Poison Pen
By Sheila Lowe
Reviewed by Jackie Houchin

Claudia Rose analyzes handwriting for a living.  Her clients are mostly employers seeking more information about job applicants, or young women who wonder about the new men in their lives.  Occasionally she does profile work for the police.
When Lindsey Alexander, a ruthless Hollywood publicist, is found dead in her hot tub, with “it was fun while it lasted” written on a nearby scrap of paper, police assume it was suicide.  But Lindsey’s business associate, Ivan Novak believes otherwise and begs Claudia to prove the note a fake.  She is reluctant to help, having been a victim of the publicist’s maliciousness.  But when she sees the blocky printing on the paper, she decides to take the case.  Lindsey never printed.
As Claudia studies the handwriting of the people closest to Lindsey, she becomes convinced that the publicist was murdered.  When Ivan calls her one night in a panic she rushes to his office and finds him brutally beaten. She dials 911, but before the police arrive, she pockets something partially hidden under Ivan’s bloody body.
Enter the handsome Detective Joel Jovanic, and soon a pleasurable but frustrating personal and professional relationship begins.  As the two dig deeper into the dark world of Lindsey Alexander, the brutal attacks and killings increase…until Claudia throws caution aside and attempts to nail the killer herself.
Can she do it without the detective’s help?   The story ends with a twist that will surprise and satisfy readers.
Handwriting expert and author, Sheila Lowe, knows her business, and has written a crime novel that supports the adage “write what you know.”  Not only is Poison Pen a first-rate suspense story, it also delivers an amazing behind-the-scenes look at forensic graphology.
Lowe has also written The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis and Handwriting of the Famous and Infamous.  She’s given her opinion in many high-profile cases and often testifies in court. At the end of her book, she offers to analyze the reader’s handwriting.
Available March 2007

Jackie Houchin is a freelance reporter for The Foothills Paper in San Fernando Valley, California.  She belongs to Sisters In Crime and Mystery Writers of America and the California Writers Club.  Jackie reviews for Mystery Scene Magazine, Crime Spree Magazine and The Strand magazine.  She is a regular contributor to Valleynews.com as a book, theater and film reviewer.  Jackie  contributes to The Valley Scribe and have a few things in the CWC 2005-2006 anthology.  She is a photographer, and have "shot" countless plays and musicals in community theaters for 18 years.