Book ~ "The Good Cop" (2013) Brad Parks

From Goodreads ~ As long as Newark Eagle-Examiner reporter Carter Ross turns in his stories on deadline, no one bats an eye if he doesn't wander into the newsroom until 10 or 11 in the morning. So it's an unpleasant surprise when he's awakened at 8:38 a.m. by a phone call from his boss, telling him a local policeman was killed and to get the story. Shaking himself awake, Carter heads off to interview the cop's widow. And then he gets another call: the story's off, the cop committed suicide.

But Carter can't understand why a man with a job he loved, a beautiful wife, and plans to take his adorable children to Disney World would suddenly kill himself. And when Carter's attempts to learn more are repeatedly blocked, it's clear someone knows more than he's saying about the cop's death. The question is, who? And what does he have to hide? Carter, with his usual single-minded devotion to a good story - and to the memory of a Newark policeman - will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth. 

Carter Ross is a reporter for a newspaper in New Jersey.  He gets an early morning call one day that a cop has been killed so he dashes off to interview the widow.  Then he finds out that the death was determined to be a suicide so he has to back off.  But something doesn't seem right to Carter.  Why would a man who had everything going for him kill himself?  So Carter continues to investigate.

I liked this book, though I found it ended quickly and neatly.  I enjoyed the writing style ... it was funny and sarcastic.  It is written in first person perspective in Carter's voice.  There are occasional chapters written in third person perspective with a side story about illegal gun sales.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I liked the characters.  Carter is funny yet dorky and the other characters are colourful.

This is the fourth book in the Carter Ross series ... I had read the first three a few years ago and had enjoyed them and the series.  For some reason, though, I had forgotten about this series so I'm catching up.  Despite being part of a series, this book works well as a stand alone so you don't need to read the others to enjoy this one.