"A marvelously provocative tale that only gets better with each page as Ms. Anderson guides her readers down a fiendishly twisted path into the deviant realm of cybersex. Pure excitement, this compelling mystery is a perfect blend of electrifying suspense, gritty realism and richly imagined prose that will satisfy the most discriminating mystery fans."—Melissa Bradley, Rendezvous Review Magazine

"Beth Anderson's first-rate, sometimes chilling tale is a classic murder mystery brought into the twenty-first century. It is an intricate police thriller that takes you into the dark and dangerous side of the cyberworld. Anderson's writing, smooth as polished glass, grabbed me from word one and didn't let go till the very end. This story contains all the elements of an excellent mystery, one I highly recommend."—Janice Wagner, All About Murder

"Murder Online baffles, puzzles, and leads the reader on a merry chase—one that never fails to keep the pages turning at a rapid pace."—Patricia White, Crescent Blues

"Beth Anderson, author of the highly acclaimed Night Sounds, offers to her fans a literary piece which is sure to be dubbed: the Cyber-Mystery of the millennium."—J.B. Scott, Sharpwriter

"Murder Online has it all—a great plot taken right out of today's headlines, enough suspects to keep a reader guessing, fair and plentiful clues, and a little bit of romance to add an extra fillip."—Monette Draper, AB Reviews

"Anderson weaves a murder investigation around the Internet and shows how small the world can become as the characters search from Chicago to Maine to LA for a serial killer. The web, the new frontier that so many have come to rely on daily can be a deadly place for those unaware. This Frankfurt Award Nominee will keep the reader involved."—Nancy B. Leake, A Mystery Fanatic

"Murder Online is so cleverly written that you won't know who to trust or when the next threat will pop up on Claire's computer. The lineup of characters that are online are so deceptive you have no idea if they are the friends they claim to be. I can't recommend Murder Online enough."—Stacey Bucholtz, All About Murder

"This is a very suspenseful book; I put it aside with great reluctance. Interest is kept at a high pitch. The suspense never falters. There is a constant question as to who the murderer is. The characters are well-developed, real people with human frailties and emotions. Well-written; very smooth reading...no explicit sex...no gratuitous violence...no profanity."—Barbara Burher, About.com

"With Murder Online, Beth Anderson has written the perfect Internet noir thriller. Ms. Anderson has taken the police procedural into the Twenty-First Century with this unique mystery merging a traditional fair-play whodunit with a police procedural and updated with the technology of the World Wide Web. Anderson is a major mystery talent."—Kent Braithwaite, Amazon.com Reviewer

"The fast pace and enthralling narrative of Murder Online kept me hooked in the story. Claire has just lost her daughter, but she perseveres to find a killer before he has the opportunity to commit another crime. Murder Online is a fantastic mystery that will have the reader on the edge of their seat!"—Tracy Farnsworth, Romance Readers Connection

"Fans who loved Beth Anderson's fluid lyricism in Night Sounds will welcome her newest release Murder Online, where her poetic voice lures the reader through the treacherous territory of cybersex and murder. Her characters live and breathe, lending a pulse and breathlessness to the tale that will sweep the reader into a fascinating and dangerous world with a hard-biting, surprising conclusion. This fast-paced, yet entertainingly humorous and well-developed mystery will simply whet the reader's appetite for yet more masterpieces from this author's pen."—Cindy Penn, Word Weaving

"Rarely have I read a book so close to reality without being a true story. As a mystery it is masterful, keeping the reader guessing the identity of the murderer right to the end. Then, a twist of plot as deadly as the turn of a knife in warm flesh leads us to the real killer. It's not all murder and intrigue. Anderson flavors her story with just enough romance to satisfy the hero lover in all of us. Bravo to this author and this book! I highly recommend Murder Online to all lovers of good mystery fiction."—Jo Popek, knowbetter.com

"Ms. Anderson has written a wonderfully in-depth mystery as she leads her characters on the hunt for a killer. It will change your perspective on the idea of anonymity on the internet, and the games people play there."—Shadoe Simmons, All About Murder

Claire Jenson was out back in her favorite part of the garden, the section where she'd tossed seeds this past spring, nothing structured, nothing formal, just scattered here and there the way her grandmother had taught her, when the call came from Chicago telling her that her youngest daughter had been murdered.

She clutched her portable phone, her hands dry and cold in spite of the fact that it was early August and Illinois had been in the middle of a heat wave for over two weeks, thinking how out of place a call like that was on a day like this. This was no place for talk of death. This garden was alive.

Birds squabbled and chattered down at the end of the yard, where Barry had planted five flowering plums two years ago in honor of their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. A rabbit scampered into a patch of sunflowers, where her nest and several babies waited. A hummingbird hovered over the tallest of the blood-red hollyhocks, the Atchison's new baby wailed next door, and it was almost time to go inside and start supper.

However, the steaks thawing on the counter would have to wait now. Tomorrow, as soon as she straightened out this horrible mistake, she'd get to them. But not now. Right now the thought of dinner made her nauseous, because somehow she'd to have to tell Lannie her sister was dead, and she had no idea how to go about it.

Only a year ago she'd had to sit both of her daughters down in a hospital corridor and tell them their father was gone, dead with a sudden heart attack. There'd been only the three of them after that, and now…somehow the thought couldn't fully form…she could only think…Two…

She stared at her hands and wiped them on her slacks, only half-noticing they were her clean white linen ones, and stood for a couple of minutes trying to focus, trying to understand, but where understanding had been, now there was only pain. She forced herself to walk into the house, into the kitchen where she tried to find her voice to call Lannie, but her glance moved toward a small framed handprint on the wall by the refrigerator that True had made fifteen years ago, when she was only four. The tiny handprint swam in front of her eyes as Claire found herself sinking to the floor and heard her own voice, a primal, anguished sound that only she could hear, coming from somewhere deep inside.