a review of "Red Hot Lies"

Red Hot Lies by Laura Caldwell
(Mira Books, ISBN 978-0778326502)

In this book, the first in a new mystery trilogy, everything in Izzy McNeil's life seems to be going right. Although she is a fairly new associate at her law firm, she has been fortunate enough to have become the lead entertainment attorney for Pickett Enterprises and millionaire radio station mogul, Forester Pickett. He is more than just her client, but a friend and a mentor and in fact, the one that introduced her to her fiance. And in just a few weeks she and her handsome love, Sam Hollings, will be walking down the aisle.

But then, of course, things start to fall apart. First, Sam does not show up for a dinner engagement, and calling everyone they know, all night long, she can't find out what has happened to him. Then she gets the call that her number one client is dead, from an apparent heart attack. Then finally, it comes to light that it appears that Sam has disappeared with over 30 million dollars in Panamanian real estate bonds that belonged to Pickett. Before you know it, the police and the FBI are at Izzy's door, but since they do not seem very interested in her claim that Pickett was receiving threats, or the idea that there might be some explanation for what Sam has done, Izzy herself will have to get involved in investigating what has happened.

This is not a great book, but it is not a bad book either. The book is well written and the plot is pretty good, even if I think it could have been edited to a tighter, shorter, and better story. And there are some good characters, most of then minor. I liked the detective Izzy hires to try and find Sam and figure out what happened, P.I. John Mayburn, her best friend Maggie, a lawyer who loves defending her drug dealers clients is nevertheless quite fun and a very short appearance by her brother Charlie, who lives to read his books and drink his wine, won me over. I started to wish one of them was the central character, because the largest problem I had with this book is that it rests firmly on the shoulders of "Red Hot" Izzy and I can't say that I really liked her a whole lot. As a lawyer, she seems totally out of her depth...as a fiance, she was amazing fast to except the possibility that the supposed love of her life was a thief and maybe a murderer. Without giving too much away, let's say loyalty is not her real strength.

Sort of chick-lit meets murder mystery that might, if the weather was not getting a bit too chilly, make a nice beach read.

My thanks to the Amazon Vine Program for this book.

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