Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Review: Troubled Water: A Lark Chadwick Mystery by John DeDakis




  • Series: Lark Chadwick Mystery
  • Paperback: 260 pages
  • Publisher: Strategic Media Books (February 15, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1939521076
  • ISBN-13: 978-1939521071


Book Description

Just as young journalist Lark Chadwick is about to begin her new job on the cops and courts beat, she discovers the body of a strangled girl - the first victim of a serial killer. Lark's got the inside track, but there are complications: jealous rivals in the newsroom, her job in danger, a husky colleague who becomes a suspect who becomes a suspect, a superstar athlete with anger issues. And just who is that mysterious bag boy at the local market? Wit the help of her friend and mentor Lionel Stone, Lark's nerve is tested like never before in a dramatic life or death showdown with the killer. "Troubled Water" is the third installment in the Lark Chadwick mystery suspense series written by long time CNN journalist John DeDakis.


About the Author

 Author and CNN Senior Copy Editor John DeDakis is an editor and writer for the Emmy and Peabody-Award winning "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" (Mon.-Fri. 5-7pm ET and Saturday at 6pm ET).

DeDakis (pronounced deh-DAY-kiss) is the author of the mystery/suspense novel "Fast Track" published by ArcheBooks. Set in southern Wisconsin, it's the story of a young woman's search for purpose as she solves the mystery surrounding the car-train collision which orphaned her as an infant. The novel deals with issues of suicide, journalistic integrity, anonymous sources, and mentoring relationships.

"Fast Track" grew out of two events in the author's life: a fatal car/train crash he witnessed as a youngster in 1959 and the suicide of his sister in 1980.

His second novel, "Bluff," a sequel to "Fast Track," based on his four-day, 25-mile hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, was published Dec. 6, 2010 by ArcheBooks.

DeDakis, a native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, began his journalism career in 1969 at a campus radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was tear gassed while covering an anti-Vietnam War riot in 1970. He earned a B.A. in Journalism from that university in 1977 following a stint in the U.S. Army where he worked from 1972-74 as a Special Events Reporter at The American Forces Network - Europe, based in Frankfurt, Germany.

DeDakis is a former White House Correspondent and has interviewed such luminaries as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Alfred Hitchcock.

DeDakis has been with CNN since July 1988. From 2001 to 2005, he supervised the writing on CNN's "Daybreak," anchored by Carol Costello.

From 1976 to 1983, DeDakis was a reporter at WMTV (NBC-15) in Madison, Wisconsin. From 1983 to 1988, he was a correspondent with CBN News in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

In addition to book signings and readings, DeDakis frequently speaks on the topic "From Journalist to Novelist: (Or How I Learned to Stop Telling the Truth and Start Making it Up)."

He is a lecturer at American University, Washington, D.C. where he taught a journalism and writing class for student interns during the summers of 2007/08. He is also an adjunct professor at Regent University, where he taught newswriting to grad students online in 2008.

In June 2009, he led an online seminar through Regent University on how to write a novel.

In April 2010, DeDakis led writing workshops at The Writers' Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he'll be the keynote speaker in May at the Scribblers' Retreat writers conference on St. Simon's Island, Georgia.

DeDakis is currently working with an agent to bring his screenplay adaptation of "Fast Track" to the attention of Hollywood and has begun writing book three in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense series (working title: "Troubled Water").

DeDakis is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. He is also a freelance manuscript editor.

His wife, Cynthia, a choral conductor, is the director of music at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church Whitemarsh near Philadelphia and national President of The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) in America.

John and Cindy divide their time between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

They have three grown children: Emily has just earned her PhD in Creative Writing at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland; James is the drummer for the nationally-known band "Arizona"; and Stephen is a musician in Washington and a cook at Black's Restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland.

You're invited to send John DeDakis a friend request on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @johndedakis.

Accomplishments: DeDakis' awards include:

-An Emmy for his role in CNN's coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks

-The American Bar Association's Gavel Award for "Judges of the Facts," a television documentary on the jury system


My Review

 Troubled Water is the third book in the Lark Chadwick Mystery series by John DeDakis however it is the first book of DeDakis`s that I have read. This novel can stand alone; you don`t need to read the first two to enjoy reading Troubled Water.

Author DeDakis is a journalist therefore you know that the ins and outs of the world of journalism are going to be represented properly and they are.  DeDakis is a good writer and the story flows well. Lark Chadwick is a journalist who discovers a body just as she is about to start a new job in southwest Georgia. There are plenty of suspects and twists and turns to keep the reader enthralled. I enjoyed reading this book by John DeDakis.

I recommend the mystery, Troubled Water.



 

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