Front Page Murder by Joyce St. Anthony

Front Page Murder
by Joyce St. Anthony

ISBN-13: 9781643858982
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: March 8th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Irene Ingram has written for her father’s newspaper, the Progress Herald, ever since she could grasp a pencil. Now she’s editor in chief, which doesn’t sit well with the men in the newsroom. But proving her journalistic bona fides is the least of Irene’s worries when crime reporter Moe Bauer, on the heels of a hot tip, turns up dead at the foot of his cellar stairs.

An accident? That’s what Police Chief Walt Turner thinks, and Irene is inclined to agree until she finds the note Moe discreetly left her. He was on to a big story, but what was it? She’d assigned him to cover a hate message left the Jewish owners at Markowicz Hardware. Tenacious Irene senses there’s more to the Markowicz story, which she is all but certain led to Moe’s murder. When she’s not filling up column inches with the usual small-town fare—locals in uniform, victory gardens, and scrap drives—she and her best friend, scrappy secretary Peggy Reardon, search for clues. If they can find the killer, it’ll be a scoop to stop the presses.


My Review:
Front Page Murder is a mystery set in 1942 in America. Irene's been left in charge of her father's newspaper business, and she knows how to do the job. However, the male employees don't like the change, so part of the story was how she handled them and others who questioned her right to the position. Historical details about the war, rationing, scrap drives, and such were woven into the story as events that her paper reported on. These details provided a distinct feel of the times.

In addition to reporting the news, Irene investigated what Moe's big story was about and uncovered a plot. She kept asking questions and looking around until she found the truth. At the end, though, she's "oh, I can't believe I didn't see it soon...that person is the leader!" and I'm going, "Um, all the clues actually point toward Whodunit." I was right. But, hey, this was her first stab at detective work.

There was no sex. There was occasional use of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.