredith Bernstein. (July 9) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Pickard's new Marie Lightfoot mystery (after The Whole Truth and Ring of Truth) has an intriguing premise. A tabloid has just published a lurid article featuring Marie, focusing on her personal life and the unsolved disappearance of her parents in 1963. Marie then receives an e-mail from Paulie Barnes, who takes credit for the article and threatens to hurt her if she does not cooperate with his demands. He wants her to collaborate with him on writing a book about her own murder. Marie wonders if he is someone she has written about who wants revenge. She begins to believe that the connection is more personal, though, as Paulie forces her to investigate the circumstances of her parents' disappearance. What is the truth behind their apparent betrayal of the underground railroad they had founded? And can she find out in time to save herself? Pickard's narrative flags a bit in the middle, but the suspense returns in plenty of time for the denouement. Fans of the series won't be disappointed. Recommended for most public libraries. Laurel Bliss, Yale Arts Lib., New Haven, CT Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews