The snowbanks in a small Maine town start to melt, and the town’s secrets begin to emerge. Stanley Weston’s body is found in the melting snowbank along Pond Road. Bernie O’Dea, the Peaks Weekly Watcher editor, is jazzed to finally have a big story to cover. Unfortunately, the unanswered questions outnumber the facts. Didn’t Stanley head south before Christmas? How is it that no one knew he was missing? What were the boys arguing about at the VFW Christmas Eve party? She searches for answers as she works the story. During her search, Bernie impulsively takes a notebook from Stanley’s trailer, and then it is hauled off before the police can make their investigation. Pete Novotny, the outsider, who replaced the beloved police chief knows something is off but can’t believe Bernie would withhold evidence. The feud between a policeman and a citizen escalates.
Spring turns into a long, hot, explosive summer in Redimere, Maine, the story gets bigger — maybe too big for Bernie to handle. With its secrets unraveling, the town chooses sides, and the body count rises. Bernie questions her part in the town’s tragic tale, a role that may cost her and others their lives.
My Review:
Cold Hard News is book one in a three-book series. Bernie O’Dea, editor, and owner of the Peaks Weekly Watcher is a marvel. Quirky, self-defined, and on the lookout for the next big story, she carries the reader through a small-town murder complete with well-developed characters and a change of seasons while the industry she loves is dissolving. I loved the woman who, in her own words, “…thought her family was dysfunctional—mostly because it was too many people, with too much personality, in too small a place with too few bathrooms.” From the moment Stanley’s body is found in the snowbank on page one, Milliken’s story explodes with personality. It leads the reader from one unanswered question to the next in a town too small to have so many secrets—and leaving too few pauses for you to catch your breath.
Bernie, the heroine, is driven by emotions and ambition yet hampered by self-doubt—in other words, believable and as huggable as a teddy bear. Throw in some unrequited love, longing, and despair when she trips herself up. Cold Hard News carries you on an adventure through the world of newshound to newsprint that delivers the goods while giving you a look inside a vanishing industry and life in small-town Maine.
I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys traditional mysteries. There are plenty of dead bodies—not much blood—a compelling plot and plenty of plot twists to keep you guessing. I am off to read book two, No News is Bad News. I hope Maureen doesn’t stop at three.
The Author:
Maureen Milliken, the author of The Bernie O’Dea mystery series, is a third-generation newspaper editor whose books reflect her affection for journalism and her love of her home state, Maine. She grew up in Augusta, Maine, and is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. She was first a reporter, then an editor, for newspapers in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire before returning to Maine. For more information about her books and appearances, go to maureenmilliken.com, follow her on Facebook at Maureen Milliken mysteries, and Twitter at @mmilliken47.
