Framed: Hardwick: Season One

by Tom Meitner

"Difficult to put down"... "Great book from a great author"... "Would recommend to anyone who likes crime"... Sixteen years ago, Officer Charlie Hardwick was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his partner. Today, he has been exonerated for the crime and given his life back. In lieu of a massive settlement, he is now a homicide detective with the Chicago Police Department. His partner has her own questionable past. His chief has serious doubts of his innocence. And he has a city full of murders to solve. But while he adjusts to his new life, he's obsessed over his own who murdered his partner? Who framed him for it and sent him to jail? And why? This is the first season of Hardwick - six episodes total, each with its own case for Charlie to Episode 1: Smokescreen The season premiere. Charlie adjusts to his new job and new life, while his chief warns him not to get anywhere near his own case. Episode 2: Domestic Affairs A local politician turns up dead, and he has a long list of enemies who could have done it. Episode 3: Snapshot A serial killer is sending photos of his victims to the Chicago PD, taunting them with each murder that he gets away with. Episode 4: Infamous The most popular girl in high school is murdered. Her body is found on campus. And there's enough gossip to keep the detectives guessing. Episode 5: Structural Damages How does a dead body wind up in the wall of a new home? The answer will show Charlie a side of the city - and his partner - he's never seen. Episode 6: Cold Case A scientist is found a victim of her own technology - and Charlie follows the trail... right back to his own case. This is the first season in the ongoing clean crime fiction series Hardwick , a vigilante series about a police officer who went to jail for a murder he didn't commit. Now that he's out, Charlie Hardwick is a homicide detective. Each episode is a police procedural mystery, solving murders of the city while investigating the conspiracy behind his imprisonment. If you're looking for a clean murder mystery series to start, pick up this first season right now and start the series!

Genres: Mystery

284 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2018

About the author

Tom Meitner (me) is a father and husband who lives in Wisconsin.

They say if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself. A lot of fiction today doesn't speak to me - they're well written and have plenty of fans, so other authors are certainly doing it right. But me? I want something simple. I want something I can consume on my schedule. I want to be able to commit to a story, but have a clear point to break off when I have to get back to my real life.

So that's how I write.

My nonfiction books - based entirely on my experiences making stupid mistakes throughout my life - can all be read in under 2 hours apiece. My fiction books - including my current series, "Hardwick" - are arranged like episodes of an ongoing television show.

You can commit to the full series and keep on reading, or you can find a spot to take a break. It's reading on your schedule, with stories that move forward. I write the stories I would want to read. I hope you want to read them, too.

Reviews

[LianaReads blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and I’m kicking myself for not finding it earlier.

I loved the cases and how everything runs smoothly until we only get snippets of the other ongoing investigation that, I’ll be honest, I’m much more interested.

Charlie is such a great character, and I loved how we get to see him become the man he always has been, but someone else decided he needs to pay for a crime he didn’t commit. Stakes are high and while he gets just a few pieces together, it creates enough interaction to keep me guessing who was behind it all. Having to learn his way through social media and all the new technologies just shows how much the world has changed in every field in the sixteen years he was locked in.

I'm so looking forward to seeing where this is going and how much he has to discover more for his justice.

[Ted Tayler · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Conflicted"

I've waited twenty-four hours after I reached the non-ending in 'Framed' before writing my review. Not because this turned out to be yet another cliffhanger so the reader has to buy the next book to follow the story. This time I'm trying to decide whether this was a book at all. The individual murders that Charlie and Sarah investigated were interesting and well-written, and of course Charlie was doggedly trying to prove his innocence 16 years ago.
The problem was that each murder got wrapped up in such a fashion that i wondered whether I was reading a string of true crime reports rather than fiction. I'm conflicted. Some parts I enjoyed, others confused me. When I reach the end that was not an end I realised it didn't matter. I'm never going to buy the next book to learn what happens out of principle.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is all about? The novel contains a few mysteries solved by the main characters. Left at that, the book would be very good. However, Tom Meitner writes these around what is the main plot of the detective trying to find the answer to why he was framed for a crime. The author should have stuck to one or the other. Add to that, the main plot does not have an ending in this novel and I just can't rate it any higher.

[Nancy Kuykendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. I like crime drama. I’m intrigued enough to read the next book. Some of the side stories were solved too quickly and easily to seem realistic, but overall I enjoyed this book.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gritty, gripping tale of murder, suspicion and lies. Charlie Hardwick spent 16 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit; now he's out and determined to figure out who really killed his partner and why. Bravo, Tom Meitner, and thank you for writing this. Now I'm headed to Book #2 ... I can't wait to find out what happens next!