Reliable Sources (Alex Bernier Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Beth Saulnier (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alex Bernier Mysteries | Publication Date: November 1, 1999

In this mystery story set in a university town, irreverent newspaper reporter, Alex, plunges into an increasingly dangerous world when her police reporter lover is found dead. A brilliant murderer is waiting to cancel her story for good.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Benson University's growing reputation as "Suicide U" is on the minds of police and campus officials, gathered again at the scenic North Creek Gorge near Gabriel, N.Y. Alex Bernier, a 25-year-old reporter for the Gabriel Monitor, is shocked when she realizes that the body at the bottom of the gorge is that of her police reporter boyfriend, Adam Ellroy. Convinced that Adam would not have committed suicideAand increasingly suspicious that his work on numerous controversial stories (including a gay-bashing crime and his investigation of a previous jumper) may have angered someoneAAlex enlists the help of her co-workers and breaks open the case, uncovering a 50-year-old campus scandal and placing herself directly in the path of a murderer. Debut author Saulnier, herself a reporter, intersperses the witty dialogue and Gen-X narrative with Monitor staff articles, adding credibility and charm to Alex's task of assembling clues into tangible evidence. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Alex Bernier is a reporter for the Gabriel Monitor in upstate New York. She enjoys her life and work, but she's especially happy that her boyfriend, Adam, has returned from California and even seems ready to commit. But when Adam's body is found at the bottom of a gorge following what looks like a suicide jump, Alex is understandably distraught. She is convinced he wouldn't have killed himself. The alternative is that someone killed him--but who and why? Naturally, she launches her own investigation. The trail takes her to another suicide, a series of mysterious deaths, a gay bashing, illegal experiments, a nuclear accident, and long-hidden secrets dating back to World War II. Saulnier writes with a breezy freshness that's fun and appealing, and her heroine is fast talking, irreverent, and wholly likable. The story does take a long time to unfold, and there are numerous characters and subplots that seem unnecessary to the main plot. Overall, though, this is an entertaining, enjoyable read for mystery fans who enjoy small-town settings and female sleuths. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446607819
• ISBN-13: 978-0446607810
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,342,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fresh new voice, and some fun twists and turns!, October 11, 1999

By 

Jeffrey Anbinder "Beeeej" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reliable Sources (Alex Bernier Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Too many of today's legal thrillers and mass-market mysteries share the same cynical, cinematic voice. Maybe they've had their uniqueness ground out of them by middle-of-the-road-minded editors, or maybe the writers don't have the talent for anything but clever mimicry. I'm tired of the daring-lawyer-who-gets-too-close-to-his-client, and of the infallible-career-woman-with-kids-and-a-disturbing-knowledge-of-forensics who seem to make up most mystery writers' protagonist lists these days.

But Beth Saulnier has come up with a fresh new voice in journalist Alex Bernier - a strong, three-dimensional character with realistic flaws and foibles, and a classic penchant for digging deep while missing what should be obvious - not just to her, but to us.

I was very impressed with the number of threads Saulnier kept going at once, each one providing a possible suspect (or two). The only down side to this was that I still craved resolution for a few of them after I'd turned the last page.

The guilty pleasure of being an alum of the university on which "Benson" is based, and of still living in the city Saulnier has fictionalized as "Gabriel," may have increased my enjoyment. It was fun trying to guess what bar the "Citizen Kane" was, for instance - and trying to remember if there really are any one-way streets going *up* East Hill rather than down.

But, much as with Allison Lurie's "The War Between the Tates," or Matt Ruff's "Fool on the Hill," the setting does not overwhelm the plot and the characters, so people who've never set foot in Ithaca should still find it a compelling, tantalizing mystery. And even if you figure out whodunnit before Bernier does (as I did), the suspense of "how will she get out of THIS?!" is pretty tasty.

As has become the trend in paperback mystery, the first chapter of Saulnier's next novel ("Distemper") can be found after the last chapter of this one. Cruel and inhuman! Is it June yet?!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY FIRST BOOK BY BETH SAULNIER--BUT NOT MY LAST!, March 24, 2003

By 

R. A. Taylor "avid reader" (FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reliable Sources (Alex Bernier Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the books by this author. While I figured out early on "who done it", which I don't generally do -- I read for pleasure and relaxation, not to solve the case before the end of the book -- I still enjoyed the mystery. But knowing the Who, I had to keep reading to find out the Why. I thought the plot was very well worked out. Overall a very enjoyable read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alex Bernier is a great new character, March 31, 2002

By 

S. Gould "gouldpjaks" (Woodmere, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reliable Sources (Alex Bernier Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Beth Saulnier's leading lady, Alex Bernier involves herself in just the kinds of intrigue I used to imagine I might enjoy had I been as brave, as irreverent, and as bright as she is. Instead I'll gladly settle settle for reading Alex's exploits. 'Reliable Sources' is a great introduction to Alex and her small but compelling gang of cohorts. The book which involves an unauthorized investigation by Gabriel Monitor reporter Alex Bernier into the supposed suicide of her lover and friend is refreshingly well told. Alex is honest,intelligent, humorous and both a reflection of and sometimes critic of her generation x culture. I reccommend reading the entire series of Alex Bernier mysteries. I could not stop at just one.