Bk. 1 of series: So quick, so full of plot and entertaining

January in June, I can identify. Unusually cold this year, spring just doesn't seem to be in any hurry to arrive in Port Ainslee causing little excitement in the small village. Two conflicting policing sections, can Maxine Benson, chief of Port Ainslee's small police force, keep her cool and wits while the pushy provincial police both ignore and restrict her from doing her official job? The shocking discovery of a body in a ditch brings all enmity to the fore as Max tries to solve the crime with considerable interference from the overbearing head of the provincial police who are virtually scrambling the discoveries made by Max. It takes awhile but methodically Max has answers that are being ignored. Who could have murdered the man in the ditch and why does the body seem more frigid than expected? I enjoyed this book on several levels, a lot of plot packed into this Rapid Read. I will definitely be watching for more books by this author. ( )

I enjoyed this quick read. Did I guess the killer? You bet I did! It was an interesting murder mystery especially with the brother/sister twist plot I did not see coming! I actually wouldn't mind reading the series and hoping Max and Boucher's relationship gets more on the romantic side. ( )

This is a Rapid Reads book, a format that is approximately 1/3 the length of a novel. Rapid Reads books deal with adult themes (sex and murder are common). They are intended for ESL students, adults who struggle with literacy, and other readers who want a book they can finish in a single day.

A frozen body is found in a roadside ditch in Port Ainslee, a small village in Ontario, Canada, in June. It appears the victim was murdered and preserved in a freezer several days before being dumped. The Port Ainslee police force is small, consisting of Police Chief Maxine Benson (Max), a single constable, and an office manager/jailer so she is required to call the Ontario Provincial Police for serious crimes like murder.

One aspect of the story that rings false is the openly insulting and hostile attitude of PC 1st class Ronald Boucher, the responding OPP officer, towards Max. No explanation is given for his behavior so this comes across as little more than an amateurishly contrived effort to introduce conflict.

This the second book by Reynolds in the Maxine Benson Mystery series. It is an improvement over the first in terms of pacing. The story is somewhat interesting, and I particularly like the ease of reading the entire book in a single afternoon. It is not necessary to read the earlier story in the series to understand this book, but who desire background on the main character or the setting will need to read A Murder for Max. ( )

Rapid read indeed! Very easy to get through if you're not in the mood for something lengthy. I haven't read the first one so can't comment on continuity, but it was readable as a stand-alone. Lots of dialog to move it all along. Very small town, there's a murder, can the locals solve it or do the big city cops need to do it? ( )

An excellent popcorn novella - a murder mystery with a small town police chief doing the sleuthing while being pushed off the case by an arrogant provincial police constable.
It's a clever story which could easily have been a full blown novel. The Rapid Reads series is usually like this and this book is no exception.
A highly entertaining read. Recommended.
I received this through LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an objective review. Thanks to the publisher for providing it to me. ( )