I'm just wondering if there's a murder in this so it'd qualify for the Murder Most Foul square? Tigus? Many thanks.

My only quibble with this installment of the Tourist Trap Mystery series is that it messed up the timeline. This book's storyline takes place after book 3 and before book 4, even though it is published with #9.25.

Barry Gleason, the fire chief of the South Cove volunteer fire dept, is a womanizing asshole when not being a thorn in every South Cove business person's side. When he is found dead during a training burn, the suspects include close friends of Jill Gardner, amateur sleuth. She decides to investigate like she usually does (goes behind the back of her boyfriend/police chief Greg King) and discovers something different about this murder. Since Greg has already solved the murder, he decides to let Jill finish her investigation to sharpen her skills, maybe? Greg doesn't seem to mind Jill's sleuthing in this one, so there is a lot less white lies and more clues dropped. I enjoyed it.

2 TBR piles for September and October - 1) Regular reading and 2) Halloween Bingo.

Regular Reading: Starting Tuesday, I will be listening to the audiobook version of The Flat Book Society September's pick, Get Well Soon, as that is the only copy of the book my library system had. Next on the non-fiction que is Khobar Towers, which is only 153 pages so it should go quickly. I am hoping to finish Hollywood Scandals soon.

Halloween Bingo Reading: A Deadly Brew by Lynn Cahoon (Free Space - will be released Sep 4th), Rockets Dead Glare by Lynn Cahoon (Amateur Sleuth), A Touch of Midnight by Lara Adrian (Relics and Curiosities), The Demon of River Heights (Nancy Drew, Girl Detective #1) by Carolyne Keene, Stefan Petrucha and Show Murase (Baker St. Irregulars), and Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case by Kristin Painter (Cozy Mystery). All are short books that I can get through quickly over the weekend. 

Because my husband was denied leave (vacation time) and was TDY to Iceland for a month this summer, he has spent little time with the kids, who are now in school. So we are taking a day trip to Legoland Windsor on Monday as an end of summer surprise. HEE HEE HEE Adam and I can't wait to see their faces when we drive through the arch into the park.

Happy Labor Day my fellow Americans!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

South Cove’s businesses are upset after volunteer fire chief Barry Gleason threatens to shut down anyone who doesn't fix any fire code violations he sites them for even some that he has made up. When Barry schedules a training burn in an old abandoned barn, he's the only one who doesn't come out alive. Jill Gardner the owner of Coffee, Books, and More smells murder in the ashes.

Even though this was a novella it didn't leave out anything that you get from the regular books of the series. We get a well written mystery full of twists and turns and a surprising conclusion. All the characters are well developed and well written it feels like you're just dropping by for a quick visit with some old friends. I like that Jill's boyfriend Greg who is the police chief doesn't get to mad at her for investigating like he does in some of the other books. I also liked that Greg let Jill explain her theory of who the murderer was and how they had committed the crime instead of ignoring her and her theory.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Kensington Books for my honest review of the book.

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