a great kick off to the Nichelle series. She's a crime reporter working on the story of a lifetime involving police, the mob, & backstabbing co workers. Who should she trust? Her boss, her police sources, the mobster, or just herself? With twists that keep you & her guessing all the way to the end. ( )

When I first opened up the book, I didn't think I'd make it very far. The first person POV and my initial impressions of the protagonist and her voice were off putting but the more I listened - I checked out the Kindle Unlimited ebook and then decided to add the audio for $1.99 - the more I liked Nichelle and the story.

The narrator did a good job but sometimes I found her a bit over the top and I enjoyed reading with my eyes a bit more. Unfortunately, I don't have much eyeball reading time so the majority was consumed with headphones.

Usually the thriller/mystery books I read are from the point of view of cops or lawyers so getting the story from an investigative journalist was different and enjoyable. Especially since the author has plenty of real-life experience in the field. I hardly ever wanted to shake Clarke or yell at her. I liked her and some of the secondary characters and have already checked out the sequel.

If you're a fan of the genre, I think this one is worth a gander. Especially if you have KU. ( )

So I really did enjoy this book from beginning to end. The only reason why I gave it four stars was that I found certain plot points kind of tasteless (i.e. Nichelle's coworker Shelby and the constant commenting on her bedroom habits) and the flow was off here and there. However, other than that, I thought it was a very nice set-up to the series.

Nichelle Clarke is a twenty something investigative reporter living in Richmond, Virginia. Her dream is to go and work for the Washington Post someday as a political reporter (I am shocked by that, I don't think anyone in D.C. even looks at the Post as the most credible news source out there anymore) and is slowly building up her reputation in Richmond. While working on a story about two robberies/murders that may be linked, she also gets pulled into an investigation involving some Richmond PD officers who died on a boat.

I thought that Nichelle's editor/father figure Bob was really great. I had someone like that in my life early in my career too. You need that person that is going to push/pull you and also you get just as irritated as Nichelle does that her investigative job may be up for grabs to her annoying coworker Shelby.

Speaking of Shelby, I was sick of her and her machinations regarding Nichelle. In the real world she would have been fired and or reported to HR for her unprofessional behavior. Having her act like a jerk and we find sleeping with those in charge to advance her career, ugh. I wish we could just have a story about two women who are good at their jobs with Shelby not being looked as being "bad" for using sex to advance herself. Why can't she just be good at her job? That was the only part of the story that fell a little bit flat to me.

We also get some other characters introduced in this one, Nichelle's best friend, and her coworker Parker. And we also get some asides thrown out about her high school boyfriend. There seemed to be a lot of things going on at once, but Walker managed to keep the story going with the main focus really being on the story that Nichelle investigates and not her non-existent love life. I am not going to lie, some of the secondary characters were a bit thin, and there didn't seem to be much backstory really to Nichelle's character, but I assume that we will get more information on her in future stories.

I thought the writing was really good and Walker I found out used to work on a newspaper so you can definitely see that she knows what she is talking about. This book gave a really nice insider look in how stories are developed and how reporters have working relationships with the police.

I think the flow was off here and there, not a lot, but just a little because the story sometimes got really muddled when we have Nichelle trying to fit all of the pieces together, so some times I found myself re-reading things trying to figure out what was going on.

The setting of Richmond, Virginia was great. Walker really does a good job describing the town and the different areas in the community. She also has me hoping that the bookstore that she described in this story really does exist. I may have to take a road trip and investigate.

The ending had everything wrapped up in a slightly messy bow with a hint of more mysteries to come with Nichelle at the center of them. ( )

This is the first in the Headlines in High Heels Mystery series, and Nichelle is already established as the crime reporter on her Richmond Newspaper. She is very ambitious, striving to get the attention of the Washington Post (her dream job). Also, this is where we learn how Joey came into Nichelle's life.

Life is busy for Nichelle as she covers crime in the city of Richmond, which requires her to be on call 24 hours in order to scoop the TV news and other news outlets. Seemingly unrelated suddenly appear related, and Nichelle starts investigating. The mystery at the heart of the story is quite good, and the author introduces suspects and provides false leads to effectively confuse things and increase the tension.

Nichelle is young and full of energy, and fights back when necessary. She has no issues defending herself fully, she don't care if you lose an eyeball if you're trying to hurt her. I like how driven she is, and how she sticks to her principles, and is committed to uncovering the truth.

This would have been 4 stars except for a few mentions of icky things. I can do without very graphic descriptions and names of gross people inserted only for laughs or emphasis. Names that I would rather not see in my cozyish mysteries.

Overall, a nice start to a fun series, well written, with a great central mystery.

( )

Nichelle Clarke is the crime reporter in Richmond. Covering a story related to multiple murders of drug dealers, Clarke gets herself in even deeper when she discovers the reason for the death of a Commonwealth District Attorney is connected and how.

This was a great start of a new series for me and I will most definitely be continuing. The writing was good and the characters captivating. ( )