Book Review: Hot, Shot, and Bothered by Nora McFarland (Lilly Hawkins #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery with a different backdrop and real characters

Cons: Would have liked more of supporting cast; personally, fire too much at times

The Bottom Line: 

Murder during fire

Divides Lilly's attention

But keeps the reader's

Lilly's Burning Desire to Solve a Murder

Last fall, I read the first in the Lilly Hawkins mystery series and really enjoyed it.  I’m not quite sure why it took me so long to get to the second one, but I just finished Hot, Shot, and Bothered, and it was a good follow up.

Wildfires are burning out of control in the mountains outside of Bakersfield.  Not only are they threatening the community of Elizabeth Lake, but they are also heading toward major communication towers.

In the middle of the mayhem, a body is found floating in the lake.  It’s assumed that the victim was out partying and drown.  Lilly Hawkins, a shooter for a local TV station, doesn’t buy it.  She knew the victim and knew she didn’t drink at all.  Compelled by their shared past, Lilly begins poking around between filming the fire.  Can she solve the crime before the fire destroys the evidence?

Now, I did have a problem with the book – the fire.  Actually, it was a double edged sword.  It increased the intensity of the story, but it also stressed me out.  I live in fire country and have lived through a few major fires, so that aspect of things stressed me out a bit.  On the other hand, the descriptions of the fire and the ash felt very real.  It makes a great backdrop for the mystery, and the author did very well with it.  It just wasn’t my first choice of settings.

The mystery itself was good.  It traded places with the fire quite regularly for the main focus of the plot, but when Lilly was pursuing it, there were some nice red herrings and clues to help her and us along the way.  It goes to an explosive climax that I didn’t see coming.

I was sad that many of the supporting characters from the first book weren’t around that much in this one.  I had really grown to love them and was looking forward to spending more time with them.  But it just made their scenes even better.  The new cast of characters were equally well developed, and I came to like many of them.  Lilly feels like she’s grown from the first book.  She’s still blunt and aggressive, but she is a little more aware of those around her and their feelings.

I definitely enjoyed my repeat visit with Lilly and am looking forward to reading her third case.  Hot, Shot, and Bothered is a good read for those looking for real characters and a different backdrop to their murder mystery.