Naked Addiction by Caitlin Rother ISBN: 9780843959956
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist debuts with this gritty mystery. After disgruntled narcotics detective Ken Goode discovers a murder victim, he sees a chance to move into the homicide division. But things quickly escalate as more bodies turn up, all tied to the beauty school Goodes sister attends.
This message has been edited by chapteraday on Sep 12, 2008 3:13 PM
Welcome to the preview of my book, Naked Addiction. I hope you enjoy reading it each day and look forward to any comments or questions you may have. -- Caitlin Rother
The opening to this book is so very sad - I can't imagine how a mother could do this. No wonder the guy now has issues. You have definately captured my attention.
I was enjoying the first read and thinking would be a good read - then back into the past to the very sad "event" - guess it was just a background for the main character - don't know how or if it will be elaborated on in the main part of the book -
As to the how or why the mother could do this, makes me wonder if post-partum depression could be the cause - remember, the young boy is thinking how his mother is not the same since the new baby came - see, how quickly books can draw us in and that is the magic of them -
Thanks for taking the time to participate in the forum. Suicide is an important theme in this book. I don't want to ruin the rest of the book for you, so I hope you'll keep reading and find out for yourself.
I've published two true crime books with a third coming out in March, but NAKED ADDICTION is my first novel. I was in the process of writing my second novel, which brings Detective Goode back, when I got interrupted with another non-fiction project that is keeping me extremely busy (that's why I'm just getting back to you now). So, I do hope to have another book with this character coming, but I don't have a contract and therefore no publication date for it yet.
Stay tuned to my Web site: http://caitlinrother.com for updates or more info on my other books if you like true crime!
An interesting & captivating beginning. After reading the first two days excerpts, I'm wondering how Goode's experience with his mother's suicide is going to tie into the murder storyline. As a journalist for many years, I am sure you have seen a variety of real life issues relating to post-partum depression, suicide, murder, etc. Did you base this story on some of your personal experiences? Looking forward to hearing how Goode gets involved with & solves these serial murders & how his personal experience with his mom relate to the solving of the murder. I do love a good murder mystery.
I actually wrote about drugs, addiction and suicide on the job as a journalist, but I also have had personal experience with these issues in my family. This probably isn't the most appropriate forum to discuss my personal experience in detail, but my husband was an alcoholic who suffered from depression and took his own life. So it's not surprising that these same issues tend to pop up as themes in my non-fiction books as well -- I don't know if I choose these cases or if they choose me.
Since you're a journalist, I thought you might enjoy my first non-fiction book, POISONED LOVE. It's about the Kristin Rossum murder case. She was a pretty blond toxicologist at the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office who was also a meth addict. She was convicted of poisoning her husband with a powerful narcotic she stole from her lab and then staging a suicide scene at their apartment with red rose petals. It's a fascinating story with very similar themes as NAKED ADDICTION, only it's all true.
Caitlin, Oops, I think I must not have worded myself correctly. I'm not a journalist (was referring to you having been a journalist), although I am a Public Relations volunteer with the FAASTeam (government group that works to improve aviation safety). I am so hooked into Naked Addiction after reading the first couple chapters that I went to the book store today & was so disappointed they didn't have it in stock. They have ordered it for me so I am counting the days til it arrives. Can hardly wait to get caught up in Goode's search for the killer & see how his mother's suicide ties into the story. You have a wonderful gift & I'm looking forward to reading your other books as well. Checked out your website to see what I've been missing. I will definitely send an email when I finish the book. The suspense in killing me! LOL! Thanks for taking the time to listen & share with us here.
I was happy to see you were hooked enough to go out and get the book! I'm not sure many libraries will have it because it's a paperback, but you can buy it from Amazon or any local bookstore.
I'd love to hear from you after you're done with this or any of my other books. That goes for you or anyone else who is reading this forum. I always welcome feedback from readers at my personal email, which is crother@flash.net. If you forget, you can always Google me and my Web site, with email contact, will come up: http://caitlinrother.com.
I love how you write and describe the events that take place. I am on the edge of my seat and I cannot wait to purchase the book. I found myself ready to go to Barnes and Noble at an ungodly time of night. I can't wait to find out what happens to this officer with the dark past. I am assuming that in the next chapters we will be hit with the crime and the many clues that this officer will have to uncover. WATCH OUT CSI!
Thanks so much for your very sweet message. You made my day!
As I said in my last response, I'd love to hear from you and any other reader after they finish reading this book or any of my others. You can learn more about them on my Web site, http://caitlinrother.com. My personal email is on there, but for now it's crother@flash.net.
I was hooked by about the third paragraph. I was born and raised in San Diego and at the first mention of the Santa Ana winds, I was back there. Then you took me down Mission Blvd in Pacific Beach where my mother grew up and my grandparents lived on Mission Bay. Our first house, or rather beach shack, was at the end of Grand Ave. across from the fire station. Last time I was there it was a Hot Cinnamon Roll shop.
Who knows this week?
Sadly, I am also very familiar with the Coronado Bridge. The little boy that walked next to me down the commencement aisle in 6th grade and who was my friend all through high school was struck and killed on that narrow and dangerous bridge when he stopped to help a stranded motorist a few years after senior graduation.
I am eager to read your book, not just for what promises to be a poignant story about suicide and its journey, but because of the journey I will take as I follow Ken Goode around San Diego.
I call Manassas, Virginia, home now but do we ever really forget where we grew up. I will always be a San Diego girl at heart.
We seem to have a lot in common. I, too, grew up in San Diego, spending some time in Mission Beach and graduating from La Jolla High... I'm glad you can relate to the local spots I was describing in NAKED ADDICTION...
I couldn't believe it when you said you now live in Manassas because that's where my latest non-fiction book, TWISTED TRIANGLE, took place! I'm not sure how long you've lived there, but the crimes committed by former FBI undercover agent Gene Bennett and his subsequent trial occurred there in the 1990s. My book just came out this year. It's the story of how Gene kidnapped and then tried to kill his FBI agent wife Margo Bennett, after she had an affair with famous crime novelist Patricia Cornwell. Talk about a coincidence.
Hope to hear more from you after you get further into NAKED ADDICTION and hopefully into TWISTED TRIANGLE, too.
Great plug for your newest book. From that description I will have to check it out. I love true crime stories and especially ones involving law enforcement, military types you think they can get away with murder. Also, I am a HUGE Patricia Cornwell fan. I never knew that about her personal life. I don't really follow authors personal life's too much. I just really like her books, the whole coroner/forensics angle.
The question I had was about the title of this book, Naked Addiction. I guess I will probably find out when I finish the book, but I was just curious about the addiction part. I can see where the suicide theme is playing out. Thank you for taking the time to write and to respond.
Sounds like you'll definitely like TWISTED TRIANGLE, and if you like true murder stories involving former military, then you may also want to try BODY PARTS, which is coming out in March. It's about serial killer Wayne Adam Ford, a former Marine, who killed four women (that we know of) and dismembered two of them. It's not a gory gruesome book because I don't write books I wouldn't want to read. I took a more psychological angle.
Re: the addiction theme in NAKED ADDICTION, many of the characters have different addictions, ranging from alcohol to meth to cocaine to cigarettes, caffeine, sex and damaged women. You'll see that the drugs also play into the murders. Don't want to give anything else away.
Let me know what you think of this and the other books if you decide to get them. My email is crother@flash.net.
The coincidences are adding. My cousin has a daughter currently attending La Jolla High School and I had a best friend in 5th grade whose parents moved to La Jolla so she could go to that high school. Her name was Jill Goldstein. (Throwing that out there in case you may have known her). I graduated from Madison High School in 1980. Our big claim to fame was being next to Clairemont High School which was the school depicted in Fast Times at Ridgemont High that same year.
I went on to attend SDSU. My father worked at both Scripps Institue and for SDSU in their astronomy department. I know you write about them as well.
The link to Manassas is incredible and adds another book to my MUST READ list. I've only lived here for 4 years and don't remember the Eugene Bennett trial but I am interested in learning more. When friends come to visit we have the Manassas "tour" which doesn't just include the battlefield. Would you believe we take them to the area where Lorena Bobbitt "tossed" the "part" and sadly to where one of the DC snipers shot one of their victims. Okay, we are a little bored here but it makes it an eclectic trip!
Thank you for the connection back to home this week. I don't know when I will make it back again but this week has been like a mini vacation! I have ordered your book and look forward to reading about all the other places I have a memories of. (P.S. If you mention Fiesta Island - I am going to have to blush!)
This is getting a little bizarre. I went to high school with Jill Goldstein, she was in my class, and she lived down the street from me. I saw her about five years ago at the gym... And both of my parents worked at SDSU!
The same prosecutor who did the Lorena Bobbitt case also handled the Gene Bennett case and the DC sniper case, too. Same courthouse.
