Rockets' Dead Glare by Lynn Cahoon Series: Tourist Trap Mysteries #3.25
Published by Lyrical Underground on June 5, 2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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Also in this series: Guidebook to Murder, Mission to Murder, If the Shoe Kills, Dressed To Kill, Killer Run, Murder on Wheels, Tea Cups and Carnage, Hospitality and Homicide, Killer Party, Santa Puppy, Memories and Murder
Also by this author: Guidebook to Murder, Mission to Murder, If the Shoe Kills, Dressed To Kill, Killer Run, Murder on Wheels, Tea Cups and Carnage, A Story to Kill, Hospitality and Homicide, Killer Party, Of Murder and Men, Santa Puppy, Memories and Murder
As sunny South Cove, California, gears up for their annual Fourth of July celebrations, a local murder threatens to kill the fireworks . . .
South Cove’s local 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 . . .
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Mini-Review
Rockets’ Dead Glare is a quick, light, summery read, best for readers who are already fans of Lynn Cahoon’s Tourist Trap Mysteries. I figured out the solution pretty quickly, but enjoyed the chance to “visit” with the residents of South Cove.
I didn’t realize until I finished it that the novella, released this summer, actually fits between If the Shoe Kills (review) and Dressed to Kill (review)—it’s #3.25 in the series. That confused me at first, since some of the details didn’t seem consistent with events in more recent books: Sasha’s presence, for example, and the state of the relationships between Toby and Sasha, Darla and Matt, and even Jill and Greg. Once I realized where the novella fit into the series, everything fell into place.
Cahoon has two more novellas slated for publication this year, Deadly Brew and Santa Puppy. Goodreads seems confused as to where they fit in the series; they’re labelled #9.5 and #9.75 on the series page, but the individual book pages number them as #3.5 and #3.75. I’m guessing that they, too, fall between If the Shoe Kills and Dressed to Kill. I look forward to reading them, but I hope the author has at least a few more full-length Tourist Trap Mysteries in the works.
About Lynn Cahoon
Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today bestselling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. Guidebook to Murder, book 1 of the series, won the Reader’s Crown for Mystery Fiction in 2015. She’s also the author of the Cat Latimer series; the first book, A Story to Kill, was released in mass market paperback in September 2016. Lynn lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER Birthday Bash 2018
Nicole
Fun review! I love the name of the series, too. “Tourist Trap Mysteries” — too fun!
Nicole recently posted…WIP Wednesday for 8 August 2018
Lark_Bookwyrm
It’s a fun series: fairly light, quick and easy to read, but with likable recurring characters and the right touch of humor.
Nicole
Sounds perfect for a cozy mystery!
Nicole recently posted…WIP Wednesday for 15 August 2018
Lark_Bookwyrm
Yup! 🙂
Laura Thomas
Ooh, I’m behind in this series. I’ve enjoyed several of her books. Thanks for your review.
Laura Thomas recently posted…The Girl Who Sees by Dima Zales ~ Blitz and Giveaway
Lark_Bookwyrm
I hope you get a chance to get caught up!
Rita @ View From the Books
I only read the first one or two in this series and lost track, because I have too many open series going on. It looks cute and I just want to note that I almost never read the novellas and short stories that make up 1/2 title numbers. They are almost never necessary to understand the plot, so I just wait for the longer next installments. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on a popular author.
Lark_Bookwyrm
I completely understand skipping the “in-between” stories and novellas. You’re right; they are often unnecessary to understand the overall story arc. But they can be a nice bite-sized treat for die-hard fans. 🙂
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
The timeline definitely threw me for a bit on this. Especially when Sasha showed up. I do enjoy this series but I wish this had come out in chronological order. I think I would have enjoyed it more.
Lark_Bookwyrm
Yes, exactly. Me too.