15 MINUTES OF FLAME is the third book in Christin Brecher’s “Nantucket Candle Maker” cozy mystery series. Although this is the third book in the series, it was the first I’ve read. I believe 15 MINUTES OF FLAME works as a standalone novel, even though it’s part of a series. Stella Wright may be the owner of the candle store Wick & Flame, but in this story, she is also a likable amateur sleuth. Stella is helping put together a Girl Scouts’ Halloween fundraiser when she stumbles on a human skeleton in a historic building. This book is full of local history and spooky atmosphere.
Although Stella is a shop owner, and not a professional investigator, she becomes involved in a man’s death when her discovery is what drew him to the location and circumstances surrounding death. The murder is fascinating because it took place with lots of people in the vicinity, but with their view blocked, nobody was able to say exactly what happened. It soon appears as though a centuries-old murder begat a more recent one. The man who died was an academic and somebody who you wouldn’t think of as being at a high risk for danger, but Stella discovers he had a complicated romantic life and professional rivalries that may have endangered him. Stella’s boyfriend, Peter Bailey, is a reporter and able to aide her in hunting down much needed info. The list of suspects includes a diverse group – including people close to the victim, other academics, and even Stella’s own family members. Christin Brecher does a phenomenal job of keeping the fun, small-town cozy vibe, while also inject an element of suspense and paranoia. Almost everybody in 15 MINUTES OF FLAME seemed suspicious to me, and some of the isolated locations Stella was investigating gave me the chills.
15 MINUTES OF FLAME is a satisfying mystery with a mix of cozy and creepy, great storytelling, and intriguing characters. Even though the historical mystery the characters are so consumed with may be fictional, I was just as captivated by that as I was the murder. I look forward to Christin Brecher’s next “Nantucket Candle Maker” mysteries.
As Stella Wright’s Nantucket candle store thrives, her knack for solving mysteries burns equally bright—especially when a Halloween haunted house uncovers evidence of a centuries-old murder . . . When Stella’s friend inherits a creaky, abandoned home in Nantucket, she knows it’s the perfect setting for the town’s annual Halloween fundraiser. A deserted, boarded-up building on the property—once used as a candle-making shop—adds to the creepy ambiance. But as Stella explores the shack’s dilapidated walls, she discovers a terrible secret: the skeleton of a Quaker woman, wrapped in blood-soaked clothing and hidden deep within a stone hearth . . . While police investigate, Stella wastes no time asking for help from friends with long ties to Nantucket’s intricate history. The key to the murder may lie within a scorching 18th century love triangle that pit two best friends against one another over a dubious man. But before the case is solved, another life will be claimed—leaving Stella to wonder who in Nantucket is friend, and who is foe . . . Praise for Murder’s No Votive Confidence “A charming mystery with believable, likeable characters. Check it out.” —Suspense Magazine
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