Foal Play

March 4, 2013
Smalltown hilarity buoys O’Sullivan’s charming debut, winner of Malice Domestic’s best traditional first novel competition. On a hot Fourth of July, Colleen McCabe, the fire chief of Corolla, N.C., goes to the scene of a burning house owned by cantankerous former school teacher Myrtle Crepe. Inside lie the remains of a charred female, whom everyone fears is Myrtle. Later, Colleen inspects another burned body, which washed up on the beach earlier in the day. Colleen knows better than to do some inconspicuous investigating, especially since her best friend and town sheriff, Bill Dorman, has given her a stern warning against it, but keeping her nose clean proves easier said than done. Readers will enjoy the quirky supporting cast—from Pinky Salvatore, the town’s closest thing to a criminal, to Little Bobby, Myrtle’s beleaguered only child—though some will hope the author will develop Colleen more in future installments. The Outer Banks setting, home to wild mustangs, adds to the appeal. 

March 1, 2013
A fire chief, a sheriff and a border collie solve a murder. Colleen McCabe is the fire chief on Corolla Island, part of the lovely Outer Banks of North Carolina, where tourists come to see the wild horses who roam free. A dead body that washes up on the beach marks the start of big trouble for Colleen and her friend Sheriff Bill Dorman, who wants her to stick to fires and butt out of his police work. Then an explosion rips through the home of Colleen's former schoolteacher Myrtle Crepe. The body found inside is presumed to be that of Myrtle, whose tart tongue has earned her many enemies. But Myrtle, who may have seen something dangerous, turns up quite alive. She begs her old pupil to hide her, and Colleen reluctantly agrees, though she questions her decision when Myrtle uses her thespian skills to disguise herself as Colleen's uncle and starts sleuthing on her own. In the meantime, Colleen's border collie, Sparky, helps a little girl dig up a heroin cache on the beach. The girl works with her art teacher to sketch the man she saw nearby, but the teacher is murdered and the sketch destroyed before anyone can see it. The DEA, arriving to work the case, arrests a harmless mentally challenged man who Colleen and Bill know is innocent. They vow to use their local knowledge to track down the real killer. O'Sullivan's debut features pleasantly amusing characters but not a very challenging mystery.

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April 1, 2013

Wild horses are part of what makes North Carolina's Outer Banks such a popular tourist destination. But a dead body on the beach and a fatal arson house fire do not fit into the region's idea of Fourth of July festivities. Local law enforcement, including Sheriff Bill Dorman, is flummoxed. Fire Chief Colleen McCabe, Dorman's potential girlfriend, loves her work but can't resist a little amateur sleuthing on the side. Colleen ends up harboring an eccentric in her home and trying to puzzle out the arsonist on her own, with unpredictable results. Meanwhile, the beach victim might tie in with drug running, ratcheting the danger level a bit higher than this small town had bargained for. VERDICT Winner of the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition, this promising series debut cozy showcases a strong sense of place and a likable cast of characters. The author's gutsy amateur sleuth heroine shows great potential for future installments. This makes a nice pairing with fellow newcomer Susan M. Boyer's Lowcountry Boil.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2013
Winner of the Malice Domestic Competition, Foal Play introduces fire chief Colleen McCabe, who lives on North Carolina's Outer Banks, where a mini crime wave is gripping the area. First a dead body washes ashore, and then the home of a local busybody is firebombed, with a body inside. Colleen tries to work with sheriff Bill Dorman, a friend and possibly more, who does not want her involved. A local developer with purported Mob connections has been known to start fires as an excuse to see Colleen, but she does not believe he is behind the murders. Meanwhile, she is concerned about the fate of some wild Spanish mustangs who have escaped from a local sanctuary. The setting, unusual occupation of the protagonist, and the supporting cast of small-town characters all mesh nicely in this humor-laden, thoroughly absorbing cozy. Colleen is a strong, smart woman, similar in style to Arly Hanks in Joan Hess' series, and readers will look for more from her.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)