by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of The Crushing Death, and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

It is common for Detective Doug Milligan of the Rocky Bluff Police Department to be woken up in the middle of the night and meet up with partner Felix Zachary to investigate a major crime. It is also common for his police officer wife Stacey and daughter Beth to be very curious and push for details on the investigation. It is not, however, common for the body to be found under an abandoned pier with heavy stones piled on top of its chest like an ancient method of punishment. It is also not common to hear a cult or fringe religious group may exist in town and is attracting followers. But, that’s what has happened in this small Central California Coast town; two crimes overlap putting everyone in on the investigation.

The oddly positioned body turns out to be Teacher of the Year Martin Tivazian, already a subject of an open investigation, suspended from his teaching position due to accusations of improper behavior by one of his students. Stacey leads the investigation, interviews students and parents, even solicits her step-daughter Beth, who may have knowledge of the incident. However, she finds many say the same thing…Mr. Tivazian was a nice teacher. The wife can’t believe it either, reporting an almost stalking behavior by the student. However, her friends think their marriage wasn’t as rosy as she professes. Was the murder connected to the accusations? Or is something else hiding behind a seemingly quiet town? The strange details to the murder have led detectives Mulligan and Zachary to seek out a possible ‘Old Testament-style’ religious group operating secretly. One that might take it upon themselves to exact God’s justice.

The new police captain Chandra Taylor left a very successful detective career in San Francisco to take the controls in Rocky Bluff. She immediately ruffled a few feathers and now is dealing with one officer requesting a recommendation to move on to a better funded and staffed police force. But as she continues to assimilate to a small town, navigate around a tight-fisted city council, and keep close tabs on the investigations, she is also dealing with threatening emails from a man she put into prison and who seems to have the wherewithal to find where she lives and make good on his threats.

All of the drama kept me very involved in this twelfth installment of the Rocky Bluff P. D. series. It went smoothly visiting the lives of the main characters and twisting through the investigations from the crime scene to the school to the station to a well-hidden house on the outskirts of town leaving subtle clues to follow. Being new to the series, it was important to learn that the series is a universe that includes more than the people directly connected to this new murder mystery. Fans will be relieved to have an update on the Navarro family. Newbies will be intrigued enough to want to start from the beginning and catch up on all that the Rocky Bluff residents can offer and learn how they got here from there.

I give A Crushing Death by F. M. Meredith 4.5 out of 5 Detective Shields!

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To enter to win a copy of A Crushing Death, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “crushing,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 16, 2016. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying year 2 of retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband of 26+ years.