Rockets' Dead Glare (A Tourist Trap Mystery #9.25)

Author:  Lynn Cahoon
Genre:  Mystery

Digital Book
Lyrical Underground
77 Pages
$1.99 Amazon
June 5. 2018

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South Cove's businesses are up in arms after volunteer fire chief Barry Gleason threatens to shut down anyone who doesn't comply with the fire code.  But when Barry schedules a training burn in an old abandoned barn, he is the only one who doesn't come out alive.  Jill Gardner - owner of Coffee, Books, and More - smells murder in the ashes.  She'll have to work quickly to nab a killer with a short fuse - or else everyone's holiday will end with a fizzle...

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During a Business to Business meeting of town members, Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More is dismayed to hear that fire chief Barry Gleason has decided that he will inspect the businesses and look for infractions, and if he finds any then the businesses will be shut down - perhaps even during the Fourth of July celebration.  Her dismay turns to anger when Barry inspects her business after the meeting and not only finds infractions, but hints that he can make them "go away" if there is a 'private meeting' between Jill and himself.

But soon she learns that he's given pages of infractions to every business in town, making nearly everyone angry, and the even Darla has refused to leave the mayor's office unless he does something about it.  But when there's a controlled fire and Barry asks three of his volunteer firefighters - Bill, who owns the inn, Matt, who helps run the winery, and Tiny, who is the cook at Diamond Lille's, to help him.  But when the fire is out and Barry is found inside dead, partially burned, then it might be a case of murder...

Normally I don't read short stories but I just had to because I really enjoy the books by this author so decided to take a chance.  However, I got the idea that this was written quite awhile ago and just now published, as things were said and done about circumstances that have since changed in previous books, as anyone who has been reading this story already knows; the timeline was off.

Still, it was a good mystery even if I did figure out the truth before Jill.  The clues were all there, and in a short story - and this is the reason I rarely read them - events are much closer than they would be in a regular book, so therefore the clues are easier to read and we are given less time to (in the words of Hercule Poirot) exercise our "little grey cells".  Hower, it was a nice interval of a story while we wait for the next full-length installment; I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read; and to those who have never met the characters Ms. Cahoon has written that we have grown to love.

https://www.amazon.com/Rockets-Kindle-Single-Tourist-Mystery-ebook/dp/B078LQ9ZLG/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2417616964

More on Lynn Cahoon's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/lynn-cahoon/