That Old Flame of Mine by J. J. Cook

That Old Flame of Mine (Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade, #1)

by J. J. Cook

Set in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, J. J. Cook’s thrilling new mystery series features Fire Chief Stella Griffin, who solves crime with the help of her predecessor, who just happens to be a ghost…

NO MATCH FOR MURDER

After knocking the lights out of her boyfriend when she catches him cheating on her, Chicago fire fighter Stella Griffin hops on her Harley and heads for Sweet Pepper, Tennessee, where she ends up becoming the small town’s fire chief. When her dear friend Tory Lambert dies after her gingerbread-style house is set ablaze, Stella suspects arson and foul play.

As Stella investigates, she gets help from a most unlikely source—the ghost of Eric Gamlyn, Sweet Pepper’s old fire chief. And if that isn’t enough to rattle her, attractive police officer John Trump seems to have taken an interest in her. But Stella’s got to stay focused if she hopes to smoke out a killer before her own life is extinguished.


INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES!

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

4 of 5 stars

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Excellent first in a new series! Great setting, great characters and lots of complex relationships. The setting of Sweet Pepper, Tennessee, where they grow jalepeno's is a bit of fun - cooking contests with hot peppers and some recipes included in the back, had me interested on another level. The family angle will offer quite a bit of future story building. I might have a crush on the ghost. I have no use for the 'live' love interest though...

There are two mysteries at the root of this book: a current one and a cold case one that was ruled accidental. Both had lots of clues and lots of possibilities. I guessed the killer, but not until page 270-something.

Overall a great start and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 April, 2013: Finished reading
  • 13 April, 2013: Reviewed