Front page murder

Set in 1942, this entertaining series launch from St. Anthony (the Brewing Trouble mysteries) introduces Irene Ingram, the editor-in-chief of a newspaper in Progress, Pa., a job she took over from her father after he left for the Pacific to be a war correspondent. When beauty shop owner Ava Dempsey phones Irene to say Sam Markowicz's hardware store across the street has just been robbed, Irene sends reporter Moe Bauer to investigate. Irene later learns that the hardware store wasn't robbed, but someone did leave an anti-Semitic message for Sam, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, written on a piece of cardboard. When Moe fails to show up to interview either Ava or Sam, Irene goes to Moe's house, where she finds him dead at the foot of his cellar stairs. What appears to be an accident turns into a murder case. St. Anthony splendidly evokes the era through such details as the town's victory garden and Woolworth's lunch counter as she highlights the impact of the war on traditional women's roles. Fans of Jacqueline Winspear will want to see more of the talented and intelligent Irene. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, Knight Agency. (Mar.)

A newly appointed editor gets little respect but plenty of action in this World War II mystery set in small-town Pennsylvania. Irene Ingram may be young and female, but she learned all about running the Progress Herald from her father, Pete, who left her in charge after signing up as a war correspondent. Even so, her best reporter, Moe Bauer, often ignores her orders, especially when he's hot on a story. Soon after he takes off to check out a tip about a robbery at Sam Markowicz's hardware store, Moe is found dead at the bottom of his own cellar stairs. Police Chief Walter Turner, the future father-in-law who tends to ignore Irene's input, does tell her that Markowicz is a Jew who escaped Germany and that the robbery was really an antisemitic attack. Among the many people recently come to town to work at the Tabor Ironworks, which makes parts for the war effort, is one who's boarding at the home of Irene's mother. Glamorous Katherine Morningside's claim to be a singer who knows Frank Sinatra makes Irene doubt her veracity. Meanwhile, the mystery deepens when a Jewish janitor friend of Sam's who works at Tabor's gets beaten but refuses to talk to the police. Although Chief Turner calls Moe's death an accident, Irene suspects that he was murdered because of something he discovered about the ironworks. She gets to work tracking down clues and does such a good job that she's soon in the killer's sights. A gutsy and likable sleuth enlivens a debut replete with historical touches. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.