When I received my review copy of “Winter Gets Hot” from LibraryThing, all I really knew about the book and its merits was that it was - according to the jacket, at least - “The eagerly anticipated sequel to ‘Winter In Chicago.’”

I wasn’t familiar with that book or its author, David M. Hamlin. But after reading this ‘eagerly anticipated sequel,’ I will probably be searching for that earlier work, adding it to my e-bookshelf, and learning more about Emily Winter’s introduction to the Windy City, and vice-versa.

Winter is a ‘lifestyle’ reporter for a local television station ... but she has aspirations to do more, to develop and produce ‘hard news.’ One day, while preparing to cover the former, she steps into the latter ... and their our story begins, when a story about a community service organization lands Winter in the middle of what the they used to call ‘willful murder by person or persons unknown.’

Go get ‘em, Emily!

Easier said then done. As is the case of all good whodunits, there is something more to this case than simply murder ... and THAT is what draws Winter into all this. Like all good reporters, she wants to ask more than just the standard question ... and those are questions that someone or something ‘out there’ might prefer to remain unasked.

Antagonism between authorities and journalists is nothing new ... just ask anyone who, like myself, has worked as a journalist. But not all of the push-back is coming from the authorities ... there are some within her own organization, among her own ‘ink-stained brethren,’ who seek to block her efforts, as well.

And at the same time, not all the encouragement/assistance is coming from her news organization ... there are also some within ‘the system’ who want to do the right thing, and aid her investigation ... some of them at great risk.

Then there are those where Winter - and the reader - can’t be sure about their honesty or their motivation.

Oh, yes ... there WILL be red herrings.

In some respects, nothing new here ... fans of everyone from Dashiell Hammett to Agatha Christie might be saying, “well, of course.” But Hamlin gives us a nice variation on a protagonist in Emily Winter ... no hard-boiled detective, here, or English village observer. What we do have is someone we can like, someone for whom we can root as she delves deeper and further into something more than simply a case of murder.

Hamlin has crafted a story a story that drew me in, had me encouraging Winter, hoping she gets that breaking news story and the advancement that would follow, and hoping that there might be some justice in the Windy City. And while there may be some resolution - in some respects, at least - there is also some new opportunities for stories, and justice ... and maybe a sequel to “Winter Gets Hot” ???

Go get ‘em, Emily!

In the meantime, I plan to read what has become - for me - ‘The eagerly anticipated PREquel to ‘Winter Gets Hot.’ ’

__________

NOTE: I received a free e-copy of this work through LibraryThing, in exchange for a review. ( )

It's a couple of years after the events in [Winter in Chicago], the first book in this new mystery series. Jimmy Carter is president and journalist Emily Winter has moved up from AM radio to local television. Unfortunately, she's been relegated to the "lifestyle" beat, reporting on cute animals, babies and such, when all she wants to do is bust heads and solve crimes. So to speak.

She's on her way to one of the detested feature assignments (interviewing local kiddos auditioning for the musical Annie) when she stumbles on a murder scene. Don't you hate when that happens? Me, too. She calls it in to her news director, who tells her to make tracks for the theater and let the station's crime reporter handle it. The crime reporter, of course, is a male chauvinist pig who is also buddy-buddy with the local cops, so when it appears that those same cops might be involved in the murder he does everything he can to discredit Emily's leads and re-direct suspicion. (How did Emily get leads on a murder she's not supposed to be covering? Is this your first mystery featuring an amateur sleuth?)

I enjoy the inside look this series provides of how a journalist works, even if it seems a tad unrealistic, and the actual mystery plot is fine. But boy howdy is the dialogue terrible. In particular, the conversations between Emily and her lawyer husband Ben sound like they're reading off cue cards. I mentioned in my review of the first book that they had a weird habit of referring to each other as "pal," apparently unironically. There's less of that here, but Ben especially sounds like he has a thesaurus wedged up his ... frontal lobe. Here, for example, is some of their "banter":

Emily (outside a restaurant at lunchtime): Are you kidding? Look at that line. By the time we get seated, we'd be ordering dinner.
Ben: Too true, alas. Shall we amble back to our humble abode and forage once there?

Another time, after Ben turns down Emily's offer to make him a sandwich:
Ben: Well, maybe I'll just have a bite of that sandwich. Just grilled cheese, or did you enhance it?
Emily: Bacon, of course.
Ben: Of course. An additional and welcome incentive to partake.

It's a pity that the writing is so clunky, because I did enjoy the mystery and the references to 1970s pop culture and current events. The setting of Chicago also comes through nice and strong. I just wonder if that's how author Hamlin and his wife talk when no one's around to hear them ... ( )

A terrific murder mystery featuring Emily Winter, a television reporter trying to be taken seriously in 1970s Chicagoland. She gets the chance to use her investigative and interviewing skills towards solving a gruesome murder. Will her charm, skill, and perseverance be enough to find the answers before her time runs out?

Written in a conversational style, with a protagonist who balances gentle goodness with savvy interviewing techniques, Winter Gets Hot is well worth reading! ( )

Good book. Hard to set down once I started reading it. Emily Winter was hired as a features reporter for station WSMP in Chicago. However she ran across a murder at the CARD offices. Mark Crittenden the head of CARD (an organization that investigates corruption in Chicago politics) was shot in his office. Emily wanted to be involved in the reporting of the crime as she wanted more than to do feature stories. The investgative reporter for the station did not want Emily on the story but her persistence convenienced her bosses to let her work with Gary Easton the Investigative reporter. This Easton guy was a real jerk and did whatever he could to put obstacles in her way.
Emily is a very good reporter and using her contacts and investigative skills is finally in spite o Gary Eastons attempts to hamper her efforts is able to solve the crime and help the police arrest the murderer.
A very good Whodoneit story. ( )

I was asked to review this by Librarything.com

This is the sequel to Winter in Chicago and I really found this to be a good read. A murder has taken place.

We see Emily the reporter back. it is set in the 70s so there is sexism and Emily faces her work being jeopardised by a male colleague as she tried to track down the killer.

The characters are fun, her husband, uncle and girl friends from the Rules Committee.

The readers gets a good feel for Chicago, Emily is feisty and likeable and in the middle of this a murder gets solved.

Recommended ( )