First published 1998
John Wells has covered crime for the New York Star long enough to know the difference between real news and fluff. When his new editor Robert decides to shake things up, Wells finds himself banished from his beat and sent upstate to cover what looks like a straightforward teen suicide in Grant County. Wells resents the assignment and the demotion it represents. But as he digs into the story, the facts don't add up. What the local authorities have written off as another tragic suicide starts to look like something far more sinister. Wells must use all his investigative skills to uncover the truth behind the death. The case forces him to confront not just a potential murderer, but his own place in a changing newspaper world that may no longer value his old school approach to reporting.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, investigative-journalism
Setting: Grant County, New York
Period: 21st-century
224 pages · Hardcover · Severn House