Friday, March 11, 2022

Book Review and Giveaway - Front Page Murder (A Homefront News Mystery) by Joyce St. Anthony


My Review

Front Page Murder is the first book in a new historical mystery series called A Homefront News Mystery. During World War II, Irene Ingram is working as editor in chief on her father's newspaper in the small town of Progress, Pennsylvania, while her father is a correspondent overseas. When her coworker, Moe Brauer, is discovered dead on his cellar stairs, she suspects murder. She sets out to uncover the truth along with her friend Peggy.

I wanted to read this mystery because I love cozy mysteries and historical fiction.  The 1940's is my favorite historical setting.

This was a well written and compelling mystery. It involves not just the mysterious death of Irene's coworker, but also the scary robbery of a local Jewish store owner.

Irene is a smart, determined amateur detective. I enjoyed watching her work to solve the crime as well as working at the newspaper and dealing with her family and friends. 

The chapters have a nice framework, beginning with a news item from the time and the date that this occurred - i.e. "U-Boat Sinks 4 British Ships in Same Night— The Progress Herald, May 13, 1942" (eBook location 750).

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and look forward to reading more books in the series!  I recommend Front Page Murder for fans of historical mysteries, and especially for anyone who loves a World War II setting.

Book Synopsis

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 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 on her desk. He was on to a big story, he wrote. The robbery she’d 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 is…but for what he knows.  

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. But if they can’t, Irene and Peggy may face an all-too-literal deadline.


Author Bio

Joyce was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers, but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. As Joyce St. Anthony, she is the author of the Homefront News Mysteries. The first in the series, Front Page Murder, will be (or was, depending on the blog date) released on March 8, 2022. Under her own name–Joyce Tremel–she wrote the award winning Brewing Trouble cozy mystery series. She is a native Pittsburgher and lives in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats–Hops and Lager.

Author Links

Website  http://www.joycetremel.com

Website http://www.joycestanthony.com

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/JoyceTremel

Twitter https://twitter.com/JoyceTremel

Purchase Links – AmazonB&NKoboIndieBound 

Giveaway

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