Red Hot
Big sister Annie wants Alex to savor a little fun in the sun at her South Beach condo. Redhead Alex 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 tiny 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?
Series: A Red Herring Mystery – Book #3
Author: Dana Dratch
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Author
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 368
Rating: 
Red Hot was my introduction to Dana Dratch’s “A Red Herring Mystery” journalist and amateur sleuth series published by Kensington Books.
This book is a fun read, but I highly suggest that readers start with the first book in this series. Alex is a complex character who seems to be bogged down with work and relationship issues. As a journalist, she finds herself getting involved in a story she never intended to write, but she’s not one to back off a headline. Her sister Annie, on the other hand, appears to be successful, happy, and easy to like. Other characters in the story, including their brother, Nick, are likable and interesting. I would have liked to see a lot more of Trip and their grandmother, Baba. Those two characters I found to be overall the most intriguing and entertaining. But the pup, Lucy, is simply adorable and will grab the reader’s attention.
The death of the president of the HOA is a very likely scenario; who hasn’t heard of HOA presidents who power-crazed? I can’t honestly say that Leslie deserved to die, she had some quarks, and as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that she belonged in jail at a minimum. Suspects are few, but they all have a great motive. The killer for me was evident from the start. But the motive eluded me a bit at first. Alex’s journalistic instincts kick in as soon as the body is discovered, but it seems to take her a while to figure out what Is going on in the condo complex.
Although Red Hot is an enjoyable read, I found that it was a bit wordy when it could have been tighter. Having the main character be an unemployed journalist was interesting, but I felt she was a bit slow to figure out obvious clues. I urge readers to start from the beginning of the series to give them a better feel for the main characters. I would also recommend that readers give themselves extra time to read this book as it is long at 368-pages. But overall, I believe that readers will enjoy this book enough to want to read future additions.
I am happy to recommend another writer-centric series such as Debra Sennefelder’s thrilling “A Food Blogger Mystery” or Victoria Gilbert’s charming “A Blue Ridge Library Mystery.”
About the Author:
Dana Dratch is the author of the Red Herring Mystery series from Kensington Books — which kicked off with Confessions Of a Red Herring. In the sequel, Seeing Red (out now), Alex, Trip, rescue-pup Lucy, and the whole crazy Vlodnachek family are going up against spies, art thieves, and a determined, diabolical murderer.
Contact Dana: RedHerringConfessions@mail.com
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