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Rocky Bluff P.D. #1
Final Respects
There's a lot going on in Rocky Bluff, CA...
Mortician Stuart Honich dreams about sinking his teeth into the flesh of his tormentors——his boss's daughters.
Being a cop was something Doug Milligan wanted since childhood, but his wife hates his profession and Doug will soon have to make a difficult choice.
Publicity hound, Rick Strickland, will do anything to further his career, and is having a secret affair with Liz Phelan, a divorcee with a drinking problem.
The murder of the Milligans' babysitter begins a series of events that could lead to the destruction of the entire Rocky Bluff Police department as well as many innocent citizens.
Mortician Stuart Honich dreams about sinking his teeth into the flesh of his tormentors——his boss's daughters.
Being a cop was something Doug Milligan wanted since childhood, but his wife hates his profession and Doug will soon have to make a difficult choice.
Publicity hound, Rick Strickland, will do anything to further his career, and is having a secret affair with Liz Phelan, a divorcee with a drinking problem.
The murder of the Milligans' babysitter begins a series of events that could lead to the destruction of the entire Rocky Bluff Police department as well as many innocent citizens.
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
36 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
F.M. Meredith
20 books16 followersA.K.A. Marilyn Meredith is the author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries and the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, under the name, F.M. Meredith
Series:
* Rocky Bluff Police Department
Series:
* Rocky Bluff Police Department
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 25, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Shades of Stephen King!, May 24, 2015
By Jackie Taylor Zortman
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Final Respects (Kindle Edition)
Being the first in Marilyn's Rocky Bluff PD series, I've read it completely out of order. However, I really enjoyed it. From the start, Marilyn has had the unique ability to address many of life's issues in one book and segue from one to another smoothly. I have to say, without giving away the plot or the story, at one point in this particular book, I even said to myself, "Shades of Stephen King!" It is obvious that she has well researched the way uniformed law enforcement officers go about their jobs and the effect it often has on their families, especially the wives. I'm sure you will enjoy this book and then want to move on and read the rest of her series.
By Jackie Taylor Zortman
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Final Respects (Kindle Edition)
Being the first in Marilyn's Rocky Bluff PD series, I've read it completely out of order. However, I really enjoyed it. From the start, Marilyn has had the unique ability to address many of life's issues in one book and segue from one to another smoothly. I have to say, without giving away the plot or the story, at one point in this particular book, I even said to myself, "Shades of Stephen King!" It is obvious that she has well researched the way uniformed law enforcement officers go about their jobs and the effect it often has on their families, especially the wives. I'm sure you will enjoy this book and then want to move on and read the rest of her series.
January 26, 2020
California Cop Mystery
Cop mystery in a small coastal town north of Los Angeles. I picked this up because I liked another series and books by this Author. This book is definitely set pre cell phone. The main character even finds a pay phone to call his wife with!
Marked down for formatting. Whenever there was a character change, the paragraphs ran together. It may not have been that way in the physical book, but that is what happened in the kindle version.
Cop mystery in a small coastal town north of Los Angeles. I picked this up because I liked another series and books by this Author. This book is definitely set pre cell phone. The main character even finds a pay phone to call his wife with!
Marked down for formatting. Whenever there was a character change, the paragraphs ran together. It may not have been that way in the physical book, but that is what happened in the kindle version.
January 21, 2021
Was an ok book
This was a good book. It was about a small town and the police department. It followed a few on the job and in their private lives. It was a small book so it was a pretty fast read.
This was a good book. It was about a small town and the police department. It followed a few on the job and in their private lives. It was a small book so it was a pretty fast read.
November 9, 2022
Good start to a series
This is an engaging story about a policeman who loves his work. His wife doesn't. She has a hard time accepting that his job is important to him. Strange things happen and the policeman ends up being a hero.
This is an engaging story about a policeman who loves his work. His wife doesn't. She has a hard time accepting that his job is important to him. Strange things happen and the policeman ends up being a hero.
December 20, 2023
Interesting story
This is a well written book and the author created a great deal of suspense throughout.
It kept me the reader intrigued.
This is a well written book and the author created a great deal of suspense throughout.
It kept me the reader intrigued.
June 6, 2015
This is the first book I've read by F.M. Meredith and the 1st in her Rock Bluff PD series. It's called
Final Respects
due to the fact that one of the main characters is a mortician. Stuart Honich loves his work but ever since Mr. Taussig of Taussig and Tiedemann Funeral Home passed away, he's been tormented by the three spoiled Tiedemann girls, who treat the mortuary and its visitation rooms as a playground; he and the girls share a mutual loathing. He's a lonely soul whose only girlfriend, Emily, jilted him when the detailed descriptions of his work became too real. On top of this, his father was "murdered," from his point of view, by police in a shootout, so policemen aren't among his favourite people either.
When Honich decides to have a little fun scaring the Tiedemann girls and their new babysitter, Janice (who bears a strong resemblance to the fickle Emily), he meets up with policeman Doug Milligan, member of the Rocky Bluff Police Department, by playing the role of concerned neighbour. Milligan picks up on the bad vibes between Honich and the girls, and has Janice call their parents to come home. Impressed with 14-year-old Janice's calm and responsible attitude, and always in need of a good sitter, Milligan gets Janice's information with a promise to call when he and his wife, Kerrie need a sitter. This sparks in Stuart the hatching of a bizarre plan to take revenge on Emily and the police, and as the plot thickens, he becomes more and more unhinged.
We are invited into the lives and homes of several policeman, Al Bertaone and his wife Barbara, a proud and devoted wife, Abel Navarro, who receives a superficial wound in the line of duty in this story, and "publicity hound, Rick Strickland, [who] will do anything to further his career" and really has no close friends on the force. Rick is also involved with a divorcée who has a young son and a problem with pills and liquor. Doug's wife, Kerrie, is good friends with Barbara but they are opposite poles in their attitudes toward police work, and when a horrible crime is committed in the Milligan's home, it's the final straw for her.
This book was an easy read and had some interesting and even funny incidents occur during the everyday life of a squad car cop. Police procedure was pretty solid for a small town (fictitious town) community set in southern California. Despite the fact that it's obvious almost from the beginning who the villain will be, I thought there might be more suspense as the story built, and although I found the characters interesting, I found them and their actions pretty predictable. Perhaps if I read a few more in this series, I'd get caught up more in the characters' lives, but I'm not sure I will. It seems lots of people enjoy this series, so I guess it's just not my cup of tea.
When Honich decides to have a little fun scaring the Tiedemann girls and their new babysitter, Janice (who bears a strong resemblance to the fickle Emily), he meets up with policeman Doug Milligan, member of the Rocky Bluff Police Department, by playing the role of concerned neighbour. Milligan picks up on the bad vibes between Honich and the girls, and has Janice call their parents to come home. Impressed with 14-year-old Janice's calm and responsible attitude, and always in need of a good sitter, Milligan gets Janice's information with a promise to call when he and his wife, Kerrie need a sitter. This sparks in Stuart the hatching of a bizarre plan to take revenge on Emily and the police, and as the plot thickens, he becomes more and more unhinged.
We are invited into the lives and homes of several policeman, Al Bertaone and his wife Barbara, a proud and devoted wife, Abel Navarro, who receives a superficial wound in the line of duty in this story, and "publicity hound, Rick Strickland, [who] will do anything to further his career" and really has no close friends on the force. Rick is also involved with a divorcée who has a young son and a problem with pills and liquor. Doug's wife, Kerrie, is good friends with Barbara but they are opposite poles in their attitudes toward police work, and when a horrible crime is committed in the Milligan's home, it's the final straw for her.
This book was an easy read and had some interesting and even funny incidents occur during the everyday life of a squad car cop. Police procedure was pretty solid for a small town (fictitious town) community set in southern California. Despite the fact that it's obvious almost from the beginning who the villain will be, I thought there might be more suspense as the story built, and although I found the characters interesting, I found them and their actions pretty predictable. Perhaps if I read a few more in this series, I'd get caught up more in the characters' lives, but I'm not sure I will. It seems lots of people enjoy this series, so I guess it's just not my cup of tea.
March 24, 2014
Final Respects - Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; Stir, Laugh, Repeat & A Book and A Dish
Doug Milligan spent part of Friday tinkering with his classic MG. His wife, Kerrie, had been in a foul mood most of the day, no doubt because he had come home so late from work. Rather than find out exactly what her gripe was, he elected to stay out of her way. But when he came inside and took his shower in preparation for work, she dogged his steps.... Doug is a policeman with a wife who isn't too happy about her husband's choice of work.
Al Bertalone's wife, Barbara, flung open the front door and met him on the porch. She gave him a big kiss... As he stepped inside, Al sniffed in an exaggerated fashion. "Is that my favorite dinner I smell?" Barbara giggled. "If you mean spaghetti, it most certainly is." ... Barbara patted the place where his uniform stretched tautly over his belly. "You're the sexiest police officer in the whole department." Al too is a policeman and best friend of Doug. He too is married but has a wife who not only supports his choice in occupations but is proud of him.
For these two brave men, life is getting ready to take a dramatic turn as one of them finds the body of a teenager that has been bitten in the neck and left dead. But this is only the beginning of the problems they'll encounter as they go through their task of protecting and serving. One won't make it, the other will, or will he?
Following Doug and Al through their daily routines... some cases simple, some actually funny and some downright scary... I couldn't help but feel for the officers themselves as well as the wives. The constant fear of losing a husband has to be one that nags not only your heart but also your mind. But when given an ultimatum of the job or wife, what do you choose?
This is the 1st in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series by Author F. M. Meredith. This Author has a style of her own. She actually takes you into the lives of each character allowing you to know them personally and their connections with each other. After you get to know them personally you're brought into the true action of the book which allows you to continue to feel what they feel as they step into the job they're hired to do. I can't say that I've ever read a book that makes me a part of the story as much as this book has. I loved it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series Bad Tidings.
Doug Milligan spent part of Friday tinkering with his classic MG. His wife, Kerrie, had been in a foul mood most of the day, no doubt because he had come home so late from work. Rather than find out exactly what her gripe was, he elected to stay out of her way. But when he came inside and took his shower in preparation for work, she dogged his steps.... Doug is a policeman with a wife who isn't too happy about her husband's choice of work.
Al Bertalone's wife, Barbara, flung open the front door and met him on the porch. She gave him a big kiss... As he stepped inside, Al sniffed in an exaggerated fashion. "Is that my favorite dinner I smell?" Barbara giggled. "If you mean spaghetti, it most certainly is." ... Barbara patted the place where his uniform stretched tautly over his belly. "You're the sexiest police officer in the whole department." Al too is a policeman and best friend of Doug. He too is married but has a wife who not only supports his choice in occupations but is proud of him.
For these two brave men, life is getting ready to take a dramatic turn as one of them finds the body of a teenager that has been bitten in the neck and left dead. But this is only the beginning of the problems they'll encounter as they go through their task of protecting and serving. One won't make it, the other will, or will he?
Following Doug and Al through their daily routines... some cases simple, some actually funny and some downright scary... I couldn't help but feel for the officers themselves as well as the wives. The constant fear of losing a husband has to be one that nags not only your heart but also your mind. But when given an ultimatum of the job or wife, what do you choose?
This is the 1st in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series by Author F. M. Meredith. This Author has a style of her own. She actually takes you into the lives of each character allowing you to know them personally and their connections with each other. After you get to know them personally you're brought into the true action of the book which allows you to continue to feel what they feel as they step into the job they're hired to do. I can't say that I've ever read a book that makes me a part of the story as much as this book has. I loved it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series Bad Tidings.
April 24, 2013
"Final Respects" is the first novel in F.M. Meredith's Rocky Bluff PD series and I absolutely loved it! I had read a few of the other books in her series and thoroughly enjoyed them - each book is written as a standalone - but, in "Final Respects," I was introduced to the characters from the beginning and I learned when and how their relationships began. Now, I'm even more eager to read the rest of the series. I highly recommend "Final Respects."
April 13, 2014
After receiving and enjoying the 5th entry in this series, I wanted to come back and read some of the other books in the series. I greatly enjoy detective/mystery novels and this book was no disappointment. It's fast paced, not too long, and overall an enjoyable read. If you're into this genre, I would definitely recommend the book.
This book is a little bit more rough in terms of flow than the 5th book - that's not a big surprise though and doesn't really take away much from the story.
This book is a little bit more rough in terms of flow than the 5th book - that's not a big surprise though and doesn't really take away much from the story.
June 7, 2021
I have read most of the Rocky Bluff series, so I enjoyed being able to find out some of the background of the characters. This was the first, and I discovered a bit more of the motivations. In some ways, this seems darker than many of the later ones. Meredith's characters always ring true, and the setting feels real. She is consistent throughout the series, even though the characters change and grow. A good foundation to a great series.
May 13, 2015
I love police dramas/mysteries and I was lucky to find "Final Respects" by F. M. Meredith. I loved the book and it was one of those special books that I couldn't put down. I highly recommend this book. I have already started reading the second book in this series.
January 12, 2020
A real page turner!
Over too soon! Realistic police work, emphasis on relationships. Told from a policeman’s point of view. Well written, set about 20 years ago (whoever we last had pay phones).
Over too soon! Realistic police work, emphasis on relationships. Told from a policeman’s point of view. Well written, set about 20 years ago (whoever we last had pay phones).
April 13, 2016
a series of events connected by malevolence. death and madness.
November 9, 2018
Police Story
A cop's life in a small California coastal city. It's tough being a good cop. As it is for the spouse.
A cop's life in a small California coastal city. It's tough being a good cop. As it is for the spouse.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews