fuonlyknew

Stillwater

A Jack McBride Mystery

Genre: Small town mystery,crime

Published by: Skyhorse Publishing

Publication Date: October 6, 2015

My Review

Jack McBride has a past. A wife who’s AWOL and a defunct career with the FBI. He leaves all the rumors behind and takes a job as chief of police in the small town of Stillwater, hoping for less crime and more time to devote to his son, Ethan.

What Jack doesn’t expect is a staged crime scene of murder/suicide, and a cold case rising from the grave when skeletal remains are uncovered in the woods. No coasting along in this town. He’s neck deep in rumors, gossip, conspiracy, and suspicions.

Ethan may be only thirteen years old and labeled a troublemaker, but what I see is a chip off the old block. He has his father’s curiosity, penchant for seeing through the lies, and a natural talent at observing people and scenes. He’s confused about his mother’s disappearance, and angry at his father, always testing him, but he knowsJack loves him and begins to see that as they adjust to their new life.

I don’t want to forget Ellie Martin. She grew up in Stillwater and knows everybody and pretty much everything that’s happened there. She’s had a rough life, but she’s moving on, starting her own business and leaving all the bad behind. She hopes.

Jack turns to Ellie for help with the towns history and denizens, and is surprised to feel a growing attracting towards her. He can’t seem to stop thinking about her

Ellie isn’t wanting anything to do with Jack. He’s big city, she’s small town. He’s got a questionable marriage status and she’s recovering from a really bad one. But, she can’t seem to stop thinking about him either.

Hmm, me thinks a romance is happening whether either of them wants it or not. I love those kind. Leads to all kinds of humorous dialogue and situations. Lightens the mood and gives you something more to hope for.

I wish I was good at explaining. This book doesn’t have many big action scenes all through it. There’s a lot of meet and greet and following the main characters. getting to know them, learning what makes them tick. It’s compelling. That’s the word. The writing is so good you’re compelled to keep reading. It doesn’t feel slow or boring. It keeps you reading, seeking answers, hoping for what you want to happen to really happen.

A solid mystery. Genuine characters. Compelling writing. It all works to give you a great read.

5 Stars

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Synopsis

Former FBI agent Jack McBride took the job as Chief of Police for Stillwater, Texas, to start a new life with his teenage son, Ethan, away from the suspicions that surrounded his wife’s disappearance a year earlier.

With a low crime rate and a five-man police force, he expected it to be a nice, easy gig; hot checks, traffic violations, some drugs, occasional domestic disturbances, and petty theft. Instead, within a week he is investigating a staged murder-suicide, uncovering a decades’ old skeleton buried in the woods, and managing the first crime wave in thirty years.

For help navigating his unfamiliar, small-town surroundings, Jack turns to Ellie Martin, one of the most respected women in town—her scandal-filled past notwithstanding. Despite Jack’s murky marriage status and the disapproval of Ethan and the town, they are immediately drawn to each other.

As Jack and Ellie struggle with their budding relationship, they unearth shattering secrets long buried and discover the two cases Jack is working, though fifty years apart, share a surprising connection that will rattle the town to its core.

Amazon / B&N

Author Melissa Lenhardt

Melissa Lenhardt writes mystery, historical fiction, and women’s fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in Heater Mystery Magazine, The Western Online, and Christmas Nookies, a holiday romance anthology. Her debut novel, Stillwater, was a finalist for the 2014 Whidbey Writers’ MFA Alumni Emerging Writers Contest. She is a board member of the DFW Writers’ Workshop and vice president of the Sisters in Crime North Dallas Chapter. Melissa lives in Texas, with her husband and two sons.

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