Midwest Book Review

Fans of novels that feature high-octane action and powerful female protagonists will quickly realize that the characters and nature of Throw Away Girls represents the embodiment of passion and purpose in the form of reporter Jaycee Wilder, who sets out to snag a big story and a bigger career in Los Angeles.

She gets more than she bargained for, however, when a series of murders draws her from her safe role as a reporter into the more dangerous world of an involved investigator edging ever closer to a clever killer.

Throw Away Girls doesn't open with Jaycee's perspective, however: shockingly, it documents a murder in progress, immediately letting readers know that violence and danger will permeate the story line, which is not a powder-puff piece for light mystery readers.

This killer specializes in the seedy kinds of girls who frequent nightclubs; so in order to break the story, Jaycee must track dangerous, savvy killer whose methodology and expertise in murder is only part of his cunning in knowing how to disappear and how to observe, from a safe distance, Jaycee's increasing involvement in the hunt.

At times it feels like the roles of predator and prey is continually switching, and that's because each protagonist faces a worthy, equal opponent in the other. And so a cat-and-mouse game evolves that keeps Jaycee - and readers - on their toes as a dangerous romp through the seedy side of life embraces agony, awareness, and the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde life of a family man by day, who is a passionate killer by night.

Is Jaycee about to become a "Throwaway Girl" in the killer's limelight? Evidence warns her of the danger ("If she wasn’t in the throes of a big story, using insider information, and about to reveal even more about a killer on the loose, she’d consider this a coincidence. Some crazy guy letting her know he thought she was hot. But then she flipped the picture around and all hope of bad cosmic timing was lost. No, this was intentional, a killer’s way of telling her to back off in bold red pen."), but her response is to not only persevere, but adopt a level of cunning equal to that of her opponent.

In such a game, who will win? There are no pat answers and no quick solutions, and readers of detective fiction who like well-developed characters, twists of story line, and engrossing moves and counter-moves will love the approach of Throw Away Girls, which takes a brutal vigilante's personal quest for justice and blends it with a savvy reporter's passion for her job.

Readers enthusiastic about smart, successful, creative female protagonists will find themselves rooting for Jaycee's ultimate success and chafing at the many obstacles and increasingly insurmountable hurdles she faces in the process of playing a dangerous game.

In Vaughn’s (Last Flight Out, 2011) thriller, a Los Angeles television reporter puts herself in danger while investigating a serial killer who targets sex-club patrons.

Jaycee Wilder is an Emmy-winning investigative reporter who chases down stories with her photographer and friend Ben Roderick. She lives with Van, a bartender and occasional bit-part actor in forensics-heavy shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Law & Order, and he likes to comment on her stories using insights he’s gleaned from such TV shows. After Jaycee learns that three women have been murdered within six months in underground “fantasy adult nightclub” settings, she suspects a serial killer: “These are not cases of rough sex going too far. He’s making them bleed,” she tells Van. She also says as much to the LAPD’s lead detective on the case, James Barton, who’s battling alcoholism after an on-the-job tragedy. The two agree to work together so that Jaycee can get an exclusive story and Barton can get professional exposure. He tells her about the killer’s message, which was scrawled in each victim’s blood: “Throw Away Girl.” Jaycee investigates and gets useful information from a sex-club operator, but then she gets a message from the killer warning her to back off. Will she help track down the dangerous psychopath—or will she become his next victim? Vaughn, a TV news anchor for WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire, uses her own background to enrich the story with authentic insider details about TV reporting, and her prose is solid.

August 27th – Book Signing: Toadstool Bookshop – Milford, NH

August 25th – Appearance: Kernwood Country Club – Salem, MA

August 13th – Book Signing: Book Lovers Gourmet – Webster, MA

July 30th – Book Signing: Moravian Bookshop – Bethlehem, PA

July 22nd – Book Signing: Water Street Bookstore – Exeter, NH