Poison Pen: A Forensic Handwriting Mystery

Sheila Lowe does know what she is talking about when she talks about graphology and man o' live she can write a real fun and riveting book too. I was interested in the characters from the get-go, no need to have endless pages of character building when they are ready to go from page one. I like books that leave me wondering about the character later and this book certainly left me wanting more. So I was quite happy to find her next book and now I understand she will have a third soon. Yippee, I downloaded this on my kindle (which I love) and just bought the next book and can hardly wait for the third. Kindle gives you a great price on recently released books..check it out

Sheila Lowe, forensic handwriting expert in her real life, wrote Poison Pen about Claudia Rose, a handwriting expert. I had the privilege of meeting and spending quite a bit of time with Sheila at the Public Safety Writer Association's conference this past June. Because she was so interesting, I bought the book and I'm glad I did.

Lindsey, a friend of Claudia's is found dead in a hot tub in what is presumed to be a suicide. Claudia starts poking around when evidence points to too many people who wanted Lindsey dead.

Claudia teams up with a police detective to find out the truth--and yes, of course romance follows--but not without a lot of danger as they discover the unsavory secrets of some important people.

I definitely enjoyed Sheila's debut mystery and look forward to the next one in the series, Written in Blood, which is due out next week.

Marilyn
[...]

If you have read Ms Lowe's book Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis then you are aware that she has solid expertise in the field--court certified, thousands of analyses performed. That background is put to good use in this contemporary mystery. You will be intrigued by the clues her character Claudia Rose extracts from the notes and handwriting samples in the book. Highly recommended.

Kudos to Sheila Lowe for giving us a new mystery series with an entirely fresh and new story line. Claudia Rose is a forensic handwriting analyst who is often called in to assist the police - both to identify handwriting as belonging to a specific individual as well as to give insight into the actual character, personality and current mental state of an individual who has penned a specific item.

The story opens with Claudia and her best friend, Kelly Brennan, attending the funeral of their old friend, Lindsey Alexander, an influential PR maven who worked with many of Hollywood's elite. The three women had been very close at one time, but had had a falling out years earlier, and while Claudia still did occasional handwriting analysis for Lindsey, the three were no longer on friendly terms. Lindsey's death had been deemed a suicide, but Claudia and Kelly overhear an interesting conversation at the funeral that plants a seed of doubt, and at the reception following the funeral, Claudia is approached by Ivan Novak, Lindsey's business manager, asking her to prove that the suicide note hadn't been written by Lindsey - as he is convinced she was murdered.

Claudia decides to take the case but uncovers a WHOLE lot more than she bargained for regarding Lindsey's very messy past and a host of deviant sexual practices (including child sexual abuse, kiddy porn, bestiality, and S & M) among many of Lindsey's rich and powerful clients. When Ivan is attacked trying to pass along some information to Claudia, the entire story shifts into high gear and it becomes crystal clear that Claudia herself is in extreme danger - so much so, that even the talents of LAPD Detective Joel Jovanic might not be enough to keep her safe.

Ms. Lowe's forensic handwriting series promises us exciting new mysteries in the scientific slash police procedural vein. The plot is well written and the characters believable. This reader is definitely keeping an eye out for Written in Blood, the second book in the series!

Carol Ann Hopkins 4/2/2008

She is a graphologist forensic handwriting expert whose clients range from business people who want to check out job applicants to police who use Claudia Rose as an additional tool in their crime investigations. Both divergent groups agree she is always on the money with her assessments.

Claudia and her friend Kelly attend the funeral of their childhood friend Hollywood publicist Lindsey Alexander, who allegedly committed suicide leaving behind an explanatory note written in block letters. Her business manager Ivan does not believe Lindsey killed herself and hires Claudia to prove it. The handwriting is suspicious since Lindsey always wrote in cursive not print although the deceased's sleazy brother gives Claudia photos to prove otherwise as Lindsey printed on them. The pictures do make it quite clear that Lindsey was a victim of child sexual abuse. Ivan is going to makes an out of town trip and finds some incendiary evidence amidst Lindsey's belongings. He asks Claudia to come over to his house to look at them; she does, but when she arrives she find him lying dead. She takes the flash drive lying under him home to find it contains a spread sheet of high profiles people into kink. Claudia learns Lindsey was blackmailing them so now has a motive for homicide, but whom. Soon someone shoots at her and her house is broken into and is somewhat trashed. Obviously an unknown adversary wants the case dropped.

Claudia is a strong willed independent person who persists even while skeptics scoff at her profession as being voodoo forensics. The romance between her and the lead detective adds a personalized dimension to the story line without intruding on the inquiry. Among Lindsey's clients are DC and California politicians and Hollywood superstars with the power and money to hire a pro to make it look like a suicide, but who remains just out of reach.

Harriet Klausner