AN AXE TO GRIND #6 in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series

Detective Doug Milligan and his partner question suspects in the murder of a stalker including the stalker’s target, her boyfriend, father and brother, as well as the stalker’s step-father. The investigation leaves little time for Doug to see his fiancée and fellow officer, Stacey Wilbur.

Stacey handles a molestation case which involves the son of a friend. She and her mother talk wedding plans, though all must wait until Doug’s renter, Officer Gordon Butler finds another place to live.

When Doug disappears while tailing a suspect, Stacey sets out to find him, hoping she can reach him time.

If you want a bargain price, you can order an Axe to Grind from the publisher's bookstore, look for Dark Oak Mystery and titles are alphabetical. http://www.oaktreebooks.com/Shop%20OTP.htm

Review snippets of Axe to Grind:

Right from the start, like Meredith does with all the books in this series, the reader is instantly drawn into the world of the Rocky Bluff P.D. Gordon Butler, who is usually the butt of many jokes around the station, is flagged down by a paperboy who has just discovered one of his customers looking more than a bit worse for wear. Butler is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in this series because you just can’t help but feel sorry for everything that he manages to step into.

Doug and Stacey’s romance, which began in the previous installment of this series, No Sanctuary, continues with great difficulty in this one. One thing I’ve always said about the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is that Meredith does an excellent job of blending the personal and professional lives of the people working in the Rocky Bluff P.D. Whether it is Doug and Stacey, Abel Navarro and his wife Maria, Ryan Strickland, the Department’s public relations officer, and his wife Barbara, or any other member of this fictional police force, the author has created characters that you easily care about, just like they were your next door neighbors.

With her masterful storytelling, Meredith includes many twists and turns to keep you guessing who the real culprit is. But what I like best about all the Rocky Bluff P.D. books is that the pace doesn’t slow down. Every new clue leads to something else, and before you know it, you’re at the end of the book and eager to read more.

I impatiently await the next book in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series by F.M. Meredith!"

(reviewed by Cheryl Malandrinos for The Book Connection)
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.“I loved this book from the first few pages! Nothing like a good decapitation to get the vibes and imagination rolling! Doug and Stacey are trying to plan a wedding but between working their own individual cases, (both are cops) trying to nicely get Dougs friend Gordon to move out from his home so he and Stacey can live there when married, and her family really not all that into him they have their work cut out for them. Doug follows a lead on his own and winds up missing with Stacey desperatley trying to find him but could she be too late when his MG is found in a lagoon at the college campus?"

Very easy dialogue and interesting plot lines!”–Jen’s Book Talk

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(This one is my favorite.)

"Who ever thought reading about a decapitated corpse couldn’t be funny hasn’t read, “An Axe To Grind, A Dark Oak Mystery”  by F.M. Meredith.

No, it’s not a comedy and the murder isn’t funny. I’m guessing F.M. Meredith didn’t write this to focus on the comic side.

However, author F.M. Meredith has found a way to write a gripping murder mystery while including enough light-hearted moments that the book isn’t dark and ominous. While working on the case, Detective Mulligan is also trying to work on wedding plans with his fiancée Stacey Wilbur, a Vice Detective. The main obstacle in the plans is Mulligan’s house guest, Officer Gordon Butler.

Herein lies the fun part of this book. The old saying, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I won’t have any luck at all” applies to Officer Butler. The man seems to have the worst luck and it’s never his fault. Some of the situations he gets into, you can’t help but laugh ".--Mason Canyon, Thoughts in Progress


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The newest addition in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, An Axe to Grind, is a story guaranteed to draw the reader in from the beginning and keep them hooked until the very end. Though sixth in the series, An Axe to Grind can easily be read as a stand alone. I am able to state this as a fact, simply because I have yet to read any of the other books in this series, yet had absolutely no trouble following along with the characters and understanding what was going on and why... I also greatly enjoyed F.M. Meredith's writing style, the way she is able to bring the story to life and really engage the reader in every aspect and at every turn...

Author F.M. Meredith has a delightful and wonderful writing style and voice that will instantly click with readers male or female. Her writing is in-depth and really speaks of police procedure research, making her story even more authentic and enjoyable. While reading, I found myself utterly hooked and unable to place the book aside, without yearning to return. The flow of the story is smooth, believable and just plain excellent. An Axe to Grind is the perfect book to curl up with and lose yourself in for a couple of hours!

--Café of Dreams

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An Axe To Grind, A Dark Oaks Mystery, has quite a clever plot filled with delightful and interesting characters and enough suspects and plot twists to keep the reader quite engaged... However, An Axe To Grind is far more than a mystery, it is a story about the families of the Rocky Bluff Police Department and how their work affects their personal lives and how their personal lives affect their work. Meredith has created an absolutely delightful cast of characters for her novel. From levelheaded to quirky and from demure to downright scary, Meredith takes the reader to Rocky Bluff and makes the reader feel as though the characters are quite real. .–Rundpenne Blog

***
As this was the first book my F. M. Meredith I have read, I did not know what to expect, but was eagerly anticipating a great read! I was not disappointed. As I began to read An Axe To Grind, I was immediately drawn in to the world of Detective Doug Milligan and all the rest of the great cast of characters in this book. This book is not only one about solving mysteries, but also about relationships and how work and personal lives intertwine. I realize that this book is the sixth in the Rocky Bluff P.D. Series, and yet I had no trouble reading An Axe To Grind as a stand alone novel. That said, I will definitely be looking at reading the rest of the series, as I was very impressed with the writing style of Meredith and I was very impressed that my attention was held throughout this book. I highly recommend it and give it a huge thumbs up! –A Mom After God’s Own Heart

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"AN AXE TO GRIND by Marilyn Meredith (From the Rocky Bluff PD series)
One reason I love these novels is because of the unique writing design. The story is told through the experiences and thoughts of several Rocky Bluff officers. Progress toward solving
cases (this time the brutal murder and de-capitation of a stalker) happens as we learn what each is doing and thinking. It's somewhatlike putting a patchwork quilt together in a harmonious pattern..."
--by Radine Trees Nehring

"...I enjoy Meredith’s unforced prose.  Sergeant Abel Navarro is looking at a man whose head has been cut off, and he summarizes, “Including the missing head, he would be around five-foot-ten.” The arrival of Detective Frank Marshall leads to this exchange: 
“Do we know the identity of the victim?”
“Nope, haven’t touched a thing, “ Abel said, and hoped he didn’t have to.
“Know where the head is?”
“No, but I didn’t look for it either.”

The people of Rocky Bluff are as real as your neighbors.  Meredith is the American version of England’s Barbara Pym, a writer known for characterization and sketches of village life.  Of course Pym’s books are comedies of manners and Meredith’s are murder mysteries, but good characters and good stories are what make any genre work..

The Rocky Bluff PD books are police procedurals given depth by attention to how the officers’ personal lives are affected by their work.  Over the course of the series, there are deaths, divorces, and weddings.  Friendships are made then, in the next book, frayed..." –Reviewer, J. Michael Orenduff

I do hope you'll try my Rocky Bluff P.D. series.

Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith







Comments

Earl Staggs said…
Sounds like another winner for you, Marilyn.
Lesley Diehl said…
Well, the reviews convinced me. I've got to buy a copy.

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