In this World War II-era historical mystery series debut by Joyce St. Anthony, small-town editor Irene Ingram has a nose for news and an eye for clues.
Irene Ingram has written for her fatherโs newspaper, the Progress Herald, ever since she could grasp a pencil. Now sheโs editor in chief, which doesnโt sit well with the men in the newsroom. But proving her journalistic bona fides is the least of Ireneโs 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? Thatโs what Police Chief Walt Turner thinks, and Irene is inclined to agree until she finds the note Moe discreetly left on her desk. He was on to a big story, he wrote. The robbery sheโd assigned him to cover at Markowicz Hardware turned out to be something far more devious. A Jewish store owner in a small, provincial town, Sam Markowicz received a terrifying message from a stranger. Moe suspected that Sam is being threatened not only for who he isโฆbut for what he knows.
Tenacious Irene senses thereโs more to the Markowicz story, which she is all but certain led to Moeโs murder. When sheโs not filling up column inches with the usual small-town fareโlocals in uniform, victory gardens, and scrap drivesโshe and her best friend, scrappy secretary Peggy Reardon, search for clues. If they can find the killer, itโll be a scoop to stop the presses. But if they canโt, Irene and Peggy may face an all-too-literal deadline.
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