Death on a Deadline by Joyce St. Anthony Book Review

About the Book:

As World War II rages in Europe and the Pacific, the small town of Progress is doing its part for the soldiers in the field with a war bond drive at the annual county fair. Town gossip Ava Dempsey rumors that Clark Gable will be among the participating stars. Instead of Gable, the headliner is Freddie Harrison, a B-movie star. When Freddie turns up dead in the dunk tank, Irene Ingram, editor-in-chief of The Progress Herald, starts chasing the real headline.

There are plenty of suspects and little evidence. Ava’s sister Angel, who was married to the dead actor, is the most obvious. The couple had argued about his affair with the young starlet Belinda Fox, and Angel was the last person to see Freddie alive.

Irene discovers there’s more than one person who might have wanted Freddie dead. As Irene draws on her well-honed reporter’s instincts to find the killer—nothing is what it seems in Progress, and now her own deadline could be right around the corner.

My Review:

This an enjoyable cozy mystery set in World War II era. I like the heroine, Irene. She has taken over the town newspaper while her father is off serving the country during the war. Her position gives Irene a good reason to snoop and investigate. She has good friends to help, such as one who can pick locks. Irene can be a bit over bearing and irritating at times, however.

I like the small town setting of an annual fair, giving us an idea of community entertainment. The time period also gives us information about how actors helped in promoting the sale of war bonds. The plot is good with many suspects for the murder. There are many secrets that eventually come to light. The reveal is one from desperation, not from Irene's clever investigation.

While this is the second in a series, it read well on its own. It's a good cozy mystery for readers who like a community setting with good historical information included.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author:

Joyce St. Anthony is the pen name of Joyce Tremel. She was a police secretary for ten years. Envisioning more than once the demise of certain co-workers, she settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. She is the author of the award winning Brewing Trouble Mysteries. She is a native Pittsburgher and lives in the Laurel Highlands east of Pittsburgh with her husband and two cats. You can find out more at http://www.joycetremel.com/

Crooked Lane Books, 288 pages.

I received a complimentarty egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)