A spunky new stringer for a local North Carolina newspaper scores a major scoop in Thomas’ novel.

It is the Spring of 1971 and Amanda Blackstone, freshly graduated from Chapel Hill, is at her fourth job interview. Her confidence waning, she enters the office of Allen Parks, executive editor of the Coastal Herald, the daily newspaper for the small town of Compton, North Carolina. Her enthusiasm (“Well, I’ll give you this: you’ve got…uh, spirit, shall we say”) convinces Parks to give her a chance, a one-month probationary period as a stringer. Her first assignment: a fluff piece on the opening of a new grocery store. Accompanied by staff photographer Josh Bennington, Amanda is conducting her initial interviews when she notices an unmarked delivery truck removing rather than delivering boxes of produce. She convinces Josh to help her track down what is happening (it’s a drug operation), and so begin her adventures as a new reporter. But a much bigger story is on the horizon: When she is paired with staff writer Patrick Maguire to cover a county zoning hearing, she learns about Jack Lockwood and the real estate empire he has been building in Compton, leading to an investigative journey that will test her mettle and put her life at risk. Thomas provides enough action and plot twists (including family secrets, a suicide that may be a murder, and blackmail) to keep readers guessing and turning the pages, even though the final reveal is not a total surprise. Adding to the dramatic stakes are a budding romance between Amanda and Patrick and one character’s unexpected and tragic death. The narrative develops at a steady pace, and, with the benefit of Thomas’ professional experience as a publisher’s assistant, it provides an intriguing insider’s view of the operation of a small-town daily. Amanda is an engagingly strong female protagonist, feisty, relentlessly inquisitive, and fearless—some might say reckless.

An entertaining beach read with the potential for a sequel.