STILL WATERS by Tami Hoag

Finished We 6/22/22

This was a paperback that I bought at the library book sale two years ago; Sa 1/11/20.

I just read another novel by this author and I like her stuff. Slightly too much romance, but within acceptable levels. 

Set in the fictional town of Still Creek, Minnesota.

A town father is murdered- his throat was cut, and the body was found by the editor of the town's paper.

Review from Publishers Weekly:

"After a messy and very public divorce from her magnate husband, Elizabeth Stuart is persuaded by her old college chum to move from Atlanta to Still Creek, Minn. When car trouble strikes, Elizabeth hoofs it to a construction site--and finds the developer, Jarrold Jarvis, in his car with his throat cut. Sheriff Dane Jantzen figures the deed was done by a transient: Jarrold's wallet was stolen and his glove compartment rifled. Elizabeth, who now owns the local newspaper, suspects most everyone in town: Jarvis had kept a secret list of names of people who owed him money. Dane and Elizabeth start off their eventual romance by treating each other like dirt--exchanging what passes for snappy repartee. Dane insists on escorting Elizabeth to a press conference because ``I want to know where your mouth is.'' She retorts, ``it won't be kissing your ass.'' The characters are no more agreeable than the plot is focused on finding the murderer. Perhaps that's why the effect of Hoag's ( Lucky's Lady ) story is less ``still'' than static."

Random observations at GoodReads:

"...a great romantic thriller which hits right from the first page.

We have an Amish community, a normal close knit town, 2 killers ( one so unlikely) murders (obviously) a police sheriff and a new outsider newspaper editor who slowly falls in love so we get a HEA. There are many many up and downs twists and turns which all links together to make the grand final."

"Elizabeth and her teenage son, Trace, flee Atlanta and end up in small town Still Creek. Naturally, Elizabeth is gorgeous and dislikes men. The sheriff in town, Dane, is gorgeous and dislikes women. And they end up in bed together. Naturally.

Elizabeth happens on a dead body, the first murder in this town in decades. The sheriff is surly and lusty towards her (if he grabbed her by the arm and steered her one more time....seriously) and she's determined to find the killer, despite never having done anything like that before.

Also, enter the Amish with their dislike of the "English".

I know quite a few Southern people and have never heard the word "sugar" in conversation as Elizabeth."

"They are mildly entertaining, but after about one hundred or so of the same thing- usually some detective falls in love with the female victim and now they both have to come together to fight off some serial killer before he kills again- it does get old and tired, and VERY predictable. Formulaic novels are good when you want to shut down though, I'll give them that."