Just as readers don’t just read one genre, writers don’t just write in one genre. I’ve always been a fan of mysteries. I loved Laurell K Hamilton’s early Anita Blake books. I’m a big fan of Simon Green’s Nightside series and who doesn’t love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books?
So, naturally, I couldn’t resist writing my own paranormal-mystery, published by Clandestine Press. With this book I tried to deliver a convincing mystery, while maintaining the paranormal elements.
“Strong, complex – and don’t read the last three chapters alone, after dark.”
Kerry Greenwood
Suspenseful, eerie, sexy, sad and triumphant. RC Daniells certainly knows how to tantalise readers.
Marianne de Pierres
RC Daniells’ vivid storytelling, strong characters and distinctive sense of place combine to make The Price of Fame a compelling tale with a distinctly Australian feel.
Narrelle M Harris
The Price of Fame
Sex, drugs and rock music: the demons of youth – until fame demands its price
Documentary maker Antonia Carlyle uncovers dark secrets when she researches the cult ’80s band, The Tough Romantics, and its doomed singer Genevieve James. The iconic band’s rise to international fame had as much to do with their cutting edge sound as their history of tragedy, betrayal and murder.
The deeper Antonia digs, the stranger the circumstances surrounding Genevieve’s death seem. Was the wrong man charged with murder? Do the surviving band members know more than they’ve revealed? How far will they go to hide the truth?
Antonia must face her own demons and those that haunt the St Kilda terraced house where the band tore itself apart decades before. As the past spills into the present, Antonia’s growing psychic link with the dead girl feeds her obsession to find the truth.
But will it be enough to lay Genevieve’s ghost to rest?
REVIEWS
I had a fantastic time with The Price of Fame and the characters stuck in my head whenever I had to put the book away. If you enjoy Daniells’ epic fantasy tales, this is another book you’ll want to check out. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, because you don’t enjoy epic fantasy, then this book is a perfect way to be introduced to her writing.The Price of Fame is an exciting paranormal crime story, though the emphasis is more heavily on the paranormal than the crime. Personally, I’m looking forward to reading the next book Daniells will have on offer for us, whatever sub-genre it is, but I hope she’ll write more paranormal crime/urban fantasy books in the future.
-Meineke, The Fantastical Librarian
The Price of Fame is the first foray into the world of paranormal crime for well-known Australian Fantasy author Rowena Cory Daniells, and she has nailed the genre with spectacular results.
‘I have a soft spot for stories set in Melbourne, my home city. I might not have spent all that much time in St Kilda, but I’ve walked down Acland Street and bought pastires, and been to Luna Park and ridden the same roller coaster the band rides in the book (a few safety-induced renovations later). The language Daniells uses is distinctly Australian, particularly in the slang all the characters use, which I also enjoyed.
Overall, I enjoyed The Price of Fame and read it in two sittings, finding it difficult to put down, especially once the 80s story started to unfold. It has minor paranormal elements, but they don’t really become pivotal until the end and could almost be dismissed as magical realism (if paranormal elements aren’t your sort of thing).
I strongly recommend The Price of Fame to anyone who enjoys mystery/crime novels, paranormal fiction and/or historical Melbourne.
5 / 5 stars’
– Tsana’s Reads and Reviews
‘The Price of Fame is an intriguing crime novel and a commentary on the changes St Kilda has undergone. I loved the depiction of St Kilda, both in the 1980s and now. My first memory of St Kilda is as a backpacker in 1990, when it was a seedy and edgy inner-city seaside suburb. A few years later I came to know it as the home of Sisters in Crime Australia. Now, of course, it has become yuppiefied, and it’s fascinating to meet the two St Kildas in the pages of one book.
Hopefully this won’t be RC Daniells’ only foray into crime …’
– Story Spinner
‘Told from two different narratives and timelines, this novel was fun with an entertaining mix of paranormal, rock and roll, and a murder mystery. ‘
– Tara Sharp Blog (Krista McKeeth)
‘I read it two sittings, getting sunburnt because I couldn’t but the book down.
The writing and the pacing, overrode my aversion to “psychic energies”, the characters were real, the ending a mix of triumph and sadness. While I think The Price of Fame is a one shot, I hope Daniells decides to play in the crime fiction sandpit again. I’ll read it with or without restless spirits.’
– Sean the Blogonaut
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Eeeee! So happy to see this one in print, Rowena
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