One Hot Murder

Victoria Square Mystery, Book 3

By: Lorraine Bartlett

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Katie Bonner, the reluctant manager of Artisans Alley in the quaint shopping district of Victoria Square, is no stranger to ambivalence. Things have been going hot and heavy with pizza maker Andy Rust - so much so that Katie has moved in over his pizza parlor. But now that summer's ushered in a heat wave, an apartment above pizza ovens without an air conditioner is making Katie hot and bothered.

At the height of the heat wave, a tragic fire strikes Victoria Square. Wood U, a small store selling wooden gifts and small furniture, is destroyed. But the fire may just be a smoke screen - for murder. A body is found among the charred wreckage, and the victim didn't die from smoke inhalation. He was shot. Now - despite making Detective Ray Davenport hot under the collar - Katie is determined to smoke out a cold-hearted killer....

©2013 Lorraine Bartlett (P)2015 Tantor

Great mystery!

The narrator fit right into the role of heroine/sleuth. The plot moved at a great pace. A very enjoyable mystery.

Fantastic

Another great book in the series! Characters are good, and the storyline is wonderful. Hope there are more to come!

Loved it

I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

Best Yet

This is not a predictable plot. There are some great unexpected twists here. As a good plot guesser, this one took longer to figure out what was coming. I can't wait for the next book. This is a great cozy mystery, which could easily stand on its own, but reading the series in order will add an extra dimension to the plot and reoccurring characters.

Great Story

Once again Katie has found herself in the middle of drama. Not only is she involved in a dispute with merchant association, but she is also in the middle of a murder investigation. There are many characters and plot twist to keep the story going from chapter to chapter. This book will not disappoint you.

Murder amid a heat wave

One Hot Murder continues Lorraine Bartlett’s Victoria Square series in which Katie Bonner manages Artisan’s Alley, a cooperative of artists in a large space that is really suffering under the summer heat wave. Just as Katie is leaving her boyfriend’s pizza shop one hot summer night, she notices the smell of fire, and soon the fire department is on the scene where Wood U, a shop that sells souvenirs made of wood, is alight. Inside the shop, the fire department finds the body of a man, but his face is so obliterated by a gunshot blast that no one knows who the victim is.

The hot summer heat wave keeps tempers short, especially since Artisan’s Alley is having serious problems with its air conditioning system, with certain areas being kept too cold and other areas stifling from the heat. Food starts disappearing from the vendors’ refrigerator, and Katie finds evidence of a squatter in the alley. Plus, as president of the Victoria Square Merchants Association, Katie is having trouble with the owner of a store in the Square. Further, to Katie’s heartbreak, the Webster Mansion that Katie has longed for many years to turn into a B&B gets sold, and the couple who has purchased it has a vision almost identical to the one Katie has nursed for ages.

This book does not follow the same tight plot of a murder investigation of the previous books in the series, but it is effective nonetheless. The many elements of life in Victoria Square fascinate, and things that seem to be unrelated do connect back together, even if only loosely. I really enjoyed this book and its flavor. With more than just a murder going on, life at Artisan’s Alley is fascinating and fun. I enjoyed getting to see the way that Katie deals with the many issues in her life.

Jorjeana Marie narrates the audio version of this book and does a lot to help bring this book to life. She portrays Katie effectively, and I really like her voice. She also portrays the other characters well, and I’d enjoy hearing what kind of job Marie is capable of doing in another series.

I really found One Hot Murder to be a highly enjoyable book. I have come to enjoy the writing of Lorraine Bartlett, and this series is very creatively done. I like the setting of the series and the details found in it. The conclusion was creative and well-written too. I give this book five stars!