Red Hot Murder

Red Hot Murder by Joanne Pence blends modern mystery elements with a nod to old westerns. Pence plays with stereotypes with a bit of humor in the midst of her characters, Angie and Paavo, becoming embroiled in a series of mysterious events in a small Arizona town connected to Paavo's childhood. While Pence creates characters who are easily relatable, the characters aren't necessarily likable. Sometimes Pence's choice of words distracted me from the story, but not enough to make me stop reading. As in many mysteries, sometimes the characters' decisions are hard to understand even though they further the story. Red Hot Murder proved to be a combination of intriguing, engaging, satisfying and at times predictable.

Angie Amalfi is the child of wealthy parents who is a chef, much to her mother's dismay. She is also recently engaged to homicide detective Paavo Smith, to her father’s dismay. Angie leaps at the chance to spend some time alone and away with Paavo in sun-drenched Arizona, where he spent part of his childhood. Paavo is going back to help an old friend investigate the murder of a wealthy local. Angie innocently manages to offend some of the admittedly eccentric locals. When a second murder is committed she ends up in the middle of a murderous mystery.