Little Boy Blue: Social Worker Claire Conover Mystery #4 by Margaret Fenton
Publisher: Aakenbaaken & Kent (Oct, 2024)
Category: Mystery, Amateur Sleuth
Tour Dates January 6-30
ISBN: 978-1958022184
Available in Print and ebook, 228 pages
Description Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton
The latest installment in Fenton’s acclaimed southern mystery series, Claire Conover Mysteries, featuring Birmingham, Alabama child welfare social worker Claire Conover, Little Boy Blue is a confident, compelling, and captivating tale about long-buried secrets, revenge—and how nothing, absolutely nothing, is quite as it seems.
Claire Conover is in the midst of personal upheaval: an indiscretion has cost Claire her relationship with longtime love Grant Summerville, and she is trying to weather the challenges of being a single foster mother to 13-year-old LaReesa Jones. At least her job hasn’t put her in danger again—at least until Grant is accused of child abuse by a former employee, Regina Maynard. Even though she and Grant are broken up, Claire vows to prove his innocence, despite repeated protests and warnings from her Unit Supervisor, Mac McAlister. Convinced of Grant’s innocence, Claire starts to investigate.
Then Regina is murdered, and Claire takes charge of Regina’s six-year-old son, Dylan. When she starts to unravel the destruction and chaos Regina left behind, Claire realizes there is no shortage of suspects in Regina’s murder, including Grant himself. Regina had plenty of enemies, including people she stole from and ex-lovers she was blackmailing. But who wanted her dead? And more importantly why?
Complicating matters even further, LaReesa’s drug-addled biological mother comes back into the picture, causing the teenager to spiral– and causing Claire immeasurable anxiety over what the future could hold.
The stakes have never been higher: against the backdrop of a ticking clock, Claire and Grant must work together to solve Regina’s murder before Grant loses everything. But it’s clear that someone doesn’t want the truth to come to light, and soon Claire herself becomes the target. She’s lost Grant, she’s afraid she could lose LaReesa …but this time, Claire may lose something even more valuable: her life.
Teeming with tension, simmering suspense, and a riveting storyline, Little Boy Blue is mesmerizing. An extraordinary new entry in Margaret Fenton’s Little series, Little Boy Blue is a brilliantly rendered, briskly paced mystery that brims with real, relatable characters, authenticity, and a powerhouse of a plot that will leave readers breathless.
Excerpt Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton
“Russell, Mac wants to see you. Dr. Pope’s in there, too.”
Russell shot me a look. Mac McAlister was our Unit Supervisor. A summons from Mac wasn’t terribly unusual. I just hoped it wasn’t a problem with one of Russell’s cases. Dr. Teresa Pope was the County Director, and a summons from her was very unusual. Both of us were curious as he made his way toward Mac’s office, on the perimeter of our floor.
He was gone a long time. I was starting to worry about him and wondering what was up when Mac appeared in the door. Mac was a pudgy man with a ring of gray hair whose loose tie was always too short. He pointed at me with his ever-present unlit cigar. “My office.”
I followed him through the maze of cubicles to his office, where rust-colored files from our unit were stacked everywhere, waiting on reviews. Dr. Pope sat in one of the chairs facing Mac’s desk. Everything about her was perfect, as usual. Her hair, her posture, her suit. I straightened my wrinkled shirt as I looked at Russell, who stood near the window, a serious look on his handsome, blond-hair-framed face. Mac motioned toward the remaining unoccupied chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”
I sat, as directed. Mac looked at me. “We have been discussing whether or not we should even share this with you.”
“What?” I asked. My mind was racing.
Mac continued. “We received a report this morning. I am assigning this to Russell. You are not, not, to get involved with this case in any way. I want that to be very clear.” Next to me, Dr. Pope nodded.
I took the single sheet of white paper he offered me. It was a reporting form, the first step that happens when someone calls in a report of child abuse or neglect. The social worker in the intake unit takes all the information and gives it to Mac, who assigns it to one of us.
Name of complainant, it said. “Regina Maynard” was written in loopy handwriting. Name of child, Dylan Maynard. Age 6. Male.
Name of the accused, Grant Summerville.
©Margaret Fenton
Review Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton
Guest Review by Mark
Not everything is going swimmingly in the life of Claire Conover.
As a social worker in the deep south, Claire is used to dealing with some pretty messed up situations, but nothing can prepare her for when her ex-boyfriend, Grant gets accused of hurting a child.
Right away, Claire knows that the accusation is false. She is familiar with the woman who made it –the mother of the child, a woman named Regina – and she knows that this woman is out for blood.
See, Regina was fired by Grant not too long ago and Claire believes that the woman is simply accusing him for revenge.
As she begins to help get to the bottom of the story, it seems likely that Claire will discover that she is correct about Regina’s ulterior motives. However, when the woman in question soon turns up dead, Claire suddenly realizes that she will have to figure out who killed her before that comes back on Grant as well.
The only problem? Regina wasn’t exactly a popular girl, and there are a lot of people who may have wanted her dead.
Claire has her work cut out of her, but as clever as she is, she’s definitely up for the challenge.
This is the fourth book in Margaret Fenton’s Claire Conover mystery series and it was a total delight to read!
I couldn’t put this book down, and having some experience with relatives who are social workers, I found that aspect of it to be very accurate.
Fenton’s writing is really spectacular! Throughout the novel, it’s very clear how Claire’s internal feelings about Grant are driving her actions and I could sympathize a lot with her on that front.
This would be an excellent book club book because of the discussions about social work and relationships that it would create.
Not just a good read, but a great one!
About Margaret Fenton
Award winning author, Margaret Fenton spent nearly ten years as a child and family therapist for her county’s child welfare department before focusing on writing. Hence, her work tends to reflect her interest in social causes and mental health, especially where kids are concerned. She has been a planning coordinator of Murder in the Magic City since its inception in 2003. Margaret lives in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover with her husband, a retired software developer, and their adorable Papillons.
She received her B.A. in English from the Newcomb College of Tulane University.
Website: https://margaretfenton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557966351056
Pre-order Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton
Amazon (eBook coming soon)
Bookshop.org (eBook coming soon)
Giveaway Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton
This giveaway is for 2 print copies and is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 28, 2024 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Follow Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton
Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Jan 6 Guest Review-Mark & Excerpt
Gud Reader Goodreads Jan 7 Review
Amy Locks, Hooks and Books Jan 8 Guest Review-Sal & Excerpt
Linda Lu Goodreads Jan 9 Review
Bee BookPleasures.com Jan 14 Review
DT Amazon & Goodreads Jan 17 Review
Kathleen Celtic Lady Reviews Jan 24 Guest Review-Laura & Excerpt
Steve Silver Screen Videos Jan 27 Interview
Gracie Goodreads Jan 28 Review
Steve Silver Screen Videos Jan 29 Review
Leslie StoreyBook Reviews Jan 30 Guest Review- Nora and Guest Post
