Hot Stones--Cold Death
Barbara P. Fleming (Guest Reviewer - Barbara Glass)
2001 Silver Maple Publications
ISBN: 0970897006 Amazon's price is: $14.99
Two men, dressed in tribal costumes are discovered murdered in an exhibit at the Smithsonian.
District of Columbia homicide detective Matt Alexander tackles the intriguing case of a double murder under tight security, a major jewel heist from a theft-proof display case, & numerous hostile witnesses with all the thrilling twists & turns of a breath-taking roller coaster ride toward a totally unexpected conclusion.
Guest Reviewer Barbara Glass writes:
Barbara Fleming has written a gripping mystery that comes alive with the real voices of people. Dialogue is one of the author's great strengths, & through it she brings the reader into each vivid scene, beginning with the discovery of two grotesquely staged bodies in the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, & the realization that a priceless emerald necklace has disappeared from the museum's gem collection.
The necklace, by the way, is real & is pictured on the cover of the novel by permission of the Smithsonian Institution. Barbara Fleming's strong-willed detective, Matthew Alexander, probes other characters' motives & whereabouts while negotiating the tense, politically charged administrative levels of one of the nation's oldest & largest institutions.
In Hot Stones--Cold Death, Matthew Alexander's stubborn digging takes the reader into mysterious circumstances at a local commune-temple, information gathering in a smoky bar & grill, a search for secret compartments in the gem curator's home, the discovery of a woman hunting for missing family members in a cheap rooming house, & some not-strictly-legal safe cracking. Punctuating these excursions are Matt Alexander's all too few & often late-night pit stops at home, where he cuddles his children & spars with his sexy wife. Always, though, he is drawn deeper & deeper into a maze of detail that doesn't add up, while the reader is held in tantalizing suspense.
Enjoy this rich plot, full of twists & turns, & savor the characters. This is likely to be the first in an exciting series by a promising new author.
(02/02/03)
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