Devil in the Deadline (A Headlines in High Heels Mystery Book 4)

Author:  Lyndee Walker
Genre:  Mystery/Suspense

Four Stars

 

 

When the Richmond police offer an exclusive in exchange for help with a case, nothing—not even a costume party—stops crime reporter Nichelle Clarke from making Manolo tracks to the crime scene. The hunt leads her to a televangelist’s compound in the Virginia countryside where the Reverend may be more interested in fat stacks of cash than he is saving wayward souls.

 

With two sexy guys tangled up in Nichelle’s story—and in her heart—work and love are on a crash course for disaster. Pressure pours in from every corner, including a faceless new competitor that means the deadline is always five minutes ago. As secrets threaten and the truth becomes her lifeline, Nichelle must unmask the killer and nail down the story before she’s snared in the carefully-constructed web.

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Nichelle Clarke is a reporter who is different in that she has built up relationships with the police and witnesses because she is honest and has integrity.  So, when a mutilated body is found by the police, they call her to the crime scene in the hope that she can help in the investigation, the premise being that people who will not talk to the police will talk to her.

 

So begins the investigation into the brutal murder.  It isn't long before Nichelle discovers that this wasn't random, and is somehow connected to a megachurch.  In the course of the investigations she asks help from her ex-boyfriend, Kyle Miller, who also happens to be an ATF agent.  Complicating the matter further is the fact that her new wannabe boyfriend is Joey, who probably has ties to the Mafia.  While Kyle wants to rekindle his relationship, Nichelle only has eyes for Joey, who somehow is managing to keep track of her actions and attempting to keep her safe.  Add to the mix a blogger who not only seems to know everything Nichelle knows, but more, and the blogger is putting it out to the public.

 

The church, it seems, is sort of a cross between a cult and a religious compound (along the lines of any clothes that don't hang on you like burlap give men lustful thoughts, which always seem to favor the men, regardless of what second-class citizens women might want).  When Nichelle keeps digging into the case, she not only puts her own life in danger, but others.

 

Although at the end there weren't a lot of surprises, when the answers are all revealed, they come together in a nice little package that is wrapped up neatly for the reader.  Even so, it leaves questions for Nichelle, which, I am sure, will be carried into the next book in this series.  Recommended.

 

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review but this in no way influenced my review.  This book will be published January, 2015.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Deadline-Headlines-Heels-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00ODQS5TU/

 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1123345395