Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Ed Gorman, 301 pages

Late October of 1962 is certainly not dull; not with Russian premier Khrushchev threatening to launch nuclear missiles from Cuba if the U.S. attempts an invasion there. The Kennedy White House has been facing down the Soviets with an ultimatum, but the Russian warships are steady on their course to Cuba. In Black River Falls, Iowa, frightened townspeople are gathering in churches to pray for peace. And Ross Murdoch, the popular gubernatorial candidate, is laying in supplies for his newly built bomb shelter. It's a place you don't expect to find a corpse. At least young lawyer and sometimes private investigator Sam McCain doesn't-no more than he expects his four prime suspects to be pillars of the community.