Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery) [Paperback]

Stacey Klemstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2008 | Series: Rennie Harlow Mystery

The Truth Is...

It's been a bad year. Until recently, I had a handsome husband, a good job, and a renovated condo in Chicago. Now, thanks to one "exotically beautiful" paralegal, I'm divorced, faking my way through a freelance writing "career" and living above my hypochondriac mother's garage in Morrisville, the small town I couldn't leave fast enough at eighteen. On top of all that, I just found Doc Hallacy, local pharmacist, dead behind his counter. The worst part is, he's the third dead body I've stumbled across this year.

...A Bitter Pill

I guess it's bad luck, or maybe just bad timing. Former bad boy turned Morrisville Sheriff, Jake Bristol, thinks I'm just too nosy for my own good. But as a struggling freelancer for the Morrisville Gazette, it's my job to be nosy. So as I delve deeper into Doc's death, I'm not surprised to find that things don't add up. This isn't a "robbery gone wrong" or the work of a desperate junkie. I'm pretty sure someone has a secret they're killing to keep. Only question is--who's next?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bitter Pill puts the whodunit squarely and skillfully in the reader's lap. Her protagonist, Rennie Harlow, is a fun-loving, recently scorned woman who…home from the big city…can't seem to stop finding dead bodies. The pace is perfect for a rowdy run through mayhem and the puzzle keeps you hopping from one suspect to the next." --Luisa Buehler, author of The Rosary Bride

About the Author

The daughter of a Lutheran minister and a teacher, Stacey never found any shortage of books in her house or people to read to her (though her mother swears she still has most of Little House on the Prairie memorized from reading it aloud so often). Stacey created her first story before she could even write, dictating it to her mother, who jotted it down on a paper bag. Growing up, Stacey wanted to be Nancy Drew, a fellow redhead and one of the first fictional heroines she ever admired. She was always eager for the next trip to the used bookstore to find out what Nancy, George and Bess were up to now and whether Nancy would ever figure out that investigating the strange noise by herself was the quickest way to end up bound and gagged in an attic somewhere. Stacey graduated from Valparaiso University in 1997 with an English degree. She loves writing stories, and she is grateful to God every time she is given the opportunity to do so. She currently lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, and two retired racing greyhounds, Snostorm and Joezooka. Visit her website to email her or to learn more about Bitter Pill and her other works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Echelon Press Publishing (June 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159080550X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590805503
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,277,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Bitter Pill, October 20, 2011

By 

Linda Bass - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery) (Paperback)

Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery)

Irene Harlow Moved Back To A Small Town In Southern Illinois To Take Care Of Her Hypercondriac Mom. Okay, So She Tucked Her Tail And Ran From Chicago When Her Husband Left Her For Another Woman, But She Had The Ultimate Revenge--His Precious Car And Alimony! Morrisville Was A Town So Small That Everyone knew Each Others Business And Since She Returned She Was The Queen At Finding Dead Bodies! She Had Worked Out With The Pharmacist To Give Her Hypercondriac Mom Sugar Pills But She Never Expected To Find Him Beaten To Death With One Of His Canes With The Now Married Sheriff She Had A Crush On Suspecting Her!

Stacey Klemstein Pens A Good Story Where Irene Harlow, A Part-time Reporter For The Gazette Suddenly Has The Pleasure Of Finding Dead Bodies And Is Chuckled At By The Police; She Has A Crush On Jake But Having An Affair Was Not Her Style And She Didn't Want To Endure The Stares Of The Small Townspeople Much Less Her Mother. Bitter Pill Is Aptly Named As The Murders Center On A Pharmacist Who Was Badly Beaten To Death And His Leaving millions To His One Time Enemy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, July 23, 2009

By 

Anna - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery) (Paperback)

The opening of the book gives us a little info about Rennie. Her part-time job as a journalist and a detective. She is constantly being somewhere at the wrong time. So having to stop by the police station to give a statement. The knowledge acquired can't be published until the criminal case is solved. Doc Hallacy's death had an impact on the residents of Morrisville, a small town. The investigation has alot of unexpected consequences. As usual Rennie's life is in jeopardy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Page Turner, January 5, 2009

By 

Julia Brayne (Chicago, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery) (Paperback)

Stacey's first book was science fiction. Her 2nd book, Bitter Pill, is a mystery whose heroine is Rennie Harlow. As a mystery buff I have read hundreds of mysteries and so feel qualified to say that Stacey's first mystery is excellent. I don't want to give away the plot, but the book is a real page turner and Stacey keeps the tension going at a nice pace. By the end of the book I was so engaged with Rennie that I can't wait for the next book to see how things turn out in her personal life. Keep them coming Stacey.