Up in Smoke

by Charlene Weir

Part of Susan Wren, book 6

First published 2003

A thunderstorm has just passed when Governor Jack Garrett arrives in Hampstead with Wakely Fromm, his loyal friend who uses a wheelchair after a forest fire twenty years earlier made Jack a hero and left Wakely injured. Jack is fighting for his party's presidential nomination when disaster strikes his campaign. A business card belonging to Sean Donovan, one of Jack's campaign workers and Susan's own cousin, appears at a murder scene. Police Chief Susan Wren begins her investigation and uncovers evidence that leads directly to Governor Garrett himself. Susan must make an impossible choice between two suspects. She can arrest Sean Donovan, her own family member, or she can arrest a sitting governor who may become president. The case forces Susan to weigh family loyalty against professional duty while navigating the dangerous waters of political ambition and personal relationships.

Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, political-thriller

Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, family-loyalty

Setting: Hampstead

Period: 20th-century

272 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books

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