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Welcome to Mysteries to Die For and this Toe Tag.

I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is normally a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you at the heart of mystery, murder, and mayhem. Today is a bonus episode we call a Toe Tag. It is the first chapter from a fresh release in the mystery, crime, and thriller genre.

Today\\u2019s featured release is GIRL ON TRIAL by Kathleen Fine

GIRL ON TRIAL was released from CamCat Books and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers.

About Kathleen Fine

Kathleen Fine received her Master\\u2019s in Reading Education from Towson University and Bachelor\\u2019s in Elementary Education from University of Maryland, College Park. She is a member of the Maryland Writers Association, International Thriller Writers, and Author\\u2019s Guild. When she\\u2019s not writing and selling real estate, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to the Outer Banks, and of course, reading anything she can get her hands on. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband, three children, and Sussex Spaniel. Her short stories have been published in Litro Magazine, Pen in Hand, The Maryland Writer\\u2019s Association Anthology, and in The Indignor Playhouse Anthology. Girl on Trial is her debut novel. Find her at https://www.kathleenfineauthor.com/

TG Wolff Review

GIRL ON TRIAL is a Contemporary YA Mystery/Thriller. Sixteen-year-old Emily Keller has one goal her junior year of high school: fit in. But making friends and being popular takes Emily down a dangerous path of drinking, pills, and sex. Now the family she babysat for is dead and Emily is accused of leaving the stove on, causing carbon monoxide poising.

Bottom line: GIRL ON TRIAL is for you if you like legal suspense coupled with the interpersonal drama.

Strengths of the story. Author Kathleen Fine took a rare approach to the storytelling, alternating between the jury trial and the events of the prior year, beginning with the first day of school. While other stories may alternate between past and present, GIRL ON TRIAL meticulously walks through the trial, making you feel the fear and anxiety along with Emily.

With this approach, we have two storylines running simultaneously and they have two very different feels. In the \\u201cpast\\u201d story, we get to know Emily as a person and see the influence those closest to her \\u2013 her twin brother, her friends - have on. This isn\\u2019t a story of privilege but of smart, determined daughter of a single mom who is an alcoholic. Reading with an adult\\u2019s eye, we see the precipice Emily is walking along well before she does.

If the \\u201cpast\\u201d story is personal, the \\u201ctrial\\u201d story is professional. The lawyer does the talking. Emily has to listen to testimony that cuts down who she is. Some are lies, some aren\\u2019t, but she has to hold herself in the impossible combination of aloof but humble. The contrast between the two storylines is nicely done.

Where the story fell short of ideal: GIRL ON TRIAL is hard to pin down on genre. It is listed as a Young Adult Mystery / Thriller. I argue it is neither. It is not a Mystery as there is not a crime being investigated and none of the characters are working to uncover information to resolve the situation. It is not a Thriller because it lacks the fast pacing, the physicality, and the risk of mortal danger to the hero. I find it best classifies as Suspense. The pacing is...'