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Bluff (Lark Chadwick Mysteries #2) 2021 Edition
Lark Chadwick is back. The scrappy reporter for The Pine Bluff Standard is embroiled in another tale of intrigue.
While doing battle with an unscrupulous real estate mogul—and against the advice of her friend and mentor Lionel Stone—Lark impulsively flirts with diverting her career into broadcast journalism. But, as Lark quickly learns, the line between being famous and notorious is a thin one.
In Bluff, book two in the Lark Chadwick mystery series, award-winning author and former CNN journalist John DeDakis once again gives readers a behind-the-veil glimpse at the good and the bad of journalism. DeDakis takes Lark from the small-town environs of Wisconsin to the ancient Inca Trail in Peru to help solve the mystery surrounding the death of Lionel Stone’s only daughter Holly.
While doing battle with an unscrupulous real estate mogul—and against the advice of her friend and mentor Lionel Stone—Lark impulsively flirts with diverting her career into broadcast journalism. But, as Lark quickly learns, the line between being famous and notorious is a thin one.
In Bluff, book two in the Lark Chadwick mystery series, award-winning author and former CNN journalist John DeDakis once again gives readers a behind-the-veil glimpse at the good and the bad of journalism. DeDakis takes Lark from the small-town environs of Wisconsin to the ancient Inca Trail in Peru to help solve the mystery surrounding the death of Lionel Stone’s only daughter Holly.
347 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
4 people want to read
About the author
John DeDakis
15 books68 followersJournalist, novelist, and writing coach John DeDakis is a former Senior Copy Editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis (pronounced deh-DAY-kiss) is the author of five novels in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series.
His fourth novel, Bullet in the Chamber, is the winner of Reviewers Choice, Foreword INDIES, and Feathered Quill book awards.
His most recent novel, Fake, is a winner of the 2020 Reviewers Choice Award. In Fake, Lark is a White House correspondent dealing with “fake news” in the era of #MeToo.
During his award-winning 45-year career in journalism (25 years at CNN), DeDakis has been a White House Correspondent and interviewed such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.
DeDakis has taught journalism at the University of Maryland–College Park, and American University in Washington, D.C. He now regularly teaches novel writing online, at literary centers, writers’ conferences, and bookstores around the country and abroad.
He is currently at work on a memoir, working title: Pivot Points: A Life of Plot Twists
In his spare time, DeDakis is also a jazz drummer.
Website: www.johndedakis.com
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 20, 2025
Local reporter Lark Chadwick returns in her second mystery that ranges from small-town Wisconsin to the Inca Trail in Peru. It all starts when an unscrupulous developer tries to cheat her. Soon she finds herself embroiled in a tangled mess of underhanded deals and a murder in which she is the prime suspect.
I really enjoyed DeDakis' first novel, Fast Track. Bluff is an engrossing sequel, full of suspense, twists and turns, and even family drama. It's a bit hard to characterize. It's not a cozy, but it kind of skirts the line between cozy and a more traditional mystery, which I find really enjoyable.
The only reason I couldn't give it five stars is that some of the dialogue feels a bit odd, particularly when people are relating past events. That material is written in the same style as the exposition, which doesn't strike me as natural. But that's a fairly minor quibble, given the story's overall strength. I'm looking forward to reading the next Lark Chadwick novel!
I really enjoyed DeDakis' first novel, Fast Track. Bluff is an engrossing sequel, full of suspense, twists and turns, and even family drama. It's a bit hard to characterize. It's not a cozy, but it kind of skirts the line between cozy and a more traditional mystery, which I find really enjoyable.
The only reason I couldn't give it five stars is that some of the dialogue feels a bit odd, particularly when people are relating past events. That material is written in the same style as the exposition, which doesn't strike me as natural. But that's a fairly minor quibble, given the story's overall strength. I'm looking forward to reading the next Lark Chadwick novel!
June 27, 2023
New favorite female lead!
With quick prose and digestible dialogue, DeDakis's writing style swept me over the cliff. Lark Chadwick is my kind of fierce female character. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
With quick prose and digestible dialogue, DeDakis's writing style swept me over the cliff. Lark Chadwick is my kind of fierce female character. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews