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CRIME/SMALL TOWN/
POLICE PROCEDURAL MYSTERY
An axe to grind
An imaginative stalker’s decapitation sends Detectives Doug Milligan and Frank Marshall on an investigation that includes the stalker’s family, his victim and her family—a family with ties to Sergeant Navarro. Vice-Officer Stacey Milligan goes after a soccer coach who may be a pedophile. As usual, because of their jobs with the Rocky Bluff P.D., Stacey’s and Doug’s romance is put on a back-burner. When Doug strikes out on his own to corner the murderer and no one knows where he went, it is up to Stacey to find him before it’s too late.
Read a Review:

In the eye popping opening chapter of An Axe to Grind, F. M. Meredith leads the reader into the relationships of several police officers and detectives. The investigation of a brutal murder in this 6th Dark Oak Mystery demonstrates a knowledge of the circle in which the police live and work daily.

When Kenneth Buchelo is found murdered in his apartment, Sergeant Abel Navarro knows that the name sounds familiar, but he can't quite place why.  The walls in the victim's bedroom were covered with hundreds of pictures of a young Hispanic woman, pictures obviously taken without her knowledge. A journal found in his bedside table tantalizes the detectives with a promise of information to come.

While reading this story the feeling of camaraderie and trust is evident. M. F. Meredith displays a familiarity with the rhythms of the police community and the codes that they live by while they try to live their lives and protect those around them.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy a brisk, spirited trip through a murder case and it's it's repercussions on those involved. An interesting study of characters who could become, with a few visits, friends to check on.

Mary Fairchild