“…For a first novel, this is a nice surprise. The characters are very well defined, the plot is face-paced and holds your interest, and the writing is quite good. Not only that, but it looks like this is going to the beginning of a series––and a tougher, but more likeable, group will be hard to find. This is the chance to get in on the first of what promises to be a riveting new series.”

More later. I’m off to a thrilling evening to celebrate…

I want to especially thank my editor Caitlin Alexander from Random House and my agent Michele Rubin from Writer’s House. And my private editor Emily Heckman showed up to cheer me on, as she always has from the very first day.

DEFENSELESS will be  on the shelves September 30th and I want to know what you think of it ASAP!!

Your feedback makes me a better writer, so I will read every comment, whether it be positive or negative. Have no fear: I have very broad shoulders and can bear onslaughts of harsh criticism–though I can’t imagine there’ll be any.  = {

So please read it and enjoy, and TALK TO ME about it when you’re done.

xx Celeste

DEFENSELESS 

DEFENSELESS by Celeste Marsella“Meet four women who know the meaning of killer high heels. In DEFENSELESS, Celeste Marsella combines the attitude of Sex in the City with the true grit of a harrowing thriller for a potent novel guaranteed to keep you racing through the pages.”– Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Say GoodbyeOne good lawyer… One bad choice… And a killing spree that stunned a city. DEFENSELESS is Celeste Marsella’s powerhouse debut novel of suspense and the first in a series-each novel will be narrated by a different one of the four female leads in DEFENSELESS. They’re overworked, underpaid, and unstoppable: four young lawyers in a big-city Attorney General’s office. And when it comes to relaxing after hours, Marianna Laurie, Shannon and Beth like to kick back in the one bar their boss has made off limits: a funky, Mob-connected dive-which puts them exactly at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was after midnight, just outside the bar, when a body was dumped from a car-literally, right before their eyes. And when their boss finds out they’ve defied him, Marianna takes the fall, exiled to a job inside a private college-where it just so happens a coed has just been killed. And when the killer strikes again… and again… suddenly Marianna is in the eye of the storm, alone and under seige, just where a killer wants her… 

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October 16th 2008 at One83, 1608 First Avenue, New York, NY 10028 

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