Blaming the Arsonist

The Protectors #1

by Kris Nelscott, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

UC Berkeley, January, 1969—In the midst of turbulent student protests on campus, a cherished building suddenly bursts into flames. Pammy Griffin, an alum who owns a women’s gym nearby, heads over to check out the fire and walks straight into a troubling mystery. Who wants Berkeley to burn? Hippies? Protesters? Or someone with an even darker motive?

But as Pammy investigates, she finds herself, and her gym, embroiled in a troubling turn of events. To catch the arsonist, she and members of her gym must confront some of society’s most brutal, and most hidden, violence using whatever weapons they can.

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2017

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists--even in London--and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.

Reviews

[Howard Brazee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know that Kris Nelscott was Kristine Kathryn Rusch, until I saw it on her web page. She writes excellent short stories, and has been sharing one weekly for a while for us to read. I hope this translates into sales (I have bought more of her novels since they were available - along with some of the stories I had read).

This story made me uncomfortable, reminding me about how bad some people can be - and how much we need to support people like the protagonist who teaches abused women how to survive.

Go to https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., and check out her "Free Fiction Monday" and follow the author.

[Lyndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prequel/background story (one of two, I believe) to her novel, Protectors (originally titled, A Gym of Her Own). Set in late 60s Berkeley amidst the protests, Pammy opens an all womens gym to teach self defense and train females to be strong in a culture where their voice is often ignored or ridiculed. The theme is a mature and difficult one, the scenario more about brokenness than hope, but a pretty strong representation of a slice of life from this era that reverberates into our own.

[Milady133 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as the Free Fiction Monday story in Kris' blog, it was an interesting hook-up for her coming book. I've added the Protectors novel to my TBR pile.