Mossfire

R&P Labs #1

by Cynthia E. Hurst

Rob Mangan has problems. His small independent research laboratory is on the verge of bankruptcy and his wife’s gone off with the fish tank cleaner. So when Rob and his brother Phil are offered a small fortune to develop surgical dressings using sphagnum moss, they jump at the opportunity. But things that seem too good to be true usually are. In “Mossfire”, the first novel in the series, the R&P staff – Rob, Phil, Ellis, Virginia and Mitch – match wits with a mysterious, mint-sucking millionaire as their supposedly innocent project leads to an unexplained death, a fire and a search for a weapon of moss destruction.

232 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2012

About the author

Cynthia E. Hurst is the author of two light-hearted mystery series set in contemporary Seattle, the R&P Labs Mysteries and the Zukie Merlino Mysteries, as well as the Silver and Simm and Milestone Agency books set in Victorian England. Cynthia grew up in Seattle, earned a journalism degree at the University of Oregon and now divides her time between Seattle and Oxfordshire, the setting for the Silver and Simm and Milestone Agency series.

Reviews

[Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent suspense!

Initially I downloaded just a sample, to see if I liked the book. I bought the first and put the 2nd before even finishing the first! Great characters, solid plot, and overall a great mystery /thriller.

[Megan]

I loved the characters (scientists! all of them--and Sly, I hope she sticks around--too well-rounded and too interesting to be stereotypical even for a moment!) but had to suspend some disbelief regarding clinical trials and some of the mechanics of the plot, like the dead villain having addressed a long letter to the protagonists explaining all the actions he undertook--though I appreciate that the investigative gang also independently confirmed things he said.

[Pepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the characters in the series. They seem like people I would like to sit down and have a cup of coffee with. I also appreciate the interaction between the crew.