Latest Review of An Axe to Grind

AN AXE TO GRIND
By: F.M. Meredith
Published by: Oak Tree Press
http://www.oaktreebooks.com/
ISBN 978-1-8923343-78-9


An Axe to Grind is another winner by author, F. M. Meredith. Ms. Meredith has been fortunate to have police for neighbors and a son-in-law who is a police officer. With these types of contacts, it's no wonder her mysteries have a ring of truth. She has done her homework and every detail is well researched from the blood spatters on the wall to the condition of someone who is living on the streets.

An Axe to Grind takes place in Rocky Bluff, a small community located along the Pacific Coast. While it's obvious the main characters have been introduced in earlier novels, Ms. Meredith quickly brings the reader up to speed through dialog and action. We are taken on a fast-paced ride as Detectives Doug Milligan and Frank Marshall follow the clues to find out who decapitated Kenneth Buchelo.

As the clever detectives interview the suspects, we find any one of them has motive and all seem to lack a suitable alibi. Kenneth was a stalker who lived in a fantasy world. As such, his victim's family and her fiancé are all prime suspects. Could Rachel's father, a large and easily riled man, be capable of murder? What about her brother, Mike? He has a history of assault. Or, could it be Rachel's fiancé, a possessive man who clearly had a grudge against Kenneth Buchelo.

Then, too, Kenneth's own foster father had words with the strange young man shortly before his death. Oddly, the dad doesn't offer the detectives an alibi, but gets angry when pushed for his whereabouts at the time of the murder.

Underlying the search for the murderer and the weapon are subplots cleverly interwoven into the story. Detective Milligan is engaged to Stacy Wilbur, head of Vice for Rocky Bluff PD. They're having their own problems trying to get married since another officer, Gordon Butler, is living in Doug's house and seems to have no where to go. Ryan Strickland, the Department's Public Relations Officer, also encounters problems at home when his wife's son discloses sexual abuse.

Read An Axe to Grind to see if the detectives find out who killed Kenneth Buchelo before the murderer can strike again.

--Reviewed by Penny Ehrenkranz

Comments

Rebecca said…
Another great book, Marilyn.

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