Well paced murder mystery.

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Dark Signal: A Kate Fox Novel (A Kate Fox Mystery #2) 
by Shannon Baker


                           

There's a new sheriff in town. Kate Fox catches a trying case on the first day of the job. Death by train is not a common murder method but it looks like in this case it just might be so. Mind you she has to convince the railway authorities and the state police that this is more than a railway accident.
This is the second in the series but it doesn't lose too much by starting here. Although there are family happenings that I am sure would be clearer if I'd read the first novel.
The setting in the Nebraska hills adds to the sense of isolation and small community life.
Don't be fooled by small town atmosphere, the 'shucks ma'am' images stepping right up against the 'school of hard knocks older women' are gems.
Kate Fox might be new by but she sure isn't going to be fobbed off by the good ol' boys who can't quite get their heads around the fact that Kate is no longer the previous sheriff's wife but The Sheriff! And when ex hubby Ted keeps being given information about a case he no longer has a right to know about, Kate needs to bring those recalcitrant officers into line.
Oh, and there's three interesting males who have come into Kate's sphere. Ok at least one might be a suspect, but still! 
I loved Kate's internal dialogues, funny and insightful. 
The title is at once subtle and yet a comment on things to come.
Slick and intriguing, this was an excellent read.

A NetGalley ARC

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