A Burning Question

by Nancy Gotter Gates

Emma Daniels finds herself forced to evacuate her high rise condo in the middle of the night when a condo on the floor below catches fire. The resident Henry Conley, who is found dead in his bed from smoke inhalation, was a member of the Looking Back group that presents programs on early Florida history founded by Emma and her best friend Cal Murray. Though the fire marshal rules the blaze began accidentally when a pan of bacon was left on the stove by an inebriated Henry, many residents are skeptical as they claim Henry didn’t cook. Emma learns that Henry moved to Sarasota after a bitter divorce and was involved romantically with a number of women in the building. Her investigation uncovers tangled relationships, jealousy, and wild accusations. In the meantime Emma’s daughter-in-law shows up with a heartbreaking confession. When Emma takes one too many chances in her investigation, her relationship with Cal is threatened. Determined to continue, however, Emma and her son Mark come very close to losing their lives to the killer. And the final, shocking revelation about Henry sends ripple effects throughout the building.

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 2011

About the author

Nancy Gotter Gates grew up in Columbus, Ohio where she began writing poetry almost as soon as she learned to read and write, publishing her first poem at age eight. Marriage, motherhood and positions as public relations director for a school district, Girl Scout council and regional library precluded writing anything but news releases and newsletters for many years.

Series:
* Tommi Poag Mystery
* Emma Daniels Mystery

Reviews

[Barbara]

Emma lives in Sarasota, FL, in a retirement complex of condos. She gets curious about the death of one of the men in the building who died while cooking. However, all of his many lady friends say he didn't cook. Emma starts looking into the mystery and that leads to problems with her love interest Cal, possible drug dealers, and the building manager. She also has her ex-daughter-in-law jump off the balcony.
There is a lot to this book which I found delightful. I have never read a mystery dealing with seniors. I really enjoyed the book.

[Cristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book because the story takes place in a retirement community and the characters are all quite a bit older than me. It was an interesting book, though. The mystery was well thought out and the overall story was more sordid than I anticipated. I was expecting a fluff piece. What initially drew me to this book was that it's set in Florida, close to where I live, and the main character is from Ohio, where I grew up. It's a nice beach read. :)