Fire and Ashes: Angela Richman, Death Investigator, Book 2

In Viets’s predictable sequel to 2016’s Brain Storm, the bigots in Chouteau Forest, Mo., rush to judgment in the case of Luther Delor, who perishes in a fire at his mansion in Olympia Forest Estates, a gated community. Wealthy, 70-year-old Luther, an obnoxious drunk, was divorcing his wife of 40 years and planning to marry Kendra Salvato, a beautiful 20-year-old manicurist. Det. Ray Greiman and fire investigator Capt. Douglas Hachette are sure that Kendra murdered Luther in an act of arson, but Angela Richman, the death investigator for Chouteau County, has her doubts. Kendra’s Mexican heritage and the unlikely engagement are enough to convict her in the eyes of the residents of Olympia Forest Estates, where rampant prejudice is the rule and where Angela finds suspects other than Kendra. The solution to Luther’s death may disappoint some readers. [em]Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Agency. (July) [/em]