I had a hard time connecting with Em as a character. How she looked at her profession and her connections with those around her felt superficial. I give this book 2.5/5 stars. But I recommend others to try it since the writing style might be more their style.

I am a bit of a fan of this author's Blackie and Care series of books so I was eager to see what she did with a more conventional mystery. And I wasn't disappointed at all...
The story features rookie Boston Standard reporter Emily "Em" Kelton who is currently working the crime beat, and we follow her as she actively responds to every crime she hears on the Police Scanner. After being "called" to a few "random" street murders, she starts to believe that they are connected. A belief that is NOT shared by the local police. Especially her homicide detective sort-of contact Inspector Jack Harcourt, who she also has a bit of a crush on! To complete our trio of main characters, we also have Roz who works the City Hall Bureau and who feeds her tidbits...
This is a messy book, and I mean that in a very positive way. Em flits around various crime scenes, various drinking dens, and various other places, in order to sniff out the truth of what she believes is going on. And that in itself is the messy part. The clarity coming later when she tries to sort the wheat from the chaff and put it all together. Which obviously she eventually does. It's action packed all the way through culminating in a wholly satisfying, albeit quite shocking ending.
There is quite a lot (but not too much) of scene setting, character introductions, and foundation laying which all lead me to wonder if this is the start of a new series of books. I for one would be up for that, definitely.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A nice start to a new series featuring Em Kelton, a reporter working the police beat in Boston. She's on probation and she wants to get the real scoop so when she puts together info leading her to believe crimes are linked, she's off and running. This is nicely atmospheric, not just with regard to Boston but also in the newsroom. Simon is a veteran cozy writer- this is a welcome step forward. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read and I'm now looking forward to the next one.

Review: Bad Boy Beat by Clea Simon

I have long loved Clea Simon's cat mysteries, for the way she creates believable furry creatures able to materialize through walls, read humans' minds, and more, all in aid of helping out their person. But rookie reporter Emily Kelton doesn't need anyone's help in Simon's new noir mystery, Bad Boy Beat.

Assigned to the police beat while on probation at the Boston Standard, Em Kelton dutifully does her best with late night fires and low-level street crime. But she wants a big story. The murder of a small-time dealer barely merits a notice in the paper, but something about this death after a similar one nags at the rookie. She knows some of these guys, dealers and low-lifes, and they hardly seem dangerous enough to anyone to warrant murder. Em shares her doubts with her friend, Roz, who works the City Hall bureau, and is investigating rumors of high-level corruption.

Simon fleshes out the office, with Saul, city editor and her boss; the old-timers who resent her; Ruggle, City Hall bureau chief who may have a crush on her and who is her friend Roz's boss; and Noah Borelli, another City Hall reporter. Not waiting politely in the wings are the co-op students, there to help out with the scut work. The bright light in all this jockeying for position and bare-knuckled ambition is handsome Inspector Jack Harcourt, who jokes and flirts and occasionally gives Em something extra for her stories.

The story takes off on page one, and the action never lets up. Em probes her contacts, a low-life dealer, stays on the heels of the police, and trades tips and story ideas with Roz while Inspector Harcourt stonewalls her. To make matters worse, as Em's own story heats up, the other newspaper in town steps up too, with a new hire who seems to know more than Em.

Keeping up with this rookie is a challenge as she careens around Boston on the T, in her car, on foot. Simon knows the city well and makes good use of her experience here. Bad Boy Beat is a non-stop dive into the unadorned world of crime, the unglamorous world of turning out a newspaper day after day, and the life of one indefatigable, intrepid reporter with a sharp tongue and shrewd eye.

This is one of Simon's best.

I first read Clea Simon's cozy mystery series, which I absolutely loved, so I was so excited to read this new book.

Bad Boy Cleat is a fantastic book that I couldn't put down.

Emily (Em) is a low-level journalist at the Boston Standard working the police beat just waiting for her big story. She shows up at every crime scene trying to get the scoop. I really loved Em's diligence and determination, such a well written, complex character.

Em sees several killings that she thinks are connected to a drug dealer.
She investigates and digs deeper and deeper, maybe too deep.

Bad Boy Beat is such a great crime fiction novel. The story is fantastic, and the characters are well written.

Highly recommend!