When Blood Lies: A Nicole Charles Mystery

By Linda L. Richards

Vancouver Post gossip columnist Nicole Charles is only slightly put out when she discovers she’s been downsized. She figures she’s lucky to still have a job. It just means she needs to get a desk so she can work out of her apartment. But the desk she buys at auction proves to have more history than she’d anticipated, and the cache she finds in a secret compartment in that desk has links to a money-laundering ring, and an old school-mate. Will this be the story that lands Nicole a job on the news desk? Even while she struggles to solve the case, she wonders if she’ll ever get the recognition she figures she deserves.

When Blood Lies is the second novel in a series of mysteries featuring rookie reporter Nicole Charles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Apr 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781459808393

Linda L. Richards

Linda L. Richards is the editor and cofounder of January magazine (www.januarymagazine.com) and a regular contributor to The Rap Sheet (the rapsheet.blogspot.com). Mad Money, her first work of long fiction, was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel. Death Was the Other Woman is her hardcover debut. She lives near Vancouver.

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Reviews for When Blood Lies

[timtom_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a nice little story about a junior reporter in Vancouver, Canada, who accidentally stumbles upon a mystery. It is a short, interesting read, although the topic and characters could do with a bit more depth. Asides from a few repetitions, it is a nice debut novella, and I look forward to see the sympathetic main character grow in complexity in future episodes, as the author develops her style!

[cathyshelton_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A quick read about an aspiring reporter, Nicole Charles, who finds a secret compartment in an old desk she buys at an auction, She is not the only person who wants the desk, but she cannot figure out why he wants it so badly. The reason is a surprise to her when it is finally revealed.

[alans_430515 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the fourth book in the Rapid Reads series I have read and I think this is my favourite of them all.The writing was clear and not overly-adorned and the story was interesting. I was waiting for a bigfinish because I had read an early review online but there wasn't a tremendous amount of surprises bythe end of the book. I like the main character and her brother and I would definitely read more books in this series. I think it will be interesting to see the way the society newspaper writer-the main character of the novel continues to grow as the series proceeds. This was a quick (which is the point of the Rapid Reads series)and very pleasurable read. I didn't often feel I could pass on former Rapid Reads to fellowreaders but I think I know people who will also enjoy this one as much as I did.

[katebaxter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good story; written with just enough detail to tell the tale but not so much to bog down the reader. There are a few twists and turns and at least one red herring to hold the readers interest. It's a relatively short book and would be a handy companion for that short flight or waiting in an airport or doctor's office. I am grateful to author Linda L. Richards and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for having provided a free advance reading copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone. Synopsis (from publisher's website):Vancouver Post gossip columnist Nicole Charles is only slightly put out when she discovers she's been downsized. She figures she's lucky to still have a job. It just means she needs to get a desk so she can work out of her apartment. But the desk she buys at auction proves to have more history than she'd anticipated, and the cache she finds in a secret compartment in that desk has links to a money-laundering ring, and an old school-mate. Will this be the story that lands Nicole a job on the news desk? Even while she struggles to solve the case, she wonders if she'll ever get the recognition she figures she deserves.When Blood Lies is the second novel in a series of mysteries featuring rookie reporter Nicole Charles.

[angel2649 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book seemed to be all plot without much substance --- like an outline for a book. It never did say what happened to the valuable items she found in the desk. The ending seemed rushed.

[takeara · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a short book only 147 pages with short chapters. All in all I'd say it was a pretty good read. It moved along at a good pace and kept my interest until the end. There was good rapport between the characters and it was easy to follow along.There was nothing that was really exciting, kind of like a wow factor, it was just a steady read.What I didn't like about the book was the ending. Didn't seem to be any real ending to me, just confusion and the character's determination to carry on.

[therealjim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A delightful little story full of intrigue.Nichole Charles full time reporter, part time sleuth. Nichol is a young reporter trying to work her way up.But, due to downsizing she is told to work from home. She buys a desk at an auction. This is no ordinary desk, it is full of surprises that lead her to solve a mystery.Will this be the break she needs?A good short read you will find entertaining. Add this one to your bookshelf.

[readerbynight · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A bit of a slow start, but I really liked the book. Rookie newspaper reporter Nicole Charles is finding her perfect job to be somewhat boring, for want of a better word. At least she has a place in the large newspaper she is calling home. Through the unexpected yet unquestioned death of the society reporter, she falls into his job. She trained to be a news reporter, what happened to reporting on crimes? What happened to following up leads? For that matter, what happened to working in her own office? The paper is downsizing, as so much media is, and much of the staff now works online from home. Working from home slightly compensates for lack of office space, but Nicole needs a desk to work at. Her best option appears to be an auction, where she finds the "perfect" desk. As bidding starts she is not the only one who wants this desk. Just as she reaches the final limit to bid, police storm in and arrest the other bidder! An extreme but fascinating interruption but fruitful because the auction must begin again. With the only other bidder gone, she gets the desk for a much lower bid. Looking it over, she notices someone has tried to get into one of the locked drawers. Is the key lost? What could be so important? Her brother Kyle joins her to bring the desk home, but once it is installed the search for what secrets it may hold begins. At the same time, their parents' home is broken into. Is there a connection? If so, what could it possibly connect to? This book has a lot of surprises, a story of love and loss, crime and vintage wine, memories and misguided moments. For readers who know Vancouver, it will bring familiarity, well depicted. Activity escalates throughout Nicole's investigations. I enjoyed the book for all these reasons. I look forward to another Nicole Charles Mystery. I'm left wondering, what happened to the wine?

[bbofje · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of When Blood Lies by Linda L. Richards through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. This was a fast-paced, quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'd like to read more by Linda Richards and her main characterNicole Charles.

[squeex_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rapid Reads is right! This book moved quickly, introduced the characters and off we went to the mystery. Neat premise with a newspaper reporter who already likes to investigate so it is a natural fit that she wants to find out more about her mystery desk she purchased at auction, but almost didn't get except the other bidder was arrested during the bidding. Easy to sit down and devour in one sitting. Enjoyable and I hope there are more to this series.

[bgknighton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very well done, though this might qualify as a long story or novella. Liked Nicole, the other characters need fleshing out, but that would require more space. Nice feel for a modern newsroom. Who will go after the stories when the papers are gone?

[19anne44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

WHEN BLOOD LIES I received “When Blood Lies” as a Library Thing Review copy. This is the second in a mystery series by Linda L Richards in the Rapid Reads collection. Nicole Charles, gossip columnist, is back and being downsized. If she is to work at home she needs a new (to her) desk. When she is bidding at an auction for a desk her competitor in the bidding is suddenly arrested by the police and so the desk is hers. She and her brother find a secret compartment in the desk containing wine bottles which Nicole discovers are very valuable but someone else, of course, is after those wine bottles and is determined to get them back. Nicole is determined to solve the mystery and to get a good story out of it for her newspaper. The plot is intriguing, but with some loose ends, and Nicole is an appealing protagonist. Although I don’t normally read short stories I have found the books in the Rapid Read series to be good reads which finish too soon for me. I hope to see more in this series.