Newspaper reporter Annie Seymour finds it hard to come up with anything interesting to write in her feature profile on the city's new police chief. So when a dead body is found floating in the harbor, she jumps at the chance to avoid writing the tedious story in favor of something--anything--else. Little does she know that things will quickly careen into utter chaos in her beloved city of New Haven, Connecticut.

Later that same night, the new chief of police is gunned down. Who had it in for him and why? And the floater in harbor becomes even more puzzling when it turns out he suffered bee stings before he died. Things turn fast and furious after that, with Annie finding herself in more than one life-threatening situation. Why does it seem that someone is also out to get her? And who could wish her harm? Sure, reporters aren't always popular, but this level of danger is new.

Multiple storylines keep the reader guessing throughout the story. Just when you think you've got a grip on the whys of what's happening, another plot twist occurs, leaving the reader to try to figure out how the new information factors in. Annie's friends and coworkers help give Annie more dimension as a person, instead of just a reporter. And with a potential love triangle between Annie and her ex-boyfriend, Detective Tom Behr, and her not-quite-ex-boyfriend, PI Vinny DeLucia, things get even more complicated.

DEAD OF THE DAY is an intriguing mystery, rife with myriad plots. Readers would probably benefit more if they've read the first two mysteries in the series; although I was able to follow along without any trouble, despite not reading the first two books. Ms. Olson's third Annie Seymour mystery is confusing in places, due to the sheer number of seemingly unrelated occurrences, but fans of reporter mysteries will definitely enjoy it.

Book Summary

A soggy April has hit New Haven, Connecticut-along with an unidentified body in the harbor. The strange fact that there were bee stings on the floater gives New Haven Herald police reporter Annie Seymour an intriguing excuse to put off her profile of the new police chief-a piece that becomes a lot more interesting when the subject is gunned down.

But this is only the beginning of a killer expos?-because as she connects the dots between the John Doe, the police chief, and the city's struggling immigrant population, Annie's drawing a line between herself and someone who doesn't want her to learn the truth, or live to report it...