Part of Bookstore Cafe Mystery, book 11
First published 2023
Krissy Hancock swaps her bookstore cafe duties for marathon running on a blazing hot day in Pine Hills, Ohio. She questions her decision to enter the town's inaugural race as the heat bears down on the runners. Her doubts turn to horror when she stumbles upon a fellow competitor's body on the course. Red welts encircling the victim's neck make it clear that extreme temperatures didn't kill him. Someone strangled this runner who had accumulated numerous adversaries through romantic deceptions and shady business dealings. Krissy hopes to avoid getting involved in another murder case, but circumstances pull her in when Johan, her friend Rita's boyfriend, becomes linked to the death. Loyalty to Rita compels Krissy to search for the true murderer. She races against time to identify the killer before Pine Hills loses another resident to violence in this heat-soaked mystery.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, adult-fiction, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth
Vibes: atmospheric, cozy, engaging, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family, reluctant-investigator, small-town-mystery
Setting: Pine Hills, Ohio
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
322 pages · Kindle Edition · Kensington Books
Content warnings: death, murder