Sold on a Monday / Kristina McMorris /341 pages

Sold on a Monday is an historical fiction story based on a true story.  It is set in 1931 during the depression.  Ellis Reed is a young newspaper reporter trying to make a name for himself at a newspaper in Philadelphia.  One day he takes a picture of two boys sitting on their front porch before realizing there was a sign in front of the porch advertising the boys for sale.  The picture was not meant for publication.  Lillian Palmer is the secretary for the head of the newspaper.  She finds the picture and gives it to her boss thinking it would help Ellis's career.  Ellis writes a human interest story to go along with the picture.  The story spreads to other papers and Ellis's career is taking off, but there are huge repercussions.  The book starts off slow, but gains momentum and was hard to put down.

The Unpunished/ Lisa Black/ 312 pgs

This is the second book in Black's Gardiner and Renner series. Maggie Gardiner is a forensic tech in Cleveland. Jack Renner is a detective with the police. In the first book Maggie figured out that Jack has been systematically killing the worst of the bad guys he encounters in his work (not a spoiler--this comes out in the first few chapters). In the end, Jack learns a secret about Maggie. So now in book two, they each "have something" on the other so neither can reveal the other's dirty secret. They intend to stay away from each other but soon enough they are embroiled in a new case. In quick succession three people who work at the local newspaper are killed as is the wife of one of the victims. I really like this series because of the risks it takes with morally questionable lead characters and the way they dance around each other and try to come to terms with what they have done. I'm thrilled to discover there is already a third book out. Off to put it on my list!