Plitesville, Tennessee – the Present

Twenty year-old Carly Wright finds herself in an untenable situation. Her dad is Plitesville’s mayor and, in the years since his election, Carly has kept a low profile so as not to cause any gossip that might harm her dad’s position. But now an important news story causes conflict and damages their relationship. She follows her dream to become a professional journalist as lead writer and editor of her college’s newspaper, The Speerings. Attending the hometown college is another concession to her dad's sense of propriety and political aspirations.

As a reporter, she watches Plites County police track an escaped convict, but she is the only one who suspects Sheriff Nagle used his position to commit murder. Her poorly documented story accusing the sheriff earns her the contempt of Plites County’s residents and her father’s anger. Only her friends on the newspaper's staff and her old friend, rookie deputy Robby Coad, support her. Robbie believes in her right to have her own opinions and speak out on them. She has no proof, but victims of the sheriff’s dreadful misuse of power come to her. They just won’t come forward as witnesses or let her use their names in print, and the sheriff has covered his tracks very well.

Handsome Robby Coad has been waiting for Carly to grow up since she was sixteen, now he only has to get her to see him as an earnest suitor. She is beautiful, feisty and opinionated, but that only makes him love her more. His past flirtations and womanizing make convincing Carly of his love an uphill battle. Plus, he can’t believe his boss, Sheriff Nagle, could possibly do what Carly believes.

In THE SPEERINGS, author Cheryl N. Warner captures the moment when youthful idealism crashes into reality. Carly is the epitome of a naive, impetuous young woman charging after her dreams, fighting to be seen as an adult, and ignoring everything else. She believes in reporting the truth but finds most people disinterested. Robbie chases her. The flirty wisecrack one-liners he uses to lure her into love made me laugh, but I could see why Carly ran. He is a charismatic man, pleading for his chance with Carly while supporting her right to speak her opinion and make her own choices. His depth of character only adds appeal to his obvious charm. Another aspect of this story is Carly’s deep spiritual faith. You sense it without the story falling into inspirational lines. Sheriff Nagle is a wicked villain cloaked in the height of law-abiding respectability. His crimes seem so plausible you’ll shiver at the implications. THE SPEERINGS is a highly recommend story deserving of a Perfect 10 -- a delightfully charming but tension-filled mystery that won’t let you stop reading.

Robin Lee