The Bad Break

March 1, 2018
Riley Ellison has quit librarianship to work as a small-town reporter in this second in the series (after The Good Byline, 2017). The job suits her, but tell that to her colleague Spencer, who refers to Riley as the intern and makes her do boring research for the obituaries of the pre-dead, alive-and-kicking locals whose obit details have to be kept current, just in case. What Riley thought was busywork, however, turns out to be the basis for exciting journalism when a local doctor is found dead. The road to unmasking the killer isn't smooth personally or professionally for Riley; while finding her way as a new journalist, she endures an old flame reappearing and tiptoes through a new romance she fears is on the rocks. The small-town nature of this mystery, with the requisite fish-bowl local politics, relationships, and grudges, makes it perfect for cozy lovers who want something more modern. Readers will enjoy Riley's humor and determination even when things turn sad. Recommend this after Victoria Gilbert's A Murder for the Books (2017), which also features a librarian turned sleuth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

February 26, 2018
In Orr’s enjoyable sequel to 2017’s The Good Byline, Tabitha St. Simon, Riley Ellison’s coworker at the Tuttle Times, calls Riley, aspiring journalist and obituary underling at the newspaper, when she finds her future father-in-law, prominent cardiologist Arthur Davenport, lying dead on the office floor of his Tuttle, Va., home. Riley calls acting sheriff Carl Haight and deputy Chip “Butter” Churner, who are convinced by the knife in Arthur’s chest that it’s a homicide. Riley seizes the chance to pitch writing the obit to editor Kay Jackson, who agrees, but when Haight arrests Tabitha’s fiancé, Arthur’s son Thad, Tabitha asks Riley to investigate. Since Arthur played around, suspects, including incensed husbands, are easy to find. Mayor Shalene Lancett and her obnoxious nephew, Toby Lancett, are eager to have Thad charged and the case closed. Riley makes lots of missteps along the rocky way to solving the crime. Fans of comic light mysteries will be rewarded. Agents: Emma Sweeney and Margaret Sutherland Brown, Emma Sweeney Agency.