Stella Griffin becomes acting fire chief in Sweet Pepper
after an on the job injury forces her to take it easy for a
while. The fact that she slugged her boyfriend when she
caught him cheating and he pressed charges helped Stella see
the wisdom in leaving Chicago for a while.
Her trainees have been lucky until the day they get called
to the burning home of Tory Lambert, one of the driving
forces of Sweet Pepper. Tory was found dead in the basement
of the ruined home. Certain circumstances lead Stella to
believe that Tory was killed and the fire set to hide the
fact.
Tory had always been afraid of fire since her first husband
died in a fire. She was always convinced it was murder.
Just before her own death, Tory had asked Stella to look
into that death. With two suspicious fires, Stella has a
lot to investigate.
When attempts are made on her life, Stella must turn to the
only being that gives her any encouragement. Eric Gamblyn
was the first fire chief in Sweet Pepper. He died in a
building collapse 40 years ago and he has haunted the cabin
and the fire station he built ever since.
Stella must overcome her own fears and disbelief that she is
sharing a cabin with a ghost before she can ask for the help
she needs in trying to find out about the past. What she
learns will put her in danger as she gets closer to the
truth.
The writing of this first book in the series was so polished
and the story so complex that it was hard to believe that
this author had never been published before. Imagine my
delight when I read the copyright page and learned that
Joyce and Jim Levene have added another name to the list
they publish under.
Stella is a strong gritty character who isn't afraid to
fight for what she believes in. She won't let the efforts
of everyone in town stop her from discovering the truth of
what happened to Tory. The whole town focuses on their
Sweet Pepper festival and Stella won't let her duties for
that interfere either.
A fascinating small town with lots of secrets to keep hidden
forms the backdrop to this intricately plotted story. Even
after solving the murder, it is clear there will be more to
come. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Set in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, J. J. Cook’s thrilling new mystery series features Fire Chief Stella Griffin, who solves crime with the help of her predecessor, who just happens to be a ghost…
NO MATCH FOR MURDER
After knocking the lights out of her boyfriend when she catches him cheating on her, Chicago fire fighter Stella Griffin hops on her Harley and heads for Sweet Pepper, Tennessee, where she ends up becoming the small town’s fire chief. When her dear friend Tory Lambert dies after her gingerbread-style house is set ablaze, Stella suspects arson and foul play.
As Stella investigates, she gets help from a most unlikely source—the ghost of Eric Gamlyn, Sweet Pepper’s old fire chief. And if that isn’t enough to rattle her, attractive police officer John Trump seems to have taken an interest in her. But Stella’s got to stay focused if she hopes to smoke out a killer before her own life is extinguished.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES!
Excerpt
It wasn't like she hadn't lost people before. There had been others she, and a company of well–trained firefighters, couldn't save. Mostly they were like Tory, dead long before the fire even reached them. But dead was dead. It was never easy no matter how many times it happened.
It wasn't even the first time she'd lost someone she'd known. Mr. Esposito, the butcher from the next street up in her neighborhood, had fallen asleep with a cigarette in his hand. She wouldn't even have known it was him if she hadn't known it was his place.
And there had been her third grade teacher, Mrs. Ann Foley. She liked to light candles to her dead husband. One got tipped over and caught her drapes on fire. She'd climbed in the bathtub to stay safe instead of just getting out of her apartment.
Stella wiped away old tears with those memories as she finished her Coke. It was funny how you thought things didn't bother you anymore until something happened that brought all the hurt back. She hadn't planned for something like that here. There was no one she could talk to. Everyone was back home.
She stumbled back into the kitchen and got another Coke. She off her smoky clothes before she got in the hot tub to let the hot water ease her aching shoulder.
"I'm just feeling sorry for myself," she said to the crickets and the little bat that liked to swoop around the deck at night. "It's stupid, but there it is. I need to go home. I'm in good shape now. I can go back to work. I don't have to see Doug. I don't have to be here for this either. This wasn't part of my job description."
"Cutting out already?" a deep, male voice asked.
Stella dropped her Coke bottle into the hot tub bubbles. She used her foot to feel around for it. "Get out now and I'll forget you've been playing all these practical jokes on me."
"I knew it! You can hear me!"
Great! He wasn't impressed by her threats. "Leave now!"
He laughed. "I wish it were that easy. And I wouldn't call turning on the light when I know you'll be home late a practical joke. You can have a bad fall if you don't get up the stairs safely."
"Look, I don't know who you are or why you've decided you're my guardian angel, but you should leave now. I'm expecting a police officer in a few minutes. I don't think he'd be too happy to find you here."
The porch was in darkness but Stella could make out the man's shadowy shape in the rocking chair she'd just left.
How did he get in?
She'd locked the door. He had to have a key. That's what gave him access whenever he wanted to move things around or try to scare her.
She didn't recognize his voice—he definitely wasn't one of her rejected recruits. She didn't know what else to do to get rid of him. She could hardly step out naked and threaten him. Even in the shadows, she could see he was a big man.
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