The News in Small Towns (Small Town Series, Book 1) in Lesbian Mysteries

Sep 04, 2017 Jhosy rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-as-second-focus, lesbian-romance, bisexual-romance, adventure, awesome-book, crime, successful-woman, archery, character-lives-on-a-farm, small-town

*Sorry any errors, English is not my native language*

I'm putting this book into a category 4 but seriously tempted to put it in 4.5 stars.
The narrative is very well written, no doubt the writer knows how to hold the reader to the story.
The mystery and suspense is not really breathtaking but all the research has been well thought out and described, so the reader is always eager to find out what the next, methodical, discovery is.
The reason I didn't put this book in the five-star category was beca ...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Sara Warner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-lesbian-contemporary

This novel probes the opaque gentility of small town life in an eyes-wide-open way that captures the strife of changing social dynamics while preserving the almost mythic glow of Norman Rockwell simplicity associated with rural America. I often felt when reading The News in Small Towns that Moreau’s protagonist, stress-fatigued war-reporter Sue-Ann McKeon, embodies both a cutting edge, 21st century woman slogging through internal conflicts and a grown up version of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, tra This novel probes the opaque gentility of small town life in an eyes-wide-open way that captures the strife of changing social dynamics while preserving the almost mythic glow of Norman Rockwell simplicity associated with rural America. I often felt when reading The News in Small Towns that Moreau’s protagonist, stress-fatigued war-reporter Sue-Ann McKeon, embodies both a cutting edge, 21st century woman slogging through internal conflicts and a grown up version of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, traipsing around in the woods of her small Southern town solving odd mysteries while negotiating the prejudices and quirks of her neighbors. Having enjoyed my fair share of life in the rural climes, I found this co-mingling of modern introspection and old-fashioned adventurousness a fitting blend for characterizing small town life.

The novel is a cross-genre story combining mystery, romance, and a more novelistic examination of contemporary issues. As the book gets underway, we meet Sue-Ann returning home from a devastating stint in Iraq. She is further distressed by her mother’s recent, and sudden, death, and the facts that she has missed the funeral, that her father has irresponsibly dispersed her mothers’ horses and belongings and then departed to Italy to paint, and that her own health seems to be in a downward spiral. She is trying to cobble her life back together with a part-time job at the local paper, but between a deadbeat boyfriend and her own self-medications, things don’t look promising.

The discovery of a weirdo pirate radio station and her re-connection with several of the townspeople provide some lifelines. And when she returns to the pursuit of her once-Olympic-level archery skills, she begins to find her core. But when her former high school rival begins making overtures of friendship, Sue-Ann encounters new challenges she never expected. As Sue-Ann tries to uncover who’s behind a series of mysterious animal sacrifices, she begins to understand that much is changing in her town, not the least of which are her own notions of who she is.

This is the first novel of a small town trilogy from Iza Moreau. The strengths of this first book include complex and well-drawn characters and a setting that places the sensibilities of a wider world against the conventions of a provincial, small town. Given the insightful and unusual window into rural America Moreau has provided in The News in Small Towns, I’m looking forward to what’s coming.
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Mar 17, 2015 Bee rated it it was amazing

This book has been on my radar for a while, and I'm glad I finally made time for it. I read a lot of mysteries of all types--some recent favorites are series by Tess Gerritsen, Lee Child, Alan Bradley, and most recently a binge of Jacqueline Winspear. My main criteria for an enjoyable mystery are a cast of interesting, authentic characters and a plausible plot. The details of the mystery itself are secondary, though I can't stand a boring, predictable story. The News in Small Towns weaves enough ...more

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