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The Dead of Winter: A Piper Blackwell Mystery Kindle Edition

by Jean Rabe (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 263 ratings
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In a deceptively peaceful county, a murderer hides in plain sight…

Fifty-eight minutes into her first day on the job, twenty-three-year-old Sheriff Piper Blackwell is faced with a grisly murder—the victim artfully posed amid decorations on his lawn. Drawing on former military training, Piper must prove herself worthy of the sheriff’s badge, and that won’t be easy.

Chief Deputy Oren Rosenberg, Piper’s opponent in the recent election, doesn’t like her and wants her to fail. She doesn’t like him either, but she needs Oren to help catch the killer before another victim is discovered. Too late!

As Piper leads the manhunt, another crisis hits close to home. Her father, the previous sheriff, is fighting for his life, and she is torn between family and duty. Facing personal and professional threats, Piper has to weather a raging storm, keep the sheriff’s department from crumbling around her, and reel in a killer during the most brutal winter sleepy Spencer County, Indiana, has experienced.
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  1. Book 1 of 6
    Piper Blackwell Mystery
  2. Print length
    218 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 1, 2018
  6. File size
    4550 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

THE DEAD OF WINTER was a blast--lots of fun to read! Jean Rabe'scharacters come to life through the written word, and it takes a realwriting talent to accomplish this feat.-- Denise Dietz, USA Today bestselling author

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07F6WWDDV
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boone Street Press (July 1, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4550 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 218 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 263 ratings

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  1. Jean Rabe

    Jean Rabe

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    USA TODAY Bestselling author Jean Rabe tosses tennis balls to her cadre of dogs when she isn't writing. She has three dozen novels and about a hundred short stories to her credit. Jean lives in a tiny town surrounded by railroad tracks, the trains providing music to type by. She loves role playing games, board games, card games, visiting museums, playing fantasy football, watching football games, and loves dogs.

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  2. Jean Rabe

    Jean Rabe

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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  3. Jean Rabe

    Jean Rabe

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    My home is filled with dogs and books. Lots of dogs and books. I am surrounded by both as I type this.

    I wear twenty-some-year-old sandals or fraying tennis shoes to work everyday, and my wardrobe is often convention t-shirts or Green Bay Packer sweats.

    I'm a mystery writer living in a tiny Midwestern town that has a gas station, a Dollar General, and a marvelous pizza place with exceedingly slow service.

    Always working on a new project or three.

    I have more than fifty books published in the fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy and mystery genres, and more than one hundred short stories. I've lost count of the number of anthologies and magazine issues I've edited. Yeah, I've been around a while.

    I'm concentrating on writing mysteries now and have a series set in Spencer County, Indiana. Piper Blackwell.

    In my spare time I dabble in roleplaying games and boardgames, toss tennis balls for my cadre of dogs, and attempt to put a dent in my to-be-read stack of novels.

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
263 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Randall Lemon
5.0 out of 5 stars Jean Rabe: the new mistress of mystery!
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
Full Disclosure: I have known the author, Jean Rabe, for many years. In fact, I am mentioned first in the Acknowledgements for supplying (unknowingly) the idea for the killer's motive.
Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by this book which is Jean's first attempt, to my knowledge, in the mystery/suspense genre. Jean has been a prolific author and editor best known for work in the field of fantasy/science fiction. I have read many of her stories and novels in that area and have always enjoyed them.
I read other genres as well. Over the years; I have also enjoyed books by: GK Chesterton, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ed McBain, Mickey Spillane, David Baldacci, and numerous others. When I hear that Jean was writing a mystery, I was thrilled. When Jean later told me, rather cryptically, that I was an inspiration for a key part of the novel I was somewhat shocked. I had no idea how I could have inadvertently contributed and when I found out from reading the novel I laughed out loud.

Jean's writing is nearly flawless. The plot is intricate, the characters are completely fleshed out and the story moves along at a brisk pace, never failing to keep the reader involved. Who could ask for anything more. I understand there will be an audiobook version of "The Dead of Winter" and am looking forward to hearing that. I have also found out that Jean is currently completing a follow-up to this novel and am anxiously awaiting its publication.
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English Teacher
4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly Surprised
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2022
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I've waded through so many disappointing detective and police procedural novels that I'm delighted when I come across a well written and well plotted one with believable and sympathetic characters. I hadn't read anything by Jean Rabe before but will definitely read more from her. Recommended!
3 people found this helpful
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Katinka
5.0 out of 5 stars Mom Kat Reads
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2017
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Today I read the first of the Piper Blackwell mysteries. I want to start this review off by stating up front that I consider the author a friend, though she does not know that I am reviewing her book here today. As with all my previous reviews, I bought my own copy of the book from Amazon. This was not a solicited review.

The book starts on Piper's first day as Sheriff. Her father had been the previous sheriff but was forced to retire due to a cancer diagnosis, and a number of people suspect that she won the election based solely on her father's name.

The man she beat out for the position is currently her deputy sheriff. He doesn't believe she can do the job and is waiting for her to fail the sheriff's exam in a few months. Once that happens, he will step into the position that he feels should rightly have been his all along. While Piper has never worked in a sheriff's office before, she has spent the last 4 years in the military as an MP and been awarded a number of medals during her time serving in Iraq. Had her father not been diagnosed with cancer, she would likely have remained in the military rather than returning home to help him through his cancer treatments.

Piper hadn't actually expected to win the election, and on her first day she is called to the site of a murder. Her deputy doesn't make any attempt to disguise his opinion that she has no place even trying to be the sheriff. He and a number of others in the department feel that she is too inexperienced for the position and are resentful that a girl who is at most half their age is now their boss.

Despite all of their obvious resentment and attempts to show her up, Piper is determined to stop what quickly turns from just the one murder into an obvious serial killer in a small town that has never before had to deal with something so sinister.

Unfortunately, most of the others working in the department seem to be determined to solve the murders on their own, thus proving how unfit she is for the position. It is very difficult to accomplish anything when it seems that everyone else is working against you and doesn't want you around. Piper needs to prove to everyone (including herself) that she can do the job and deserves to be the town’s sheriff.

I absolutely loved reading this book. It sucked me in and I only set it aside to sleep at night. (I finished reading it in only 2 days.) The plot was clearly well thought out and well researched. I did run across a couple of typos, but they in no way spoiled my enjoyment of the story. I very definitely recommend reading this one. If the second book is even half as good, I'm in for a real treat once I start reading that one!
2 people found this helpful
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Dwayne Jacobs
4.0 out of 5 stars A good start to the series
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023
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The characters are well written and feel like actual people. The details are crisp and paint a very clear picture of what is going on. The plot, while not new, is put together well and generates sufficient tension. Looking forward to the next one.
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TJ
3.0 out of 5 stars Just An Okay Read
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2019
Overall: 3/5 Stars
Characters: 2.5/5 Stars
Believability: 2.5/5 Stars
Personal Opinion: 3.5/5 Stars

The bones of this story was good, but that was pulled down drastically by the characters. When your characters represent every stereotype of the small town, small minded, ignorant and egotistical police officer ever known, you've made it nearly impossible to enjoy the story beyond those characters.

I wasn't a huge fan of the somewhat stilted and choppy writing style, especially when it got applied to the dialog. It made most of the characters voices sound exactly the same. The number of characters that had the same weird habit of repeating themselves, and not just phrases, but individual words back to back, amped up that feeling of sameness.

I did enjoy the ending of this, but that was mostly because you finally get to see Piper with a spine and lose the bland, wet noodle feel she'd had through the rest of the book. Even with the ending being a bit better than the rest, this was just an okay read.
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Top reviews from other countries

sarita
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on July 15, 2018
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terrific book...give it a go
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Donald D. Allan
5.0 out of 5 stars A New Sheriff in Town
Reviewed in Canada on November 4, 2016
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“The Dead of Winter (A Piper Blackwell Mystery)” is the first novel in a new mystery series from Jean Rabe. This is apparently her first foray in writing mystery novels after writing so many best-selling fantasy and science fiction novels. The novel introduces a battle-hardened young, twenty-three year old female Military Police sergeant who has left the service to care for her ailing father, who has recently left the position of Sheriff in a rural county in the United States. She runs for the position of sheriff and wins, off her last name.
The novel skips all this backstory and jumps right into her first day on the job. A murder has occurred; the second in a decade in the county. The novel begins an intricate tale of the conflict with senior members of her police force - who refuse to accept a young inexperienced woman as their sheriff - and the horrors of what quickly becomes the Christmas Card Killer: a serial killer of all things for the new sheriff.
The telling of the story is very well done. The characters are interesting and fully flushed out. The dialogue is engaging and flows naturally. More than once I found myself with a satisfied smile on my face listening to Piper lay it out. It is a simple and refreshing story and I think like me, readers will be engrossed. That merits five stars without a doubt. I think Jean Rabe has found a niche she can flex her creativity in.
As an author, myself, I found this novel to be an interesting start to a series. I’m looking forward to the upcoming sequel “Dead of Night” to read more of Piper and her challenges as the new sheriff in town. I'm glad I bought it and even more happier to have a new tale in my head to reflect on.
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Mr L.R. Kingham
3.0 out of 5 stars A so so crime novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2019
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The story and characters are ok but the reasons behind the killings stretch belief to the limit. Most annoyingly the ex US military main character keeps referring to her time in service fighting in Iran, I'm sure the author means Iraq but why don't they proof read.
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nightreader
5.0 out of 5 stars Who is the Christmas Card murderer?
Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
There's a new sheriff in town, but not everyone is pleased. In fact, two detectives are upset, to say the least. Daughter of the retired sheriff, relations are a bit taut in the office. There is little criminal activity in the small town of Santa Claus, but things are about to change rapidly. As one body after another is found, tension builds in both the town and the office. The only thing in common, of all things, is Christmas cards, and the case soon becomes known as the CCK case, Christmas Card Killer.

I loved this first book in the Piper Blackwell series, I think the series will do well. Excitement, frustration, detection, all here for a fascinating read, what else can you ask for?
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Romantic at <3
5.0 out of 5 stars Piper rocks
Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2019
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This is a new author for me. I couldn’t put the book down. Read it in a day and a half. If you like mysteries and small town police, you should definitely check this book out. Well done Jean!
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