An Axe to Grind by F.M. Meredith - Book Review

Doug Milligan, Stacey Wilbur, Abel Navarro, Gordon Butler, Frank Marshall, and more familiar names are back in An Axe To Grind, the latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series by F.M. Meredith.

Doug Milligan and his partner, Frank Marshall are investigating the murder of a stalker. There are several suspects, which include the father and brother of the girl who was being stalked. Meanwhile, Stacey Wilbur, now a Vice-Officer, is working a case involving a soccer coach who might be a pedophile.

With their busy work schedules, Doug and Stacey's romance is pushed to the back burner, and even though Stacey and her mother, Clara, continue with wedding plans, a lot hinges on whether Gordon Butler can find himself an apartment so he can move out of Doug's house.

When Doug sets out on his own to corner the murderer, Stacey is in a race against time to find him before it's too late.

Right from the start, like Meredith does with all the books in this series, the reader is instantly drawn into the world of the Rocky Bluff P.D. Gordon Butler, who is usually the butt of many jokes around the station, is flagged down by a paperboy who has just discovered one of his customers looking more than a bit worse for wear. Butler is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in this series because you just can't help but feel sorry for everything that he manages to step into.

Doug and Stacey's romance, which began in the previous installment of this series, No Sanctuary, continues with great difficulty in this one. One thing I've always said about the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is that Meredith does an excellent job of blending the personal and professional lives of the people working in the Rocky Bluff P.D. Whether it is Doug and Stacey, Abel Navarro and his wife Maria, Ryan Strickland, the Department's public relations officer, and his wife Barbara, or any other member of this fictional police force, the author has created characters that you easily care about, just like they were your next door neighbors.

With her masterful storytelling, Meredith includes many twists and turns to keep you guessing who the real culprit is. But what I like best about all the Rocky Bluff P.D. books is that the pace doesn't slow down. Every new clue leads to something else, and before you know it, you're at the end of the book and eager to read more.

I impatiently await the next book in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series by F.M. Meredith!


Title: An Axe to Grind
Author: F.M. Meredith
Publisher: Dark Oak Mysteries (Oak Tree Books)
ISBN-10: 1892343789
ISBN-13: 978-1892343789
SRP: $12.95

Available in a Kindle edition for only $1.99!




Disclosure: This blogger acted as the first editor on An Axe to Grind. She was not paid to provide this review.

Favorite Moments from the Rocky Bluff P.D. by Author F.M. Meredith

Today's guest blogger is F.M. Meredith. This is the pseudonym for multi-published award-winning author Marilyn Meredith. Marilyn has published nearly thirty novels, including the Rocky Bluff crime series. An Axe to Grind is the latest in this series. No Sanctuary, the previous release from this series, was a finalist the mystery/suspense category of the Epic best in e-books contest. Marilyn also writes the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. The lastest in this series is Dispel the Mist. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Epic, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers Association. She was an instructor for Writers Digest School for many years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writers Retreat and many other writers’ conferences.

You can visit the author online at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com.

"Favorite Moments from from the Rocky Bluff P.D. Series" by F.M. Meredith


The first book, which I wrote having no idea there would be more to follow, was Final Respects. My favorite part of that book is where the three little girls are tormenting the man who works in the mortuary. Years ago when my daughter was in grammar school, her best friends’ dad owned a mortuary and the family lived next door. My daughter loved to spend the night there and later told me that she and her friends played hide 'n seek among the caskets and bodies. (Blogger's note: Yuck!)

In Bad Tidings I love the relationship between Lt. Tom Gilbreath and his wife, Marlene, so much better than the one between Officer Guzzo and his perfect wife. In this book, two murders bring chaos to the small beach community of Rocky Bluff and keep Lt. Gilbreath busy while he is facing a crisis of his own.


When I conceived the idea for Fringe Benefits, which is about a very bad cop, I asked my policeman son-in-law how he would kill his wife and get away with it. He had a perfect idea and that’s what I used in this book. My favorite moment in this story is when the police officers who work alongside the cop realize what he’d done.

Smell of Death is a darker book that the rest because it has three grisly murders in it, but Officer Stacey Wilbur and Detective Doug Milligan realize they have a mutual attraction for one another. I have several favorite incidents in this book, but I think I like the scenes with the barefoot burglars the best. (Blogger's note: This is the first book of this series I read. I agree about the darker aspect and the barefoot burglars. I tried to imagine them running around that way.)

My favorite scene in No Sanctuary is when Officer Stacy Wilbur confronts the murderer. She is one gutsy gal. I also like all the scenes with bumbling Officer Gordon Butler. He provides a lot of comic relief in several of the books. (Blogger's note: This is my favorite out of the books I've read.)


In my latest book, An Axe To Grind, I love how Stacy strikes out on her own to look for her fiancé, Detective Doug Milligan, when he goes missing. She is one tenacious female who isn’t about to give up. The romance between Doug and Stacey continues, but moves slowly while Doug is busy investigating the case of a murdered stalker.

One thing about writing a continuing series like this, I’m as anxious to find out what’s going to happen next as any of the fans.