Red Hot
by Dana Dratch
Kindle Edition, 368 pages
Expected publication: May 26th 2020 by Kensington
Goodreads synopsis:
Freelance writer Alex Vlodnachek hasn’t had a vacation in ages. So when her sister invites her—and pup Lucy—for a girls’ get-away to Miami, it’s too tempting to resist.
Big sister Annie wants Alex to savor a little fun in the sun at her South Beach condo. Redhead Alex just wants to escape complications at home, enjoy a little R&R and find an industrial-sized bottle of sunscreen. But trouble is hot on her heels—along with a few stray friends and relatives.
On the eve of the condo association's hotly contested election, everything in the luxury high-rise is going haywire. But board president and social butterfly Leslie McQueen seems curiously absent amidst the chaos. Along with a good chunk of the association's cash.
When several of Annie’s friends are left holding the bag, Alex jumps in to help—and discovers the tony condo tower offers no shortage of shady characters, murder, and mayhem.
But when her brother, Nick, arrives—with their irrepressible grandmother, Baba, and Alex’s pal Trip, in tow—is the gang riding to the rescue? Or plunging Alex into more hot water?
***
5 Stars
This is the third book in the A Red Herring Mystery series by Dana Dratch.
I thought this was a great book. But I am really feeling let down. Let me explain. At the end of the last book there was this emotional cliffhanger that was left between Alex and her British Bed and Breakfast owning neighbor, Ian. I felt for sure that this book would concern how these two would deal with the fallout. As I read along, it was as if that cliffhanger had never happened. My mind was reeling. Ian only really makes a cameo in this book at about the halfway mark (49%). And pretty much that whole drama from the last book was done and dusted in like part of a chapter. I was so confused. I wanted them to ferret out their problems and come to a resolution. I didn’t want it to just be forgotten.
Beyond my misgivings about that, this book was wonderful. Alex really should be one of those forensic investigators who digs into the details of a company’s business dealings and figures out what is what. The whodunit of this story is spot on. I wasn’t as happy that the whole book was set off site away from the normal town where Alex, Ian, Trip and her brother, Nick live. This book really threw me out of my comfort zone and what I had come to expect from a Dratch cozy mystery.
Great story, great mystery but I really hope they get back to including Ian in the story in the future, I miss him, his Dad and the Bed and Breakfast. I miss the connection he has with Alex. This missing didn’t take away from the overall concept of what was written. I just wanted more, I guess. Looking forward to the next installment.
If you are looking for a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
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