Sweet cannolis, fire eaters, and tickets to heaven.There’s something for everyone at Boston’s First Night Festivities, but one man won’t live to see the new year.
Field reporter, Ali McGuire, chases end-of-the-world stories in the months leading up to Y2K, but nothing prepares her for the morning after, when a Catholic priest is found dead in an underground sanctuary, surrounded by weapons, … surrounded by weapons, cash, and stockpiles of food.
Police investigate the death of the corrupt clergyman and land on a suspect, but Ali’s behind-the-scenes access to the nights’ street performers and vendors shines a different light on the dead priest.
Sparks fly between the police and the press as Ali races to uncover the truth before an iconic local church is shut down and their beloved leader ends up wearing the wrong kind of collar.
If you love your mysteries twisty and fun to read, pick up Murder Past Midnight today.
This book was formerly published with the title First Night, Last Rites.
Other books by April Anderton
Dead Before Wed – A Press Pass Mystery – Book 1
Rage on the Stage – A Press Pass Mystery – Book 2
Coconut Crush – A Press Pass Mystery – Book 3
more
Ali is a field report and finds a new story to follow. A priest is found dead, who is not what he seems and she finds herself in the world of street performers and extortionists. Sparks fly between the press and the police as she desperately wants to find out the truth before the church is shut down.
This is a great cozy mystery with a multitude of interesting and creative characters. I like the variety of personalities both good and bad. The were colourful and engaging. The storyline was smooth and interesting, full of mystery, romance, dead ends, danger, surprises and suspense, right to the reveal at the end. I enjoyed the narrative as it described the setting in such a way as to built up the suspense. The dialogue was great. I like the author’s writing style and can not wait until there is another book in the series.
Loved it! So many twists and turns, I had no idea who the killer could be. Kept me turning the pages and on the edge of my seat the whole time. The happy ending was great too.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Fun cozy with street performers, a priest and murder. Enjoyable characters, Ali and Ryan are back with her mom and brother in the mix. Fun storyline.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the fourth book of the Press Pass Mystery Series; however, it can (and I did) read it as a stand-a-lone and didn’t feel like I had missed anything prior. In fact, it wasn’t until I finished the book that I realized this was a fourth in the series and I had not read the earlier ones. I enjoyed this clean mystery. Initially, I thought the dialogue in the first couple of chapters was a little choppy and without much flow but not so in the remainder of the book. The premise of the book is unique…how did a clown/priest (read the story) end of dead on New Year’s Eve and by whom. The main character, Ali is a tv news reported and her husband is a detective. Of course, as in many cozy mysteries, Ali is involved way to much in the investigation but that is part of being a cozy. The author, April Anderton, did a good job at keeping me guessing at the who (although the why is revealed earlier in the story). There are quirky family members involved as well. The one thing that disturbed me a bit was the treatment of the storyline with Chelsea (Ali’s brother’s, Thad’s fiancé). There was trouble brought up with her but then the subject (storyline) was dropped completely with no further mention other than a single piece of news from her brother. I enjoyed the story and characters enough that I plan to go back and read the first three books of the series. I received a free ARC copy of this book via Booksprout and have left this review voluntarily.
First Night is your typical cozy read; the amateur sleuth (in this case an on-air news reporter, married to a detective gets way more involved in a murder investigation than would ever happen in real life. But that’s one of the good things about cozies; the reader can suspend disbelief and just go along for a relaxing, enjoyable read. The story is not heavy on the suspense or violence (other than the murder, of course), but I must admit that I didn’t have a clue who the “bad guy” was; that came right out of left field; which is exactly how I like my reveals to be. Also, even though this is the fourth book in the series and there was mention of events that had occurred in the previous books, it wasn’t so bad that I felt lost at all. There were just references to other cases that Ali had worked on and things that had happened on those stories. It was just enough to encourage me to pick up the previous three books in the series.
The characters in the story are relatable to real life (in other words, they aren’t psychic or super-human or any such) and the dialogue flows easily and for the most part, doesn’t feel stilted or awkward. The only thing that prevented me from rating this book at five stars was the handling of a situation with Ali’s brother, Thad. The situation (I don’t want to give away any spoilers) had a large part in the story up until the last quarter of the book and then it was just dropped. No details about what happened, how it was resolved, how Thad was dealing with the fall-out – nothing. It just wasn’t mentioned anymore except for one little bit at the very end of the story. That left me with a very unsatisfied feeling. It wasn’t as bad as a cliff-hanger, but I would have liked to see the situation more fully developed or at least explained. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it for any lovers of cozy mysteries.
I received a free copy of this book from Booksprout and this is my honest opinion. I want to thank them and the author for the opportunity to read it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Very entertaining cozy! I haven’t read this series before but thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are great and going back in time to Y2K is a hoot.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ali Loukas McGuire, TV reporter is busier than ever, as is her husband, Detective Ryan McGuire. When they begin looking into the death of a street performer, after his body was found in the basement of a local church, the man they thought was a local priest was not who they thought he was. When he was found surrounded by cash, a stockpile of food and weapons, they discovered he had much to hide. Who was this man, many thought was a priest? As Ali and Ryan begin investigating, they must dig deeper than first thought. I love Ali and how tenacious she is when searching for the truth and her husband who is just as determined to find a killer. This is a great book. This is my honest, voluntary review of an advanced reader copy of this book.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. It made me feel like I was a part of the character’s family. I would never have guessed the ending.
Anisa is visiting her daughter and son-in-law, Boston TV reporter Ali Loukas McGuire and her husband Police Detective Ryan McGuire, hoping to attend the First Night New Year’s Eve celebration. Ali’s brother, Thad, joined them from the hallway to greet his mom. Then Ryan’s parents arrived. Everyone enjoyed the gift-giving and a few laughs besides. Then Ryan left for work and Ali got a call from Izzy, asking for her help. Her assistant was sick and Izzy had a large group of street performers coming for an interview for First Night. She wanted Ali to sit in on the auditions for clowns, fire eaters, and jugglers, and help make the final decisions on hiring.
As Ali finished the clown auditions, she headed outside to do the fire eater auditions since fire code would not allow open flames in the office she had been using. A man, Brandon Watkins, ran up to her saying he missed his audition because he got confused where it was. But she recognized him as the man in clerical robes who had been first to arrive and then claimed he had the wrong room. He was wearing jeans now, but she recognized him.
At the First Night celebration, she saw Brandon run from a building with two big men chasing him. She followed as they ran to the Old North Church. Brandon opened the door and gave them money as they threatened him. Then they left. What was going on? When the supposed Catholic priest is found dead in an underground sanctuary, surrounded by weapons, cash, and stockpiles of food, they realized the “local priest” was not who they thought he was. So who was he? Ali and Ryan have their work cut out for them as they try to determine the truth and find the killer.
This was a good book with an intriguing story line and amazing characters. Grab your copy and jump into the mystery as Ali and Ryan put the pressure on and look for a killer!
Want a trip down memory lane? Read this book. It is about to turn Y2K in this timeline. What a riot.
So besides that our heroine helps her friend interview for performers for the First Nite. One is a priest or is he a performer? Why does he have all that stuff in the basement of a Historic church?
Mom has a secret that she is not telling that surprises everyone. Thad has one to but it has issues. Want more read this book.
Had me guessing who done it till the end. Nice job. My theory in the beginning was false and never got caught to figure it out.
My first with this author and in this series. I can say without a doubt that you can read this as a standalone and not be lost. There are a few references to previous books but anything that would lose you.
This is my honest and freely given review. I did receive an ARC book.
Ali had interviewed some entertainers and when Ryan asks her to identify a body, she realizes it’s someone she spoke with. The mystery yields some surprises, as well as some unexpected personal developments. First Night, Last Rites is an enjoyable novel in the Press Pass Mystery series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first story I have read by this author and I am impressed. I liked the humor the writer put in the story of a dead clergyman who is found with a lot of money, weapons, and food. The main characters are married and one is a reporter, one a cop. It should make for very interesting conversations, especially when they are not agreeing. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.
This is a fun and compelling mystery with fabulous characters. I love Allie and her handsome husband Detective Ryan. This book is well-written with plenty of twists to keep me guessing to the end. I am looking forward to the next book by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A fun and enjoyable mystery that keeps the reader turning the pages and guessing how it will end. This is the first book in the series I’ve read and I wasn’t lost. Strong characters that are interesting and bring in the family dynamics and drama and the story is well written with murder and romance.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
In this day and age, lots of clergy have tent making jobs: part time work that lets them still do church work, and cover extras or basics. Apparently many folks who are street performers also do other things, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes because performance is just a fun gig for them.
When Ali helps her friend Lizzy interview street performers for a holiday event at Quincy Market in Boston, she gets a tangled look inside both worlds.
Things in her family are also changing: her mom might be around more, ditto her air force brother. She also comes into closer contact with the Italian community. With an Irish Italian husband, she is about to discover the interconnectedness of the community- especially in Boston.
An action, fun and mayhem packed KU read! I received an advance copy from Booksprout. I read this book on Kindle Unlimited.
The author has given us a great cast of characters. Ali is a network reporter and her husband, Ryan, is a police detective. They have to keep their personal life separate from their professional lives. When they are both working on the same story/case, add in family drama and you have a good story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April Anderton has again written a funny clever enjoyable mystery that will keep you guessing to the end how a clown/priest could possibly be so bad as to get killed on New Year’s Eve. And who could possibly have done it?
Boston TV reporter Ali Loukas McGuire and her husband Police Detective Ryan McGuire are on the case. And both their families are nearby causing lots of crazy drama as usual. A fun look at Boston as well.
Without giving you spoilers I’m sure you will love reading this new book as much as I did!
I received a free copy of this book via Book sprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book I’ve read in the series and I had no problem following the story. Murder, romance and family dynamics combine to make this a great read. The characters are interesting and lively. The book is well written, fast paced and a pleasure to read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. I received a free copy of this book and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.