Under Fire: A Candice Holladay Cozy Mystery

by Carla Crowe

The latest arson/murder case sends shock waves through the peaceful community of East Black Oak.

Local authorities are stumped, and Detective Candice Holladay, renowned for her eagle-eye precision, is brought in.

As she arrives at the crime scene, her initial impressions are unsettling. She starts examining the evidence, unearthing the arsonist's meticulous planning.

Candice's interactions with the townspeople reveal hidden dynamics within the community, as well as clues about the victims' connections.

Her thorough nature leads to overlooked case files, hidden patterns in the arson locations, and a connection to an old prison.

As she uncovers clues, Candice gets closer to discovering the truth about the arsonist's identity. Pressure mounts on the investigators in the small town “under fire”.

Her revelation about who the arsonist is starts a race against time to stop the frightening events in East Black Oak.

65 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 16, 2024

Reviews

[Cornel Diaconu · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the famous detective Candice Holladay, invited to help identifying the arsonist in a small town seems to be too much brag about her own abilities, and not so much real capabilities.
Okay, she somehow finds the arsonist, via some intense thought digging into various archives; but some ideas came out of the blue, and not really connections found - I mean not even close to Sherlock Holmes type of detective...
And the ending was kinda abrupt.
Also here and there there were repetitions of previous bits (as in Candice repeating was she did in previous chapter(s) ), as if this story, short as it is, was actually published in episodes somewhere, and here these episodes wre only put together in a "volume".
I'm not sure I will follow next books in the series.

[Juliet Minerva Swift · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to dnf this. The start was quite bad with repeated bits, like "The news wept through the crowd like a chilling gust of wind. This was not just arson; it was murder. The news spread like wildfire through the town."
Like seriously, this was taken word by word from the novella. Not only it's the same concept repeated, but the exact same words one sentence away. Similarly soon after, the main character sits down on the couch, has a bad feeling about the case, and then sits down on the couch. Again.

This is in need of an editor, the language is very pompous but nothing really gets said, only the main character constantly thinking she will get to the bottom of it and had a bad feeling or is pondering how the past has an effect on the present

The mystery is also not really a thing, she keeps going on about how it might have to do with a feud that took place in the past but nothing says why she thinks that feud is connected to the current arson episodes, aside from "it happened in town so it must be connected" and that doesn't cut it.

Despite being very short, I'm calling it quits at 47%.

[Roger Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 Book Review 📚
Under Fire
By
Carla Crowe
⭐⭐⭐⭐
An arsonist in the small town of East Black Oaks is burning residents' homes in what seems to be a random occurrence with little clues for the police to go on. Upon discovering a body in the latest fire, the police realize that they need assistance in solving the crimes. The town’s police chief reaches out to a neighboring city to enlist the help of seasoned Detective Candice Holladay to assist in solving the crime. The detective is teamed up with local police officer, James Sterling, and the two set off on their intensive investigation. Detective Holladay soon learns that the small town holds many secrets, the most deep-seated is the feud between two founding town families, the Carmichaels and the Patterson. As the investigation progresses, Detective Holladay finds clues previously missed and begins to postulate a sequence of events that may explain the motivation for the arsons and murder.
The main characters in Carla Crowe's short, engrossing crime story were well-written, and the interpersonal relationships were easy to follow. Carla Crowe instilled sufficient suspense and tension to keep the reader turning pages and enjoying the story. The plot was clever and not overbearing, with details that may have bogged down the pace. This was an easy book to read and I look forward to continuing reading the Candice Holladay series. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Readers Copy

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The small, quiet town of East Black Oak has been overcome with fires and the local police need help in discovering how they are happening. After the local police thought the first fire was just natural,so they never collected any evidence but when more happened and the police seemed stumped, they call in Detective Candice Holladay who is known to be very exacting and detail oriented in solving her cases. With the help of Officer Sterling, will she be able to find the arsonist and wade through all the secrets of the town before more people can be hurt? This book is entirely entertaining causing you to turn page after page until the surprise ending. I highly recommend this book and want to see more of Candice and Sterling. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Beverley]

I really enjoyed this book and it went at a good pace. I like the collaboration between one set of police officers with a specialist detective. It was a clear story and showed that even the best of detectives needs her team in the background helping her research and check things. Officer Sterling made a good sidekick for Detective Holladay and I loved that she did go (as promised) and have pie and coffee with him and his daughter. I look forward to reading more of these stories.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the title and description, I expected more action. This is a story of the research of the investigation. Although interesting, I felt let down. Also, writing in third person, the author kept using the detectives whole name: Detective Candice Holladay, rather than just Candice. Redundant and felt like padding the word count. Not bad for a first book.

Received an ARC and this is my honest, unsolicited review.

[Linda Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A entertaining short story introducing Candace Holliday to the town of East Black Oaks. Candace has been asked to help in an investigation. At first the officers of East Black Oaks thought the fires were accidents. Slowly they realised that there was an arsonist. In the latest fire someone died, so now they are a murderer. Does someone have a vendetta against the town? Follow the clues as Candice ‘digs’ through the fires.

[Lorraine O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great well thought out plot that is executed masterfully. A series of fires have a small town terrified. The local authorities are stumped. They request Candace Holladay, a great detective who works on the force in a big city. She arrives and gets straight to work, finding clues that the locals missed. She interviews person after person, getting info on the history of the town and its residents. You will never guess how this plays out. Read it and enjoy. It earned it's 5 stars.

[Martine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candice, a retired police detective, moves to East Black Oak to start a new life. But local police asks her assistance in a murder case. This is a nice and entertaining story that I truly enjoyed. It has nice characters and of course a sweet dog.
I received an advance review copy for free via Booksprout and I'm leaving a voluntary and honest review.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good introduction to Det. Candice Holladay and how she teamed up with a small town officer on an arson and murder case. They dug up some shocking evidence, and I really enjoyed Candice and Officer Sterling sleuthing together. Once they got their confession, Candice’s job was done, but I’m betting this small town’s gonna see lots more of her soon.

[Skater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Introduction

Under Fire is a great introduction to a new series. Detective Candice Holliday is called in to help a small town investigate a series of arsons. This is a novella. It is a good, quick, story no character development. It is well written and promises a great series.

[karin whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced story. Great characters, Candince and Sterling make a good team! A small town dealing with an arsonist that leaves clues at the scenes. I'm not a regular reader of cozy mysteries, so this might be a new path reading. Received this Novel as an ARC for my review.

[Dave Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short intro to Candice

A number of arson attacks being Investigator Candice Holladay to East Black Oak and we meet the folk of this quaint town

Candice proves herself and the ready will be a great service in just getting into, one I want to recommend to chill a few hours away with.

[Karin Tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is the arsonist and why??? Vengeance??? Or is it justice??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.

[Chili Diane Evance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how clues were found and sent Detective Holladay and the local police off to find how they were related to all the fires. It was a most interesting read.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good, short, arson/murder mystery that only takes about an hour to read.

[Darlene C Robold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and easy to read. Smart characters with training and dedication to solve the case, and good characterization of guilty party and other characters. I like the series

[Wendy Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short sweet start to an interesting series. It held my interest and I have to other books in the series lined up to read.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great mystery that will keep you intrigued. Candice is brought in to try and solve the case as she’s one of the best there is. Well written.