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    Circle of Influence
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    Circle of Influence
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    Circle of Influence
    Ebook392 pages5 hours

    Circle of Influence

    By Annette Dashofy

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania's tight-knit Vance Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President's abandoned car.

    As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also those closest to them.

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    CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE by Annette Dashofy - A Henery Press Mystery. If you love one, you’ll probably love them all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHenery Press
    Release dateMar 25, 2014
    ISBN9781940976013
    Author

    Annette Dashofy

    Annette Dashofy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series and the Detective Honeywell series. She won the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature for her standalone, Death By Equine, and has garnered multiple Agatha Award nominations. Her short fiction has also earned a Derringer nomination. Annette and her husband live on ten acres of what was her grandfather's dairy farm in southwestern Pennsylvania with their very spoiled cat, Kensi.

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    Reviews for Circle of Influence

    4/5

    38 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Read this for the cross-country reading challenge I was doing (this takes place in Pennsylvania) One of several good series starts I made this month.
    • 5/5
      Vance Township, Pennsylvania is small town America. Everyone knows everything about everybody or at least they think they do. So when the first body shows up no one can come up with a good motive other than the the well liked family man is dead. The second body is a little easier to come up with a motive...everyone hated him so there were lots of suspects. It's not a cozy but it's not your everyday murder mystery either. It's just a good who-done-it that will keep you guessing to the very last word.
    • 4/5
      Henery Press is certainly on a roll with interesting, smart, readable mysteries. Circle of Influence continues that roll. It's not a cozy, it's a straight mystery. It goes somewhere I didn't really need it to go. But that only slightly lessened my enjoyment. Overall, this is a very good read with a good plot and likeable characters.The main characters are Zoe, an EMT and Pete, the police chief. After a very contentious city counsel meeting which ended with a shouting match between Jerry McBirney, Chairman of the town supervisors, and pretty much everyone else. Ted Bassi is particularly upset because McBirney has Ted's mother fired as police secretary. Later in the evening when Ted is found dead in McBirney's car, everyone from Ted's wife Rose to Zoe herself are considered suspects.The small town setting of this book ensures that there are a lot of overlapping relationships and deep dark secrets. Zoe does keep information from the Pete that she should have turned over immediately and I don't care for that but she doesn't do it out of contempt for the police. She has all the respect in the world for Pete and a growing romantic interest but she feels the need to protect another character. The atmosphere is winter in Pennsylvania and Dashofy does a great job writing atmosphere that you can feel. Another plus for me is that there is no sign of a triangle! If you don't mind your mysteries a little grittier than cozy, this is a good one.Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      4 STARSI like Zoe Chambers. This had pretty good suspense. I guessed right on small parts and missed the big pictures by far. Boy was there plenty of drama. Plenty of suspects. Clean read. Plenty of secrets.Zoe Chambers is a paramedic in a small township. She rents have a house and takes care of the barn so she can keep her horse. Zoe was a party girl in high school and that still impacts her life today. A old boyfriend of hers married her best friend. Now he is murdered. She does not believe some of the rumors she is hearing about him. His wife is still her good friend. She is also close to his two teenagers.Because it is a small township the county is taken over the murder case. The local Police Chief Pete does not like that. Pete likes to flirt with Zoe. His secretary has been arrested for stealing a computer.It being a small town a lot of things cross with one another.I like Pete and Zoe and want them to start dating. They are keeping secrets from each other.The setting is Monongahela County, Pennsylvania. Lots of farm land.I did not want to put the book down until I had finished reading it. I want to read the next book in the series Lost Legacy and see how everyone is and what happens next for the town.I was given this ebook to read and in exchange asked to give a honest review of it by Netgalley and Henery Press. publication: March 25th 2014 by Henery Press 294 pages ISBN 9781940976006
    • 4/5
      I am always looking for a new series to read so when I was intrigued by the description of Circle of Influence and saw that it was the first book in a series I knew that I had to request it on NetGalley. Circle of Influence is the first book in the Zoe Chambers Mystery series which follows Zoe Chambers (duh!), a paramedic in Vance Township, Pennsylvania.Vance Township is filled with secrets and Zoe Chambers has quite a few of her own. There are some dark things from her past that are brought back into her life when a body is found in the abandoned car of the deeply disliked Township Board President. Zoe is a really interesting character to follow. I loved getting to read about her work as a paramedic it was interesting and easy to understand even for someone who has little medical knowledge. I felt sorry for Zoe when the dark parts of her past were revealed. She has already had to deal with a lot and now with the events that happen in the book she has to deal with so much more.I really liked the friendship between Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams. They both are similar in that they have things from their past that they'd like to forget. I liked how their friendship seemed to be growing into something more and am excited to see where it goes in the rest of the series.There is more than one dead body in this book and there is plenty of mystery that needs to be solved. I was constantly trying to solve the mysteries and ending up mostly wrong. Zoe ends up in the middle of the mysteries trying to solve them along with Pete, even though she tries to keep some of her involvement away from him.The action towards the end of the book was great. The tension and suspense just kept building and everything was finally revealed. I was horrified by some things that happened but was glad to see the book end how it did. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of this series.Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. It is casual and unpretentious. I like stories about realistic people who live in rural areas. You only have to read the news to know that crazy things happen in small towns where every one is related. I plan to read the rest of the series.
    • 1/5
      Some awkward phrasing. I couldn't get involved and stopped reading early.
    • 4/5
      Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner and Police Chief Pete Adams investigate the death of a body found in the abandoned car of the unpopular Jerry McBirney, the Township Board President.
      An enjoyable well-written mystery and I look forward to reading the next in the series
    • 4/5
      Zoe Chambers is a paramedic in the small town rural Pennsylvania community she grew up in. It’s a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else and Zoe is privy to all their secrets. At a particularly nasty Township Board meeting, Joe McBirney arrogant president of the Board, demands that Sylvia the Board secretary be arrested for the theft of an old, no longer used computer. Despite the protests of attendees to the meeting, especially Ted Bassi, Sylvia’s son, the sheriff, Pete Adams, is forced to take her into custody. Zoe is sure that this has to be a mistake but, later that night, Ted is found dead in McBirney’s car. A detective from another police force takes over the case but, as the bodies pile up and a teenager goes missing, Pete is brought back into the case and he solicits Zoe’s aid in the investigation. Circle of Influence is the first in a series by author Annette Dashovy and it’s small town Americana mystery at its busiest, full of secrets, lies, and betrayals. Although it has many of the attributes of a cozy, this is definitely not crumpets and tea with little old ladies cozy. There’s enough action, suspense and twists and turns to keep the reader guessing right to the end. Throw in small town politics and a raging blizzard and it makes for a very engrossing and enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      I’ll be truthful, I read Annette Dashofy’s CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE back in March and this review sadly has been sitting unfinished. Recently Dashofy hit USA Today’s best sellers list and I wanted you to know about her Zoe Chambers series. Plus, I really enjoyed CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE.We have good character development. Our main character is Zoe Chambers, an EMT who likes to ride horses. She’s tough and can easily hold her own in any situation. Zoe is also very loyal to her friends and she’s the type of person who will drop everything to be there in someone’s time of need. Then we have the ever so yummy head of police, Pete Adams! You’ll love him and understand his frustration at Zoe when she gets involved in investigating. There’s a potential romance set up between these two and if Dashofy goes that route, I won’t be disappointed! We have a few secondary characters that play a role including Rose Bassi and her children, Allison and Logan. Of course we have to have a bad guy and that’s Jerry McBirney and oh boy is he something!Narrative is third person and I really liked how Dashofy set things up. It’s easy for us to imagine who did it and why, but sadly any preconceived ideas behind the whodoneit are thrown out the door more than once. Dashofy gives us a handful of characters, but it’s easy to keep track of who’s who and their role. I enjoyed the small town feel as well as the little details about what it’s like being an EMT. Also, I’ve never been to Pennsylvania, but Dashofy’s descriptions of the area made me feel as I had been.As for the overall mystery, there are two factors at play. The first has to do with the death of Ted and the second factor is the town’s politics. Dashofy gives us an intimate glimpse at small town politics and she is pretty much spot on! With regards to the murder mystery, let’s just say I wasn’t surprised at who it turned out to be. I had my suspicions because he totally gave off the creep vibe and so when we get to the wonderful “aha” moment, I was relieved; not that I was right but that someone like him was caught. I also won’t go into detail regarding the reason Ted died because it would be spoiler, but oh the emotions you’ll feel upon the reason will make your heart break for Ted and his family. I wasn’t too thrilled with the initial set up (the reason why Ted had to die and the incident leading up to his death), but Dashofy reminds us that in the real world, things like what happened to Ted’s family do occur.What I really liked about Dashofy’s CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE is the small town feel, but also it didn’t quite feel like it was taking place in a small town. You can easily picture your city and I also liked that it took place in winter! There are so many things that can happen in winter that might contaminate a crime scene: snow build up hides footprints, weather delays, etc. CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE was just a fresh of breath air and I really enjoyed it from start to finish.Overall, Annette Dashofy’s CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE was an enjoyable debut. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series, LOST LEGACY and see what wonderful tension simmers between Zoe and Pete.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis/blurb.......Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President’s abandoned car. As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also those closest to them.Books in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series:CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE #1LOST LEGACY #2 (on sale Fall 2014)Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all…ABOUT THE AUTHORAnnette Dashofy, a Pennsylvania farm gal born and bred, grew up with horses, cattle, and, yes, chickens. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT for the local ambulance service. Since then, she’s worked a variety of jobs, giving her plenty of fodder for her lifelong passion for writing. She, her husband, and their two spoiled cats live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy. Her short fiction, including a 2007 Derringer nominee, has appeared in Spinetingler, Mysterical-e, and Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology. Her newest short story will appear in the Lucky Charms Anthology (December 2013).Advance Praise“The texture of small town Pennsylvania comes alive in Annette Dashofy's debut mystery. Discerning mystery readers will appreciate Dashofy's expert details and gripping storytelling. Zoe Chambers is an authentic character who will entertain us for a long time.” – Nancy Martin, Author of the Blackbird Sister Mysteries-----------------------------------My take......This is my 7th read of the year and despite a 2014 resolution to increase the number of books I read that have been written by female authors, this is the first of the year to date. (I’ll have to sneak another in soon to keep on course for the 20-25% I’m aiming for.)We have another debut book and another small town mystery, this time set in Pennsylvania. Our main lead is Zoe Chambers - a single lady. She’s a paramedic, often works nights, loves horses and is a good friend to many in her small town. We have Pete Adams, the head of the local police, a friend and sometime poker playing partner of Zoe. They could be more than friends though nothing has happened just yet.Into the mix strides pantomime villain Jerry McBirney. McBirney is chairman of the township’s resident’s committee. He has some authority over the town’s finances and police department and he’s thick-skinned and hard-headed enough to implement and push through changes that may be beneficial to Jerry McBirney and less so to the folks of Vance Township. Jerry forces Pete to arrest his secretary, Sylvia over the misappropriation of an old council-owned computer, much to the ire of the town’s residents and Ted Bassi, Sylvia’s son. Later that night, Bassi is discovered dead in McBirney’s car.McBirney is an immediate suspect in the enquiry, which Pete undertakes. Pete’s position though is somewhat compromised by the fact that Marcy, his ex-wife is none other than the current Mrs McBirney. We now have another police force and detective involved – Wayne Baronick of the Monongahela County Police Department, much to Adams chagrin. Our growing cast of characters further expands as we are introduced to Ted Bassi’s family - his children - Allison and Logan and his wife Rose. Logan, his son convinces Zoe that his dad’s death must be connected to McBirney’s obsession with the computer. Logan steals the hard drive from the PC and Zoe, with a previous unpleasant history with McBirney, against her better judgement agrees to help him try and prove Jerry’s involvement in the murder.Secrets, small town gossip, snow blizzards, town politics and old flames all collide with further crimes committed before the climax in this busy little book.Circle of Influence was an entertaining read, populated by interesting characters in an intriguing small-town setting. I wasn’t totally blown away by this one, but was sufficiently engaged to consider trying the next book in the series when it comes out later this year. A little bit softer and cosier than my usual crime fiction fare, but nothing wrong with that.4 from 5I assessed this one via Net Galley. The book is published in March, 2014I’ll be crossing off Pennsylvania on my 2014 USA State Reading Challenge now.