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    If It Bleeds
    If It Bleeds
    If It Bleeds
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    If It Bleeds

    By Linda L. Richards

    2.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Nicole Charles didn’t go to journalism school to become a gossip columnist, but the job fell into her lap right out of school and her immigrant work ethic just won’t let her quit to find something she’d like better. It’s a good job, but she struggles with the stigma attached to her position by other reporters. More than anything, she wants to be a real reporter, but it looks like she’s never going to get a chance.

    Then one night while covering a gallery opening, she discovers a dead body in a dark alley. An upand- coming artist has been stabbed in the throat with an antique icepick. Nicole is right in the middle of the biggest story of the year. It’s the chance of a lifetime. Too bad someone had to die to make it happen.

    If It Bleeds is the first novel in a series of mysteries featuring rookie reporter Nicole Charles.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateSep 1, 2014
    ISBN9781459807365
    If It Bleeds
    Author

    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.

    Read more from Linda L. Richards

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    Reviews for If It Bleeds

    2.5/5

    20 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      If It Bleeds is part of the Rapid Reads series. It is the story of Nicole Charles, a rookie reporter at a newspaper in Vancouver. She is working as the gossip columnist for the paper, covering parties and galas, art openings and fancy fundraisers. She enjoys her job but is frustrated that opportunities to move into hard news are not presenting themselves at a paper that seems to have a well-established good ole' boys network. That all changes when she attends a gallery opening and discovers the artist dead in his car with an odd-looking tool stabbed in his neck.This was a very fast read and a fairly good story. I think the premise was good and there was a decent amount of background for the main character but it would have worked better as a little bit longer work. I think it would adequately hold the interest of a new reader or someone just learning to read.
    • 3/5
      It could have been better. As an adult, I found it a little too simple. If it were longer, and the characters had more depth, I think it would have been better. The mystery, also, wasn't developed very well. The main character, Nic, was more than dissatisfied with her job as a reporter, and tried her hand at detective work. I think it would be a good book for a YA.
    • 3/5
      Meh. This qualifies as a Rapid Reads - it's novella length and moves along quickly - but that's part of the problem. We don't really spend enough time with these characters to learn anything about them, which makes it hard to understand how/why they are acting as they do. Add to that, this is a mystery that isn't really that mysterious (I had strong suspicions early on) and it wraps up with a lot of lucky guessing at the end. The publisher states that this imprint is for adults with literacy problems (among others). If the others in the imprint are like this one, it will serve that purpose well. It's easy enough to read and is definitely an improvement to the "see Spot run" types of books.
    • 1/5
      I wish I could find something nice to say about this book, but I'm limited to the following: it was short and a relatively quick read.
    • 2/5
      This was unfortunately a disappointing read. It really just fizzled out. The premise was interesting-a young reporter stuck on the gossip beat stumbles upon a murder outside an art gallery opening she has been scheduled to attend-but the ending just kind of happened, with not enough quality buildup or explanation.
    • 4/5
      Being a rapid read book book, just makes me want more of the story. Love how the main character was hungry for the story and the officer was willing to help. The story just left me wanting more,can't wait for my next Linda Richard story,there will be more.
    • 1/5
      If It Bleeds is short on character development and plot. In fact, it's pretty unbelievable. Yes, the cub reporter wanting to rise in the ranks from a lowly position of gossip columnist to star crime reporter is pretty standard material, but the immaturity and actions of Nichole Charles are what make this novel so mind blowing. Nicole doesn't come off as an ingenious journalist; she looks like an immature and bumbling reporter wannabe. She uses her shoe to break into a dead artist's loft and that's good journalism? She's fortunate she didn't lose her job, instead of just being sent back upstairs to cover parties. In fairness to the author, the actual writing in the book is not bad (it read smoothly and easily), but the plot and character development needed a lot more work for it to be a finished product. There was reference in the author's note that lent me to think that this book is meant to be noir. If this is true, I'm left scratching my head.
    • 2/5
      This was an ERC that left me puzzled. I was surprised at how short it was, 159 pages of fairly large print. Then I noticed it was a "Rapid Reads" book. It is apparently part of a series of novels aimed at those who want to read an entire book in an hour or so. The book itself had promise. Richards creates a protagonist who is a young society reporter who wants to do serious stories. When an artist is found dead at a gallery opening she is covering, she sees her chance. But from there it goes down hill. Supporting characters are never developed, just there to help the plot speed along. Clues are never really shared with the reader, just apparently stored in the main character's head. At the end, she announces who the murderer was, without any real explanation, and there it ends. Richards seems to be a good writer and I plan on tracking down her other works.
    • 3/5
      Nicole Charles longs for the career as an investigative reporter for which she prepared with a journalism degree. She considers herself lucky to have landed a job as a gossip columnist and has made the most of it. But, she eagerly leaps at the chance for a real job when a dead body all but lands in her arms. Unfortunately, not only is the top reporter given the story, but he actually steals her lead for the first article and then proceeds to rub her nose in it. This story is short and sweet, too short to fulfill its potential and display the author's ability to layer the plot and characters more effectively. Clearly, Nicky is not a quitter and voices some frustration, but it's just not developed fully as a driving passion. Her mother offers up a warning as a nice bit of foreshadowing which then goes nowhere. Her antagonist is too polite at the end after being so nasty and dismissive toward her early on. This could have been much stronger in a longer format.
    • 3/5
      To put it simply, I found this book quite dry. Although the idea of the story was interesting, and the ending had a massive twist, I found the main character was lacking depth, and that important details were missing. The book felt incomplete; there was very minimal foreshadowing leading to the ending, making it seem as if the conclusion was for a different story. The solution to the case was a far reach from what was going on in the rest of the book. The idea for the whole book seemed to be too large for the number of words it was put into. But even putting all that into consideration, for a quick, mindless read I found the book to be enjoyable enough.
    • 3/5
      Nicole Charles is a Vancouver society columnist. She struggles with the stigma attached to her job and wants to be a real investigative journalist. She may have her chance when she discovers the body of Steve Marsh, an emerging artist. This book is part of the Rapid Reads series which, according to the publisher’s website, “is committed to providing books that will help adults achieve their literacy goals in an interesting and accessible way.” The short format certainly makes for a quick read. The problem is that there is insufficient opportunity for character development. The focus tends to be on plot, so the novel will appeal more to readers who want action. What I found confusing is that there were events that were mentioned but seemed to serve little purpose. Why, for example, are we told about Mrs. Fast and Mrs. Noble, two women who live in Nicole’s building? Why is there repeated reference to Nicole’s looking for a “good boob shot” for each social event she attends? Nicole’s visit to her mother also seems unnecessary since their conversation focuses on a woman’s trying to set Nicole up on a date?Some potential conflicts are introduced, but then they fizzle out. That is the case with both Erica West and Brent Hartigan. Why suggest conflicts if they are not going to be developed.There are events which do not seem realistic. Would a journalist who wants to be taken seriously focus on “boob shots”? Would that journalist risk being charged with break and enter? Would a newspaper editor permit plagiarism? Would a police investigator provide key evidence to a reporter and then ask that it not be revealed to the public for three days? This book is supposedly the first of a series of Nicole Charles mysteries. Perhaps some of the possible conflicts will be further developed in subsequent books. As the first in the series, this book does provide enough interest to entice readers to read the second.

    Book preview

    If It Bleeds - Linda L. Richards

    If It

    Bleeds

    If It

    Bleeds

    LINDA L. RICHARDS

    Copyright © 2014 Linda L. Richards

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

    Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

    Richards, Linda, 1960-, author

    If It bleeds / Linda L. Richards.

    (Rapid Reads)

    Issued also in print and electronic formats.

    ISBN 978-1-4598-0734-1 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4598-0735-8 (pdf ).--

    ISBN 978-1-4598-0736-5 (epub)

    I. Title. II. Series: Rapid reads

    PS8585.1182513 2014    C813'.54    C2014-901952-1

    C2014-901953-X

    First published in the United States, 2014

    Library of Congress Control Number: 2014936095

    Summary: Nicole Charles is a gossip columnist for a big city paper who gets the chance to cover a murder after she finds the body. (RL 4.0)

    Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

    Cover design by Jenn Playford

    Cover photography by Getty Images

    www.orcabook.com

    17  16  15  14  •  4  3  2  1

    I don’t mind a reasonable amount of trouble.

    —Dashiell Hammett

    Contents

    ONE

    TWO

    THREE

    FOUR

    FIVE

    SIX

    SEVEN

    EIGHT

    NINE

    TEN

    ELEVEN

    TWELVE

    THIRTEEN

    FOURTEEN

    FIFTEEN

    SIXTEEN

    SEVENTEEN

    EIGHTEEN

    NINETEEN

    TWENTY

    TWENTY-ONE

    TWENTY-TWO

    AUTHOR’S NOTE

    ONE

    To get ahead in my line, you either get a break, make your own or happen to be in the right place at the right time. I got lucky one night with all three. Too bad that meant someone had to die. I try not to think about that.

    My being there had nothing to do with the death of Steve Marsh. He would have died even if I wasn’t there. Good thing for me, I was.

    When I arrived, I realized he wasn’t at the party. Since I hadn’t taken his picture that would cause trouble if not corrected. I’d been told.

    But he’s not here, darling, Erica West told me when I asked if she’d seen Marsh. As my question sunk in, she arched an eyebrow at me. The lights in the gallery made her pale hair shine. It reflected the dried-blood gloss of her nails.

    He must have been, but I don’t see him now, she said. She indicated a back entrance with a rapid flick of her fingers. A waiter caught the motion and rushed over with a tray of drinks. No one denies Erica West. She has a way about her. But she wasn’t after a drink. She slid one finger up and down the neck of the ice swan on the table beside her. The motion was innocent enough, yet implied a threat. And not only to the swan.

    I trust we’ll see his smiling face in your column in the morning? she said brightly. Too brightly. I felt a sliver of fear.

    I knew I shouldn’t reply. I didn’t have the right answer. Instead, I asked a question. What’s he drive?

    Sam can tell you. Another flick of those deadly fingers. This time at a thin man with spiky yellow hair.

    Sam, darling, Erica called, what does Steve drive?

    Audi, Sam shot back. Silver SUV. He barely missed a beat of his chat with three women dressed in black. I grabbed my purse and charged toward the back. Moving in the direction Erica had indicated, I passed through a back room and came out into an alley. It smelled of old brick and rotten garbage.

    Vancouver summer days are long. It was after nine at night, and the light was starting to fade. It was going to be a beautiful sunset. At another time, I would have paused to enjoy it. But not tonight. The thought of Erica’s perfect nails melting holes in the ice swan’s neck floated in my memory like a threat.

    The alley was a shock. Inside the gallery, everything was white and clean and the kind of empty that comes with a big price tag. White concrete benches on a polished concrete floor. Hidden lighting. Music floating on clouds.

    That gallery could have been on any corner in any good neighborhood in the city. But go out the back door and into the alley, and you remembered it wasn’t just anywhere. It was in a part of town that was changing so quickly no one had bothered to tell the whores and the night crawlers.

    Patrons of the arts enjoy these dances with the dark side. They think it’s cool to have to step over a sleeping drunk or two when they go to a gallery. That way, when they pay big bucks for the work of some artist they’ve never heard of before, they know they’re getting the real deal. It puts them in direct contact with starving for the art. Never mind that most new artists who get those prices for a painting have the support of a good gallery, an arts grant or both.

    So the alley was a shock after the clean gallery. A group of junkies saw me come through the door. They began to move my way. Slowly. I didn’t think I’d be in danger if they caught up with me. But I didn’t feel like getting hassled for spare change. Not in an alley by myself.

    I looked down the alley, thinking Steve Marsh would be long gone. Then I could head back into the gallery and nurse my regret with a drink. So I was not happy when I spotted the silver Audi. It was parked a couple of doors down. Idling. Someone in plain sight behind the wheel. I cursed myself. If only I’d tried to answer some of Erica’s questions. I’d probably still be in the gallery, and Marsh would have had the chance to drive away.

    The junkie pack was closing in on my right. I moved toward the Audi, parked with its taillights facing me. The driver’s window was up. Marsh faced away from me. I thought he was maybe talking on the phone. But I couldn’t see what he was up to and I couldn’t see his face.

    I waited, hoping he’d sense me standing next to his car. But he didn’t move. And the junkies were closing in. I couldn’t just stand there. I raised my hand and tapped on the window. Once, twice, three times. Hard. No response.

    By now

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