[Nell Matthews 01] • The Violence Beat

**From the national bestselling author of the popular Chocoholic Mystery series comes the “intriguing…exciting”* story of a crimesolving reporter who is about to become the lead story… **

In the Southwestern city of Grantham, Bo Jenkins takes his young son hostage and demands to talk to the press. Enter Nell Matthews, a reporter for the *Grantham Gazette, *who becomes a hostage herself before finally turning the tables on her captor.

But when Bo Jenkins dies under suspicious circumstances, Nell initiates an investigation that could bring down an entire city—and just might implicate Mike Svenson, the charismatic cop with whom she’s begun a secret romance. As Nell moves dangerously closer to the truth, she realizes that her beat is getting too close to home…

“Fascinating…A strong and unique character.”—Sue Henry

“Sandstrom writes with confidence. An impressive debut for a wonderfully conflicted heroine.”—*New York Times* bestselling author Margaret Maron

“A good book with great characters, and a twisting plot.”—*I Love A Mystery *

**Publishers Weekly*

**Includes a preview of *The Homicide Report* and JoAnna Carl’s *The Chocolate Book Bandit.***