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Murder in the Heart of It All
Someone is angry in Hogan, Ohio. Residents of the small town are plagued by vicious, anonymous letters. The personalized notes land in mailboxes with devastating effect, revealing secrets and deeds better kept unknown. Whoever the sender is, they know the town and the people who live there. Reporter Tim Abernathy is assigned to the story and tasked with finding out who is sending the letters and why. The letter writer doesn’t want to be found, however, and will kill to keep his secret. A cat-and-mouse game ensues between reporter and letter writer as the violence escalates, shocking the residents of Hogan. Can Tim discover who is terrorizing the town before becoming the next victim?
304 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 2017
6 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Michael Prelee
5 books30 followersMichael Prelee is an award-winning crime and science-fiction author who grew up in rural Northeast Ohio and graduated from Youngstown State University. His first published work is the Milky Way Repo sci-fi crime series published by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy. He is also the author of the small-town Tim Abernathy Mystery Series, published by North Star Press. The first entry in the series is Murder in the Heart of It All. Lost Little Sister is the sequel and winner of the Midwest Book Award for Mystery/Thriller.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 7, 2022
I was searching for a non-fiction book on the Ohio Circleville letters when I came across this fictional piece, surely inspired by the real thing.
This was a fun detour. It’s fairly well written and captures Ohio perfectly: snow and bitterness.
If you’re looking for something genius (aren’t we all?) on a similar subject, Shirley Jackson wrote an incredible short story called The Possibility of Evil.
This was a fun detour. It’s fairly well written and captures Ohio perfectly: snow and bitterness.
If you’re looking for something genius (aren’t we all?) on a similar subject, Shirley Jackson wrote an incredible short story called The Possibility of Evil.
September 20, 2018
Totally loved it!
Loved the local setting which made it easy to relate to also being from a small town. Found it hard to put down!
Loved the local setting which made it easy to relate to also being from a small town. Found it hard to put down!
April 10, 2019
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I have given Murder in the Heart of It All by Michael Prelee five out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Compelling, gripping and mysterious. This book had me drawn in after I read the first couple of pages.
I really enjoyed reading this book, especially we find out who the culprit of the novel is near the beginning of the story. I liked this twist as normally, in the books I have read, it's the main plot twist of a book to find out who the culprit is, but in this case it was no secret to the reader at all. This made me feel very secretive and as though I knew something no-one else did which was very exciting!
There were a range of characters that we learn about in this novel, normally it can be quite overwhelming sometimes as it can be quite difficult to keep up with who is who. However, I felt the author did a fantastic job with making each character unique to one another and I found it a lot easier to recognise each character due to the information and details he used to describe each other.
The author sent this message to me about this novel: Murder in the Heart of It All was inspired by a true criminal who has become known as the Circleville Letter Writer. This was someone who plagued the small town of Circleville, near Columbus, OH, in the 1970’s and 1980’s with anonymous letters. This message truly amazed me to know that this book was inspired by a true criminal who orchestrated anonymous letters to residents in a small town.
I am so grateful to have read this story and would like to thank the author immensly for allowing me to read his book and to review it. I believe I could have read this book in two or three days, if I didn't have any birthday events last weekend, as the novel was so gripping that I found it really hard to put down sometimes.
This was an outstanding, compelling novel which I thoroughly enjoyed and would love to read more of Michael Prelee's material.
March 21, 2017
A very enjoyable slow burn.
"Murder in the Heart of It All" is set in a blue-collar Mill town and is filled with a bunch of relatable, lower middle-class characters watching their town and way of life slowly fade away. Some take away the pain with drugs and alcohol, some leave for greener pastures, some hang on through good humor and optimism. Am some, consumed by rage and anger, turn to violence.
Like his earlier Space opera "Milky Way Repo", Mike writes about people and relationships he knows first hand, giving this piece an unusually realistic and low-key slow burn before it erupts into violence.
"Murder in the Heart of It All" is set in a blue-collar Mill town and is filled with a bunch of relatable, lower middle-class characters watching their town and way of life slowly fade away. Some take away the pain with drugs and alcohol, some leave for greener pastures, some hang on through good humor and optimism. Am some, consumed by rage and anger, turn to violence.
Like his earlier Space opera "Milky Way Repo", Mike writes about people and relationships he knows first hand, giving this piece an unusually realistic and low-key slow burn before it erupts into violence.
April 16, 2018
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
An aspiring journalist finds himself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a disturbing individual in author Michael Prelee’s Murder in the Heart of It All. Here’s the synopsis:
Someone is angry in Hogan, Ohio.
Residents of the small town are plagued by vicious, anonymous letters. The personalized notes land in mailboxes with devastating effect, revealing secrets and deeds better kept unknown. Whoever the sender is, they know the town and the people who live there.
Reporter Tim Abernathy is assigned to the story and tasked with finding out who is sending the letters and why. The letter writer doesn't want to be found, however, and will kill to keep his secret.
A cat-and-mouse game ensues between reporter and letter writer as the violence escalates, shocking the residents of Hogan. Can Tim discover who is terrorizing the town before becoming the next victim?
I absolutely loved this book. To me it felt like a commentary on the anonymous nature of those who the world has deemed “online trolls”. In a sense, it showcased the overwhelming harshness these individuals faced that made them this way, while also showcasing the painful ramifications these hurtful comments or in this case, “letters”, have on those receiving it.
The story itself was well developed, and the characters themselves were incredibly engaging. It was refreshing to see a change in the typical “journalist” character. Normally in stories involving journalists they are eager to get the story by any means necessary, often hurting the people involved in that story. However Tim was a thoughtful, kind hearted individual who worked not for his own gain, but for the good of his community. The story also showed how easy it is for people to go to such violent extremes, and how fear of discovery can turn a harmless troll into a violent madman.
In the end this was a thought provoking and engaging read. This thriller allowed us to analyze the anonymous nature of the internet through the lens of a small town setting. Substituting emails or comments for letters, this story showed the power words have in our society, and how we can step above and beyond the pain we endure to become better people. Everyone experiences pain of one kind or another. It’s how you handle that pain and move forward that defines you. If you haven’t yet be sure to pick up your copy of Michael Prelee’s Murder in the Heart of It All today!
An aspiring journalist finds himself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a disturbing individual in author Michael Prelee’s Murder in the Heart of It All. Here’s the synopsis:
Someone is angry in Hogan, Ohio.
Residents of the small town are plagued by vicious, anonymous letters. The personalized notes land in mailboxes with devastating effect, revealing secrets and deeds better kept unknown. Whoever the sender is, they know the town and the people who live there.
Reporter Tim Abernathy is assigned to the story and tasked with finding out who is sending the letters and why. The letter writer doesn't want to be found, however, and will kill to keep his secret.
A cat-and-mouse game ensues between reporter and letter writer as the violence escalates, shocking the residents of Hogan. Can Tim discover who is terrorizing the town before becoming the next victim?
I absolutely loved this book. To me it felt like a commentary on the anonymous nature of those who the world has deemed “online trolls”. In a sense, it showcased the overwhelming harshness these individuals faced that made them this way, while also showcasing the painful ramifications these hurtful comments or in this case, “letters”, have on those receiving it.
The story itself was well developed, and the characters themselves were incredibly engaging. It was refreshing to see a change in the typical “journalist” character. Normally in stories involving journalists they are eager to get the story by any means necessary, often hurting the people involved in that story. However Tim was a thoughtful, kind hearted individual who worked not for his own gain, but for the good of his community. The story also showed how easy it is for people to go to such violent extremes, and how fear of discovery can turn a harmless troll into a violent madman.
In the end this was a thought provoking and engaging read. This thriller allowed us to analyze the anonymous nature of the internet through the lens of a small town setting. Substituting emails or comments for letters, this story showed the power words have in our society, and how we can step above and beyond the pain we endure to become better people. Everyone experiences pain of one kind or another. It’s how you handle that pain and move forward that defines you. If you haven’t yet be sure to pick up your copy of Michael Prelee’s Murder in the Heart of It All today!
January 31, 2017
Ohio author Mike Prelee trades in the sci-fi adventure of his debut, 2014’s MILKY WAY REPO, for something more grounded with his Sophomore offering, a small-town psychodrama inspired by the real-life Circleville Letter Mystery of 1979 (http://www.the-line-up.com/circlevill...) . Someone in the small Ohio town of Hogan is sending residents nasty, anonymous letters, and things appear to be escalating. Up-and-coming reporter Tim Abernathy vows to find out who is behind the letters, and is eventually joined by his new girlfriend Amy Sashman when the disappearance of someone close to her seems to be linked to the mystery. The novel starts off slowly, letting the reader settle in to the mundane, everyday rhythms of a small Ohio town where nothing much ever happens and nothing ever changes. Gradually Prelee introduces a darker underbelly, such as the effects of a stagnant economy upon its citizens, made manifest in drug use and dark, simmering resentments. When those resentments bubble up, murder ensues, and it’s made all the more effective and grim for being played out in this drab, dull, Northeastern Ohio setting; you can practically feel the heat of the blood melting the snow. Fans of Fargo should enjoy this, a fun second novel from an already diverse author that avoids the dreaded Sophomore Slump.
January 31, 2018
Better then I thought
This started out slow but that's how the story built up. I actually really liked this book. The author did a very good job of unfolding the story and the ending was believable. I like reading these types of stories and I look forward to more from this author.
This started out slow but that's how the story built up. I actually really liked this book. The author did a very good job of unfolding the story and the ending was believable. I like reading these types of stories and I look forward to more from this author.
March 24, 2020
Hello my Fellow Book Dragons, I do hope everyone is faring well. Let us peruse our Gem this evening. This Gem looks to be made of Ebony and Ivory, edged in Silver. It is two rounded pieces connected by a stem. Each piece has an initial in the middle. A ‘B’ and an ‘E’. They are perfect on the surface, but turn them over and we see something corrosive has begun to eat through them. There is only one thing this corrosive. The unmitigated gall of Hate. Whoever’s initials these were, was an angry, hate filled, rager. He wanted to see others suffer. See how the gall has caused fissures in the perfection of the ivory? This is Gem Maker Michael Prelee’s “murder in the heart of it all” .
Prelee’s tale is fabulous and read’s very much like Ellery Queen. This is a poisoned pen story and oh, how poisonous this pen. It causes sudden death, slow death, heartbreak, fear, depression and the list goes on. A dashing young reporter working for a local shoppers weekly, you know that free paper that every town has with the ads and specials for the local stores and the little coupon inserts gets involved when his boss fesses up that he is getting them.
As he investigates, he finds it’s not only his boss getting them..other people in town are getting them and the poison positively drips from each page sent. Nothing long, nothing in depth, just one sentence, but the writer always makes sure his scant few words pack a definite punch.
I loved this book, I ate it up in one day. I do love a good mystery and this is definitely one. I even loved the cover, it reminded me of the old noir paperbacks I would read so many years ago. Prelee may very well be the Ellery Queen of our time. The story is tight, well written and side characters are a necessity to the story. Prelees uses them the way a good carpenter uses the tools in his kit, with precision, never a wasted tool or piece of wood.
If you are looking for a good mystery to pass the time during our time of respite, let’s call it, then this is one you most definitely must have! Sold wherever you find your favorite books! Until tomorrow I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book at my request, thank you to #northstarpress.
Prelee’s tale is fabulous and read’s very much like Ellery Queen. This is a poisoned pen story and oh, how poisonous this pen. It causes sudden death, slow death, heartbreak, fear, depression and the list goes on. A dashing young reporter working for a local shoppers weekly, you know that free paper that every town has with the ads and specials for the local stores and the little coupon inserts gets involved when his boss fesses up that he is getting them.
As he investigates, he finds it’s not only his boss getting them..other people in town are getting them and the poison positively drips from each page sent. Nothing long, nothing in depth, just one sentence, but the writer always makes sure his scant few words pack a definite punch.
I loved this book, I ate it up in one day. I do love a good mystery and this is definitely one. I even loved the cover, it reminded me of the old noir paperbacks I would read so many years ago. Prelee may very well be the Ellery Queen of our time. The story is tight, well written and side characters are a necessity to the story. Prelees uses them the way a good carpenter uses the tools in his kit, with precision, never a wasted tool or piece of wood.
If you are looking for a good mystery to pass the time during our time of respite, let’s call it, then this is one you most definitely must have! Sold wherever you find your favorite books! Until tomorrow I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book at my request, thank you to #northstarpress.
August 5, 2024
Not a huge fan that we learn "whodunit" very early in the book. However, the writing was stylistically enjoyable and the characters were engaging. This, and the beautifully described Northeast Ohio setting were redeeming enough qualities that I couldn't put it down.
May 13, 2017
This story was great! It had interesting characters and is set in a Midwest town that has many secrets. Can't wait to see what else Prelee comes up with!
January 29, 2022
Signed copy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews