Story of a Washington correspondent for a Florida paper, who is drawn into investigating the friendly fire death of a U.S. soldier and former pro tennis player by his alluring widow. Battling a cover-up by the Army and personal demons, Dan Patragno gets his story published, but sacrifices his job and marriage along the way. Dizzying pace. ( )

This was such an excellent story! It was written by a local author whom I know in person who was once a journalist. I previously read another book by him and can attest to his excellent writing skills. I loved that this story was mostly based in the Washington, DC, area, and included such local color as names of cities I know (Bethesda, Silver Spring), and mentioned a college I attended (University of Maryland...Go Terps!).

The story is about Danny Patragno, a married man and father, who becomes entangled in the life of Isabel Moss (Bella, as she had been know to her husband), a woman whose husband died by friendly fire as an American GI in Afghanistan. As a DC correspondent for a Florida newspaper, Patragno spent much time reporting on what happened in Washington that was of interest to Floridians. Of course, Patragno always loved to have a scoop approved by his editor so he was talked into (or maybe sexually lured into) investigating the story that Isabel's husband had been given the short shrift and she had been lied to by having her husband's death reported as by enemy fire and not by friendly fire.

As the story developed, I was afraid that I might not follow all the details of it, but I did write down who all the important characters were so that I could follow the story more easily. Danny Patragno was a well fleshed-out, if ultimately a foolish, character. In pursuit of a story, he simply forgets about journalistic discipline. To find out what happens, though, you'll have to read this story yourself. It's quite an adventure and a thoughtful look into journalistic practice.

Kudos to the author for having provided this fun story for me to read. I'll be happy to share this book, first with my husband, and then with others. I'm sure it will be greatly enjoyed. ( )

This book was read with Book Whore Book Club, and gave us some great discussion questions. I went back and forth between a three star rating and a four star rating. I don't deal with a point five ratings so I had to make a decision. Pretty epic battle when you are arguing with yourself over the rating.

Steve Piacente has a great writing style that is unique. While reading the story I got a distinct male reading voice in my head. The book is masculine like the writer himself, and the story is told from a male point of view. So as a woman I got a front row seat inside the mind of a man, pretty scary when you think about it. The male perspective is not sugar coated making the story realistic and believable. I could picture this Dick Tracey type reporter tracking down clues to get to the truth.

Bella is a roller coaster of crazy emotions and stressful situations. The plot is so intense trying to uncover the mystery behind Bella's husband’s death, I literally trusted no character. I was a paranoid reader; I mentally pictured a bad guy hiding behind every situation in my mind. My reading paranoia blinded me so I never saw anything coming. The entire book took me by surprise.

This is probably the first book in my life that I enjoyed the book, and HATED the main characters. I may have just hated the choices they made, but I can't decide. Isabelle the leading lady is cold and calculating, I couldn't trust her, I kept thinking she was the bad guy. I spent the entire book thinking everything Isabelle said was a lie, but you can chalk that up to my reading paranoia.

Danny the main man in this story is going through a midlife crisis, and makes one bad choice after another throughout the entire book. I would always start to like Danny a bit then he would screw up and I was back to hating him. While I hated Danny's failure for a choice every time, it did make his character realistic.

This book is incredibly well written, and the suspense of solving the mystery does keep you wanting more while reading. I never had a moment of not wanting to find out what was going to happen, or wanting to put this book down. The reason I think I am leaning toward the three star rating is because of the drama between characters. I found the love square going on unrealistic, for all parties involved. I loved reading about the actual story but I hated reading about the destructive situation going on in the characters lives.

The drama in the love square isn't enough to take away from the story. I think this is a good book and I love the facts that are laced into the story. I had fun googling finding out if some of the events in this book were true, and excited when I found out they were. I definitely recommend this book to adult readers. ( )

Bella focuses on Isabella Moss, a widow whose husband allegedly died in combat. But an anonymous phone call reveals the opposite—death by friendly fire. In pursuit of the truth, Bella teams with reporter, Dan Patragno, and together they take on the government, army and themselves.

The story inspired me to ask myself if the cover-up should be exposed at all or possibly risk damaging the public’s faith in the government; and if I were Bella, could I just let bygones be bygones and carry on with my life.

Bella’s fight for the pursuit of justice appears to be a way for her to remain close to her husband, ultimately giving her time to prepare herself for closure.

Bella is an action-packed, suspense novel with a heart-breaking, gritty storyline that kept me intrigued until the turn of the last page. Piacente’s writing is powerful, inspiring and often times lilting. Piacente is indeed one of the best writers in today’s market. ( )

Bella is the ideal Political Thriller. You have the military, the government, senators, generals, congressmen and others covering up a story. A story about Hank Moss, upcoming tennis star and soldier in Afghanistan who is killed. His wife, Isabelle, receives a call "It's about Hank. He didn't die the way they said." Isabelle goes to her congressman, because congressmen are supposed to listen to their state's people. He tells her to go to the Army and follow the chain of command. Then she goes to Dan Patragno, Washington Correspondent, to ask him to look into her husband's death, which he relunctantly does.

Bella is very well written with short chapters that are packed with information and intrigue. Steve Piacente's writing reminded me a lot of John Grisham although his story didn't move quite as fast at the beginning. The first several chapters are background to the story told by Isabelle, along with some of Dan's family story. After that the story starts really moving fast and it's hard to put the book down.

The characters of the book are well written and easy to get to know. Isabelle is a beautiful woman who knows how to use her body to draw men in and yet you get the feeling that she loved her husband. Dan is a family man with Trouble - yes, with a capital T. And of course, Isabelle and Dan have a story of their own.

There is quite a bit of language and adult themes so I wouldn't recommend it for kids under 18 - but if you enjoy a good political thriller you will truly enjoy this book.

A short interview with Steve Piacente:

Would you share where you got the idea to write Bella?
No one event inspired the idea for Bella. Rather, over a long reporting career, I covered several tragic events, including the murder of a boy from Florida named Adam Walsh. I have always been interested in how people respond to profound grief – in the Walsh case, the parents channeled their grief into action by lobbying the state legislature in Tallahassee to pass tougher child protection laws. I’m also interested in how people act when faced with tough ethical choices – essentially what decisions they make when no one is watching. The action in Bella is driven largely by ethical decisions key characters make on the battlefield and in the bedroom.What others are saying about Bella:

What was the most difficult part of writing Bella?
The toughest challenge for me was to persuade readers to empathize with Bella. She behaves despicably in many situations, but as any journalist will tell you, there are at least two sides to each story. This woman suffers a terrible loss, and it is arguable that when we meet her, she is not the same woman who was happily married to Hank. Whether she will ever again be caring and compassionate is up for debate, but I wanted readers to pull for her despite her shortcomings. I view her as a complex but flawed character with many admirable traits.

What others say about Bella:
Piacente's use of characterization, plot and description in his novel are on-the-mark. I love his news-jockey/journalist, Dan Patragno, who was at once sassy and serious, sharing the inner dialogue of a seasoned, wise and jaundice-eyed, investigative reporter. Danny is an engaging character with strengths and rough edges that make me long to know more about him and his journalistic exploits. ~ D. Previte

Piacente has written a smart, clever book that's also sexy and seductive. He's a wonderful writer, and I'm hoping he writes another fast! After you read the last page, Bella stays with you for days. ~Karen,

Penetrating character study of a woman few men can resist. Bella unfolds like a Venus Fly Trap. ~ readingmom24/7

Here is an author who knows how to give his characters a voice. So strong and so distinctive. Right away you are pulled into this journalistic/political thriller. Very powerful,jump off the pages characters, strong plot, twists and turns and true human drama keep you turning those pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this read!!! ~ Jeffrey ( )