{"id":293,"date":"2020-12-31T07:29:11","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T13:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terryiswriting.com\/?p=293"},"modified":"2020-12-31T07:53:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T13:53:12","slug":"review-cold-hard-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terryiswriting.com\/?p=293","title":{"rendered":"Review: Cold Hard News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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http:\/\/amzn.to\/2L9IR8s<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The snowbanks in a small Maine town start to melt, and the town\u2019s secrets begin to emerge.  Stanley Weston\u2019s body is found in the melting snowbank along Pond Road. Bernie O\u2019Dea, the Peaks Weekly Watcher editor, is jazzed to finally have a big story to cover.  Unfortunately, the unanswered questions outnumber the facts. Didn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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\u2019t believe Bernie would withhold evidence. The feud between a policeman and a citizen escalates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring turns into a long, hot, explosive summer in Redimere, Maine, the story gets bigger \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cold Hard News<\/em> is book one in a three-book series. Bernie O\u2019Dea, 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, “\u2026thought her family was dysfunctional\u2014mostly because it was too many people, with too much personality, in too small a place with too few bathrooms.\u201d From the moment Stanley\u2019s body is found in the snowbank on page one, Milliken\u2019s 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\u2014and leaving too few pauses for you to catch your breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Bernie, the heroine, is driven by emotions and ambition yet hampered by self-doubt\u2014in 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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys traditional mysteries. There are plenty of dead bodies\u2014not much blood\u2014a compelling plot and plenty of plot twists to keep you guessing. I am off to read book two, No News is Bad News<\/em>. I hope Maureen doesn\u2019t stop at three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Author:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maureen Milliken,<\/strong> 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<\/a>, follow her on Facebook at Maureen Milliken mysteries, and Twitter at @mmilliken47.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The snowbanks in a small Maine town start to melt, and the town\u2019s secrets begin to emerge.  Stanley Weston\u2019s body is found in the melting snowbank along Pond Road. Bernie O\u2019Dea, the Peaks Weekly Watcher editor, is jazzed to finally…<\/p>\n

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