Playing With Fire

Claire Abbott Mystery #2

by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Small-town journalist Claire Abbott has a sixth sense, what the fire chief calls a "radar for crime." When a string of suspicious fires breaks out in town, Claire thinks she knows who the firebug is. Or does she? She finds there is much more to the story than she imagined. Worse, no one will believe her. The firebug is getting bolder, and the fires he sets more dangerous. Claire is now in a race against time to catch the arsonist in the act before he takes a life.

Playing with Fire is the second in a series of mysteries featuring journalist and sleuth Claire Abbott.

Genres: Mystery

120 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

Watch for Gail's new novel, The Almost Widow, a thriller, released May 2023.

GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the UK’s Betty Trask Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Vancity Book Prize. Her second novel, A Recipe for Bees, was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The Spawning Grounds was nominated for the Sunburst Award and the Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award and short-listed for the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Fiction. Her thriller, The Almost Wife was a national bestseller in 2021, and her most recent novel, The Almost Widow, is out in May 2023.

Gail also writes young adult and hi-lo books for the educational market. Her book Iggy’s World was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Awards. The Ride Home was short-listed for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, as well as the Red Cedar Fiction Award and the Chocolate Lily Book Award.

She taught for nearly a decade in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of British Columbia and now mentors writers online. Gail Anderson-Dargatz lives in the Shuswap region of British Columbia.

Reviews

[Toni Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2, in the Claire Abbott Mystery

I received an advance copy from Orca Book Publishers for my thoughts. Being a “Rapid Reads” I knew the story would have been short (120 pages or so), simple (no dictionary needed) and easy to read (huge font). According to the publisher this one is at level 2.8 and targets an audience mostly of young readers and those still young at heart. I enjoyed having them in my collection to zip through them when press for time or when my mind is preoccupied.

“Playing with Fire” continues Claire’s dramas as a small-town reporter with a sixth sense. Her first outing was in “Search and Rescue” published in 2014. Now in her latest Claire seeks an arsonist before he ends up killing someone.

This story has some intrigue although it was quite easy to figure who is the real culprit. For obvious reasons we find little character or plot development. Having said this, I did find the story to be cute and captivating. Her next outing will be in 2017 so stay tuned.

[Sanna Bergkvist · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kan man ge 0? Varför kan man inte ge 0??? Jag trodde den förra boken var kass, men den här var om möjligt ännu sopigare. Åter igen... En brud som bara tänker på magrutor och "snygga" killar och beter sig som en idiot för att sen bli upprörd när folk inte vill hjälpa henne??? Hur kan en karaktär inte utveckla något mellan böckerna...

Hade jag inte varit tvungen att läsa för jobbet hade jag lagt bort den första av dem efter bara några sidor...

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Looking for books for students but this was not it.

[Brighton Hugg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a charming and fast read, but I found that the dialogue was unrealistic. The suspense was mild because the ending could be seen from a mile away, but the romantic side-plot was a good bit of fun.

[Andreas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Den första boken i serien var usel, men den här var definitivt än värre. Det är med skräckblandad förtjusning jag tar mig an den tredje delen.

[Tbfrank · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Search and Rescue, less complex but still amusing and entertaining for the intended audience.

[Ficie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it's meant to be a quick read, but I felt that the characters were underdeveloped, and the "mystery" was too obvious (it's hard to miss the culprit when there are 5 characters in total...)

[Pgchuis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book through the Librarything Early Reviewers scheme. This is the second time I have unintentionally requested a "Rapid Reads" story (I must check the publishing imprint details more carefully!). I am not the sort of reader these stories are intended for. I found the writing style to be very simple, in places so much so that it felt as if I were reading a children's book. I appreciate that Rapid Reads are meant to be easy to read, but I wondered if this one in places crossed a line.

Claire Abbott is a reporter on a weekly paper in a small town and, as the story opens, has helped locate a missing girl by having a "vision" of her lost in the woods. This ability she has inherited from her mother and she uses again in this story, where she helps uncover an arsonist setting fire to sheds and later more significant buildings in the town. Claire's "help" consists in having partial "visions" which lead her to accuse more or less all the available suspects (and there aren't many) in turn, before deducing the real culprit, a deduction I had managed much earlier. She is supposed to be 30 years old, but her romantic musings read like those of a teenager and were very wearing. I'm not sure who I wold recommend this book to, although I concede that it is indeed quick and easy to read.

[Niles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advanced reading copy of this book through Library Thing's early reader program. This was an easy book to read and I finished it in less than three hours. It seems that the target audience is middle school girls, and I think it would be enjoyable to them. In such a short book it would be hard to develop the characters and thus I found them to be one dimensional.

The mystery was interesting and Claire's sixth sense added an interesting twist. I thought the fact that she could not control when her visions would come and that she could not always interpret them correctly to be a nice touch. However, I thought the book centered more on Claire's love triangle with Matt and Trevor and how it was eventually resolved.

I would categorize this book more as a romantic mystery. I would recommend it to middle school girls and I plan on giving it to my niece. I don't believe this would interest many male readers.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Claire Abbott mystery series. It's also a “Rapid Reads” book, so meant as a quick read or for adult literacy learners. I have an Advanced Reader's Copy here.

Claire is a reporter in a small town. She is dating one of the firemen, Trevor, but Matt is interested in her, as well, so she decides to date both at the same time, while constantly being warned that she'll have to choose between them. There is also an arsonist in town and she is trying to figure out who it might be.

It was ok. I read and enjoyed the first in the series more. It is very simple and it took less than an hour to read. I was able to figure out the arsonist without too much trouble.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice quick read. A Claire Abbot Mystery. I have never read any books by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. I found myself not wanting to put the book down.

This mystery was of an arsonist setting fires. Claire Abbott has visions and she thought she knew who was the firebug. I will be looking for more books by Gail Anderson-Dargatz