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Betta Ferrendelli
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The Friday Edition (A Samantha Church Mystery, Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Betta Ferrendelli (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,840 ratings
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Snow isn't all that's falling in Denver, Colorado on Christmas Eve.
A beautiful, young district attorney tumbles from her balcony to her death.
Police suspect suicide, but the DA’s sister, newspaper reporter Samantha Church, isn’t buying it.
Samantha discovers evidence linking her sister to a drug smuggling case and quickly learns she has stumbled onto a major news story. She must summon the courage to not only face a cartel of criminals, but her own fears and shortcomings when she is confronted by the inescapable specter of a far greater enemy—her addiction to alcohol. Samantha’s dependency has not only cost her job at a major metropolitan daily, but, worse, custody of her daughter, April.
Samantha pursues her sister’s killers, maneuvering through a minefield of intrigue deliberately set out to divert her from the truth. Despite being betrayed, physically beaten and facing the possibility of sharing her sister’s fate, Samantha refuses to stop her investigation. However, when the killers threaten to harm April, Samantha realizes that, for her daughter’s sake, she can no longer continue the investigation on her own. She knows she must swallow her pride and turn to her ex-husband and police detective, Jonathan Church, for help.
Can Samantha ultimately prevail—find her sister’s killer, write the story of her career, confront her drinking problem, and finally begin to change her life, or will she and April become the killer’s next victims?
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  1. Book 1 of 6
    A Samantha Church Mystery
  2. Print length
    314 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 14, 2013
  6. File size
    2014 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A smart, nimble treat of a mystery." Kirkus Reviews, named one of the best indie books of 2013

"A host of unpredictable twists and turns that will keep readers guessing and involved right up to a satisfying conclusion." D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

"A definite page turner with unbelievable twists and turns and just the right dose of crime and mystery for a thrilling reading experience." Readers' Favorite 5-star review, winner of the 2014 Readers' Favorite gold medal in the fiction, mystery sleuth category

About the Author

Go to bettaferrendellibooks.com to learn more.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008IIFWYK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Betta Ferrendelli; 1st edition (November 14, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 14, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2014 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 314 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,840 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Betta Ferrendelli

Betta Ferrendelli

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Betta has been an award-winning journalist since 1989, having worked at newspapers in Denver, Seattle and Albuquerque. When she is not "noveling" as her sister used to say, she writes for a healthcare magazine and spends a lot of time on the golf course.

On July 7, 2012, she published The Friday Edition, the first in an award-winning mystery series featuring newspaper reporter Samantha Church. The second book, Revenge is Sweet, published in 2013 and Dead Wrong, book three, published in 2015. Cold Case, No. 99-5219, the fourth book, published in 2018; On the Border, the fifth book in the series, published in 2020, and The Long Way Home, book six, published in 2022. Point of Origin, book seven, will publish in early 2024.

She also has published two award-winning books in contemporary, women's fiction: An Invincible Summer in 2015 and Last Things in 2016.

Please visit bettaferrendellibooks.com, where you can message Betta. She enjoys hearing from her readers. There you can sign up for her newsletter, enter the giveaways and more! Follow Betta on twitter @BettaWriter and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Betta Ferrendelli/Author.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
2,840 global ratings
worth reading
4 Stars
worth reading
Likeable, realistic characters. Well thought-out plot. Very enjoyable, quick read.
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Top reviews from the United States

MaryEllen Frabutt
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book keeps your interest from page one to the very last. The characters are all well developed and stay in their personality.
This book has been edited well as I didn't notice even one misspelled word. This is getting harder to find and so enjoyable when I do. Thank you
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Mimi 7
4.0 out of 5 stars The Friday Edition (A Samantha Church Mystery Book 1)
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
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From start to finish, an edge of your seat mystery. Wonderful characters, that are truly believable, descriptive scenery and events. This story has a number of relevant issues, and the author does a great job of presenting them in a very understanding way. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series. Recommend!
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Tony Parsons
5.0 out of 5 stars cop thriller
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2019
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12/25, Roger (retired military) dropped the Christmas packages & was attending to a woman lying in the snow by Marj.
She had jumped or been pushed from a high room in the building.
The plummeting body had almost hit Marj.
911 had been called/dispatched.
Samantha “Sam” Church (32, wife/mother, Grandview Perspective, former Denver Post newspaper reporter) called Commander Jonathan Church (husband/father, Grandview PD) to let him know the horrible news.
Robin Marino (Sam’s sister, Truman Co. asst. DA) was dead.
She had been assigned the Miller murder case/trial.
The funeral service was held & the burial was at the Golden Cemetery.

What were Captain Church, Juan Garcia (aka Alajandro Luis Barraza) & Roy Rogers discussing?
What is/was the Operation Iceberg all about?
What happened to ADA Robin Marino (28, Truman County)?
What happened to Chief Wyatt Gilmore (58, Grandview PD)?

Warning: This book contains adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written cop thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great Mystery movie, or better yet a mini TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; DailyFreeBooks; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
5 people found this helpful
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Dave Hanan
3.0 out of 5 stars Complex, descriptive, but overly long with a predictable ending
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2013
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This is a 320 page book that could have been better told in 220 pages. Much of the dialog was repetitive, so much so that I found myself skimming it. There were a number of jarring changes in point of view. Sometimes I was confused as to whose viewpoint we were in. There are many, many typos and missing words. The author often uses words incorrectly, such as "eminent" when she should have used "imminent". The book was filled with oddly phrased sentences such as: " ... it's important you say nothing to your father that you know anything at all." "Her bylines glared and snickered at him." and, "Happiness became her as she entered ..." At one point Samantha, the protagonist reporter, writes, "... has been charged with the alleged death of ..." How can someone be charged with an alleged death? How can death be alleged? In spite of all this, the plot was complex and the mystery compelling enough that I decided to plow forward. While the author did an impressive job of describing the characters' emotions and angst, the excessive stage direction slowed the dialog.
(Spoiler alert here.) I was disappointed that the author didn't do more with the story when Samantha's car blew up. Even though there had been several related suspicious deaths and murders, the car explosion did not immediately make the news or prompt a police inquiry. Samantha disappeared when her car blew up. Her boss, a newspaper editor, searched desperately for her, not because he suspected she'd been in her car when it exploded, but because her big story was due. Not one person speculated that the body in her car could have been her. No one wondered why her ex-husband police detective disappeared at the same time she did. Sam knew someone was trying to murder her. I was disappointed she did not use the exploding car as a diversion, so the bad guys would think they'd succeeded in getting rid of her. She could've told her boss to run the story that she had died in the explosion, so she could continue her investigation into her sister's murder and write her career-making story and blow the lid off of a huge drug smuggling operation. Yes, I get that she was a drunk and not very functional. But at the very least, the thought might have occurred to her. There were a number of other inconsistencies, too many to list here. When the identity of Captain and Roy Rogers was revealed, it came as no surprise. In spite of the excessive number of pages, the ending seems rushed. Some loose ends were not tied up, things not explained. A mediocre book that could have been immensely better with some serious editing.
2 people found this helpful
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Stephanie J. Staker
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - read it!
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016
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This is the first in a Samantha Church series and I am eager to read all of the series! The author weaves a great story that starts with a suspected suicide. The victim is Samantha's sister, Robin. She knows that her sister would not commit suicide and makes it her mission to prove it. She is a reporter for weekly newspaper in Denver having lost her job as a reporter in the daily due to alcohol-related problems. Those problems follow her but when she presents her ideas for chasing the story down that involved Robin being murdered, she finds that her boss is behind her. She desperately wants to do this right but the alcohol demon is still with her. Despite her slips, she starts finding the truth and it is much closer to home than she would have ever believed. I loved the character and was so glad to read the last chapter. I won't tell but it warmed my heart. The author presented a tale of drug-running, police corruption along with compassion and friendship. I heartily recommend the book and this is why I gave it 5 stars.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Helen Dauphinee-Mischiek
5.0 out of 5 stars New favourite author.
Reviewed in Canada on August 5, 2023
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I read more than halfway through this book. I was hooked from the beginning. Samantha Church is my new favourite author, surpassing James Patterson.
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joy m johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars A great story
Reviewed in Australia on August 6, 2023
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A new author for me and what a great story...so well worth reading.
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Melville
5.0 out of 5 stars The Friday Edition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent story. Believable characters, and a storyline that keeps you engrossed to the very end. A very enjoyable experience.
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Barbara
3.0 out of 5 stars Avid Reader
Reviewed in Italy on April 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
Can't say that I really enjoyed this book. It dealt too much with alcoholism to the point of almost being a documentary. The mystery could have been exciting but was more of a side line.
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kathymaydell
4.0 out of 5 stars This was my first Betta Ferrendelli book.
Reviewed in Canada on January 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
The cover picture caught my attention right away. When I started reading it, I was just there with the characters. More then a mystery, it's true to life. Try first book and like me move into the second book.
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