Taos Chill
Linda Lea Castle
Five Star, Mar 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 9781594147548
In 2007 in Taos, New Mexico romance author Carmen Pollini is knows for her flash temper. This morning she got into a dispute with Rapid Express Delivery person Jake the Snake over a fender bender; she and Jake have been going at it for longer than that as she accuses him of tossing her packages haphazardly. After stopping to see her insurance agent Mr. Hardass; whoops make that Hardwick, she goes home only to find the corpse of Jake in her driveway. County Sheriff Jim Dunn arrives immediately and arrests Carmen while his replacement as sheriff Hugh Blaines watches in shock because any arrest seems premature at this time.
Meanwhile Carmen is stalked by emails that contains threats of exposing plagiarism and by gifts left anonymous by her biggest fan. Soon after being released from jail, she learns Dunn was fired due to accusations by women of sexual harassment and replaced by Blaines. At a nearby convention Carmen accuses her literary agent of stealing her royalties; Ethyl Gatz admits it, but also says she is filing for bankruptcy so Carmen will collect nothing. When Carmen slips and accidentally takes down Ethyl to the floor everyone assumes she lost her temper and attacked the woman. Soon afterward, Ethyl is found dead. Blaines initially believes Carmen is a killer, but reconsiders his premise when he learns of the sexy gifts and the nasty emails. He vows to find the killer and learn who is causing so much trouble for Carmen.
This is a lighthearted police procedural starring a trouble magnet and the sheriff attracted to her though he believes she is epitome of what he detests in a woman. The story line is fast-paced as Carmen has quite a temper, which she gets from both of her compassionate divorced parents (what can one expect from a transplanted New Yorker – I know personally). Readers will enjoy this fun tale though the solution to the murders seems abrupt and the motive required a crazy person to forge it.
Harriet Klausner
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