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SensualPoet · 11-20-2010, 09:58 AM

I thoroughly enjoyed Margaret Truman's Murder at the Washington Tribune, one of the last in her series of murders set in and around Washington, DC. She produced about one a year from the mid-1980s, each with a straight-forward title like Murder at the Opera, Murder at the National Library, Murder at Union Station, etc. Truman relies on the places, not recurring characters, to drive the series. It helps greatly that her style is adult, offering a good balance between descriptive narrative and character development. And, as a mystery writer, the plots and twists keep the reader wanting more.

At the Washington Tribune, veteran crime reporter Joe Wilcox is approaching retirement and feeling somewhat pushed aside by the new wave of journalists he's rubbing elbows with, not to mention tabloid TV ... where his daughter, a young reporter with the local news channel, skirts the boundaries. And then it happens: a fellow reporter, voluptuous and bright, is found strangled inside the offices of the Trib. Tracking down the murder, Joe's juices are back but as the competition heats up to find the best story angle, Joe finds himself on the wrong side of journalistic ethics. Enter his brother, recently released from 40 years in a mental hospital for having murdered the girl next door when he was 16 ... the brother his daughter never knew he had. And then another strangulation, of another young media professional, and coincidences creep in. Who dunnit? And will he or she dunnit again?

Well written, fast paced, with lots of back-story snippets to fill in the lives of the main characters, there isn't a moment when the reader isn't thinking ... "good heavens, what next?" ... but all in a believable context. Available as an ebook for $6 and change at Kobo and Amazon.

11-20-2010, 09:58 AM	#149
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	I thoroughly enjoyed Margaret Truman's Murder at the Washington Tribune, one of the last in her series of murders set in and around Washington, DC. She produced about one a year from the mid-1980s, each with a straight-forward title like Murder at the Opera, Murder at the National Library, Murder at Union Station, etc. Truman relies on the places, not recurring characters, to drive the series. It helps greatly that her style is adult, offering a good balance between descriptive narrative and character development. And, as a mystery writer, the plots and twists keep the reader wanting more. At the Washington Tribune, veteran crime reporter Joe Wilcox is approaching retirement and feeling somewhat pushed aside by the new wave of journalists he's rubbing elbows with, not to mention tabloid TV ... where his daughter, a young reporter with the local news channel, skirts the boundaries. And then it happens: a fellow reporter, voluptuous and bright, is found strangled inside the offices of the Trib. Tracking down the murder, Joe's juices are back but as the competition heats up to find the best story angle, Joe finds himself on the wrong side of journalistic ethics. Enter his brother, recently released from 40 years in a mental hospital for having murdered the girl next door when he was 16 ... the brother his daughter never knew he had. And then another strangulation, of another young media professional, and coincidences creep in. Who dunnit? And will he or she dunnit again? Well written, fast paced, with lots of back-story snippets to fill in the lives of the main characters, there isn't a moment when the reader isn't thinking ... "good heavens, what next?" ... but all in a believable context. Available as an ebook for $6 and change at Kobo and Amazon. Last edited by SensualPoet; 11-20-2010 at 10:09 AM.