5-STAR REVIEW: MURDER IS PERSONAL by BJ Condike

About The Book

Publication Date: September 15, 2026

Jake Powell came to Rattlesnake Bend to disappear.

The dying North Texas lake town was the perfect place to outrun his past: no questions, no connections, no reminders of the life he left behind in Massachusetts. He kept his head down, worked for a local woodworker, drank beer at the Cock ‘N’ Bull, and tried not to think about April Hunter-the woman he abandoned without explanation years ago.

Then April shows up in town wearing a yellow rain coat.

Twelve hours later, she’s dead.

With the sheriff convinced he’s guilty, Jake starts digging for answers on his own. What begins as a murder investigation spirals into a maze of family secrets, corporate corruption, anonymous threats, and lies buried for decades. The deeper Jake digs, the closer he gets to exposing his own dark secret – plus one more that could destroy him.

Excerpt

The Review

A fresh start in a backwater Texas town proves to be a bad move for Jake Powell.

Author BJ Condike amps up the thrills in Murder is Personal. Main character Jake never expected a face from his past to show up—and be murdered.

It’s definitely a case of ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Although Jake is the most likely suspect, he will do anything to clear his name.

The author combines witty humor (mixed with some snark) with an intricate mystery that pushes Jake deeper into a web of deadly intrigue. Survival means putting together the clues, regardless of where they lead.

Murder is Personal introduces a compelling main character seeking a normal life…until his past comes calling.

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About The Author BJ Condike learned his writing craft at SMU in Dallas, and has won numerous local and regional short story contests. BJ’s stories have appeared in several anthologies published by Granbury Writers’ Bloc, the North Dallas Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and Key West Writers Guild where he serves as vice president. He is active in several writing clubs in Texas and Florida, and is currently marketing his debut novel Murder is Personal. In his spare time he plies the waters of the Florida Keys in his fishing boat Sea-Quel with his wife ML and their Welsh corgi Sophie.