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Kea Wright #1
Cold Flood
Geologist Kea Wright and her team of scientists travel the world, diving into fiery volcanoes or excavating mammoth bones in search of understanding Earth’s mysteries, but often find murder instead. The stories in this cozy mystery series range from thrilling adventures to comedic romps, as Kea discovers that while she may be an excellent geologist, as an amateur sleuth, she has her faults.
In Cold Flood, Kea and her team are camped at the base of an icecap in southeast Iceland, investigating landforms created by catastrophic floods formed during volcanic eruptions. With only days left in the field season, bad weather on the way, and the volcano due to erupt at any moment, the shocking death of one of their team members threatens to shut down the entire project.
As the team rushes to complete their work and leave the cursed place, the expedition continues to be plagued by setbacks, leading Kea to wonder if the death of her colleague was an accident after all. During her reluctant – and inept – attempts to investigate, Kea stumbles upon a secret. One so valuable, someone is willing to kill to keep it safe.
Cold Flood is the first book in the Kea Wright mysteries.
In Cold Flood, Kea and her team are camped at the base of an icecap in southeast Iceland, investigating landforms created by catastrophic floods formed during volcanic eruptions. With only days left in the field season, bad weather on the way, and the volcano due to erupt at any moment, the shocking death of one of their team members threatens to shut down the entire project.
As the team rushes to complete their work and leave the cursed place, the expedition continues to be plagued by setbacks, leading Kea to wonder if the death of her colleague was an accident after all. During her reluctant – and inept – attempts to investigate, Kea stumbles upon a secret. One so valuable, someone is willing to kill to keep it safe.
Cold Flood is the first book in the Kea Wright mysteries.
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Published January 24, 2024
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About the author
R.J. Corgan
6 books19 followersRaised by librarians in Northern New York, R.J. Corgan writes murder mysteries intended to provide readers with insight into scientific expeditions in unique locations across the globe. R.J. has a Ph.D. and a M.A. in geology. He would love to see one day see Mammoth Drop - The Musical...
Whisterpoop - a Romantic Comedy, was awarded Runner-Up in Humor 2021 by Indies Today!
The Kea Wright Mysteries can be read stand alone or in sequence, and can vary in tone from Cozy to Science Mystery:
1. Cold Flood
2. The Meerkat Murders - 2019 Mystery of the Year (Indies Today)
3. Mammoth Drop - coming June 2022!
4. Murder on Masaya - Indies Today semi-finalist
Mammoth was the last published due to a hard drive crash in 2021~
Whisterpoop - a Romantic Comedy, was awarded Runner-Up in Humor 2021 by Indies Today!
The Kea Wright Mysteries can be read stand alone or in sequence, and can vary in tone from Cozy to Science Mystery:
1. Cold Flood
2. The Meerkat Murders - 2019 Mystery of the Year (Indies Today)
3. Mammoth Drop - coming June 2022!
4. Murder on Masaya - Indies Today semi-finalist
Mammoth was the last published due to a hard drive crash in 2021~
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 20, 2018
This book caught me and pulled me in. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was not sure but wanted to give this book a try at first but I am glad I did. Geologist Kea Wright was a good character and she and her team has an interesting job. I felt like I learned a little about Iceland in this book too!
February 23, 2024
More of a 3.3 it wasn’t bad, it dragged a bit in the middle but picked up towards the end. You were never rally sure who were the good guys or the bad guys so that much was interesting. Rea… I’m not sure if she’s likeable of not.
May 4, 2021
Ok. I might be biased because I love geology, but here goes the review.
Brief summary:
Kea Wright is on her first season as the lead over a group of volunteers that are there to help the glaciologists with their studies. Right away, she notices the tension between the two groups that have arrived but tries her best to continue as normal with a jealous colleague on one side and a very strange group of volunteers on the other. Things begin to go awry as an old friend of hers (one of the volunteers) apparently commits suicide on her watch (well, technically, the other guy's). Paranoia brews in Kea's mind. Attempts are on made on her life, and a scandal of corporate espionage is revealed.
Review:
The attention to detail was amazing.
Every little thought of Kea's, every action and reaction of the other's, every little feature on the glaciers -- this was all spectacular and very realistic. (There's also a little bonus excitement if you studied any geology and were like -- hey! I've done that before) The plot itself and the motivations for the crime were clever and very modern. Kea, the protagonist, is relatable, frustrating, anxious, and slow to like, but once the story gets going, I definitely enjoyed her a lot. And definitely, that flood at the end was not unexpected -- I was practically waiting for it to happen at any minute.
The problem with this book, in my opinion, is the other (many, many) characters. I understand that it's a large group of volunteers, but I felt like I didn't really get to know any of them, except Kea. Even the killer at the end, when she thinks his name, I was like, who? I don't even think he got a line in at all. And the only development many of them received were various traits that I quickly forgot and some brief mentions of sexual stuff/tension that was going on that I also forgot as it seemed that practically everyone was trying to make a go of everyone. I could also see why someone might DNF this book as it grows slowly and doesn't quite reach the interest point until about 36% of the way in.
At the beginning, the only reason I continued was not for the characters, but because I liked hearing about the glaciers -- though I imagine people more interested in the mystery might be a bit overloaded with lectures on glaciers during this intro.
However, after this building point, all the details really just add up perfectly and painted such a perfect picture of the day-to-day and the anxieties of Kea -- I don't know, I just really liked it. And I would have given it a five-star, but then I remembered the dragging intro.
So, overall, great mystery. Very clever. Very detailed. If you love geology, you'll love this book. If you like mystery, you'll also enjoy it -- but maybe be a little patient for the book as the rest of the story is worth the wait.
I was given a free copy from Sandra's book club. (Note: The copy she has and is giving people is very hard to read on kindle, so I might've missed some stuff. My eyes still hurt.)
Brief summary:
Kea Wright is on her first season as the lead over a group of volunteers that are there to help the glaciologists with their studies. Right away, she notices the tension between the two groups that have arrived but tries her best to continue as normal with a jealous colleague on one side and a very strange group of volunteers on the other. Things begin to go awry as an old friend of hers (one of the volunteers) apparently commits suicide on her watch (well, technically, the other guy's). Paranoia brews in Kea's mind. Attempts are on made on her life, and a scandal of corporate espionage is revealed.
Review:
The attention to detail was amazing.
Every little thought of Kea's, every action and reaction of the other's, every little feature on the glaciers -- this was all spectacular and very realistic. (There's also a little bonus excitement if you studied any geology and were like -- hey! I've done that before) The plot itself and the motivations for the crime were clever and very modern. Kea, the protagonist, is relatable, frustrating, anxious, and slow to like, but once the story gets going, I definitely enjoyed her a lot. And definitely, that flood at the end was not unexpected -- I was practically waiting for it to happen at any minute.
The problem with this book, in my opinion, is the other (many, many) characters. I understand that it's a large group of volunteers, but I felt like I didn't really get to know any of them, except Kea. Even the killer at the end, when she thinks his name, I was like, who? I don't even think he got a line in at all. And the only development many of them received were various traits that I quickly forgot and some brief mentions of sexual stuff/tension that was going on that I also forgot as it seemed that practically everyone was trying to make a go of everyone. I could also see why someone might DNF this book as it grows slowly and doesn't quite reach the interest point until about 36% of the way in.
At the beginning, the only reason I continued was not for the characters, but because I liked hearing about the glaciers -- though I imagine people more interested in the mystery might be a bit overloaded with lectures on glaciers during this intro.
However, after this building point, all the details really just add up perfectly and painted such a perfect picture of the day-to-day and the anxieties of Kea -- I don't know, I just really liked it. And I would have given it a five-star, but then I remembered the dragging intro.
So, overall, great mystery. Very clever. Very detailed. If you love geology, you'll love this book. If you like mystery, you'll also enjoy it -- but maybe be a little patient for the book as the rest of the story is worth the wait.
I was given a free copy from Sandra's book club. (Note: The copy she has and is giving people is very hard to read on kindle, so I might've missed some stuff. My eyes still hurt.)
August 24, 2023
Puzzling
I previously read a later book in this series and was fascinated by it. This first one has a convoluted story and you are never given enough information to determine what is going on. I do like the heroine, who is quite complex herself. The book needs a thorough edit.
I previously read a later book in this series and was fascinated by it. This first one has a convoluted story and you are never given enough information to determine what is going on. I do like the heroine, who is quite complex herself. The book needs a thorough edit.
January 2, 2023
Well written and with interesting geological info
January 20, 2022
I had previously read "Meerkat Murders" by this author, and I remember the protagonist, Kea Wright, was trying to recover from "tragic events in Iceland". This book is the story of those tragic events.
Kea is a scientist studying glaciers in Iceland. Their summer research season is drawing to a close, but the final group of volunteers has arrived to help them collect data before they all head home for the winter. However, the volunteers come from two competing companies, and the group dynamics suggest that there might be something else going on.
But when Kea's friend Bruce disappears during an expedition onto the glacier, his death is ruled a suicide. Kea has questions though, and as she struggles to find answers, a series of strange accidents seem to suggest that someone doesn't want her to keep digging.
This thriller is well paced, with the reader drawn into the mystery and given just enough hints about what is going on to maintain a high level of interest in the story. However, the conclusion was a little muddled, and I struggled to understand the exact sequence of what had happened, or what everyone's motives were. It would have been helpful to have had a more clear discussion of these issues, but otherwise, I enjoyed this book.
A final thought - This book does appear to have suffered from the lack of editorial review. There are numerous typographical type errors through out the book, and, at least in my copy, there were two chapters labeled as "Chapter 19". The first of these was a complete duplicate of chapter 18, while the story continues in the second chapter 19. These type of errors should be caught and fixed by a professional editor.
Kea is a scientist studying glaciers in Iceland. Their summer research season is drawing to a close, but the final group of volunteers has arrived to help them collect data before they all head home for the winter. However, the volunteers come from two competing companies, and the group dynamics suggest that there might be something else going on.
But when Kea's friend Bruce disappears during an expedition onto the glacier, his death is ruled a suicide. Kea has questions though, and as she struggles to find answers, a series of strange accidents seem to suggest that someone doesn't want her to keep digging.
This thriller is well paced, with the reader drawn into the mystery and given just enough hints about what is going on to maintain a high level of interest in the story. However, the conclusion was a little muddled, and I struggled to understand the exact sequence of what had happened, or what everyone's motives were. It would have been helpful to have had a more clear discussion of these issues, but otherwise, I enjoyed this book.
A final thought - This book does appear to have suffered from the lack of editorial review. There are numerous typographical type errors through out the book, and, at least in my copy, there were two chapters labeled as "Chapter 19". The first of these was a complete duplicate of chapter 18, while the story continues in the second chapter 19. These type of errors should be caught and fixed by a professional editor.
February 27, 2021
An Engaging Mystery to Deliver Interesting Science.
The science was my favorite part, and in truth motivated me to look into the logistics of becoming a research volunteer in exotic locations. Corgan is clearly an expert and does an excellent job of communicating the science in layman’s terms without bogging down the plot. The descriptions of the research and the volunteer’s role in it felt real. Even better, the portrayal of the Icelandic landscape was fascinating! As for the mystery itself, it was engaging and kept the plot moving, though occasionally faltered slightly with its execution, particularly from an editorial standpoint. That said, the science/landscape/mystery combo drove the story well, and together bumped this novel up from a 3 to a 4 star! Recommend, especially if you’re interested in a taste of Iceland and/or geology.
The science was my favorite part, and in truth motivated me to look into the logistics of becoming a research volunteer in exotic locations. Corgan is clearly an expert and does an excellent job of communicating the science in layman’s terms without bogging down the plot. The descriptions of the research and the volunteer’s role in it felt real. Even better, the portrayal of the Icelandic landscape was fascinating! As for the mystery itself, it was engaging and kept the plot moving, though occasionally faltered slightly with its execution, particularly from an editorial standpoint. That said, the science/landscape/mystery combo drove the story well, and together bumped this novel up from a 3 to a 4 star! Recommend, especially if you’re interested in a taste of Iceland and/or geology.
March 28, 2022
Murder mystery, science, field research, a non detective protagonist piecing everything together truly all the things I love.
June 10, 2022
Loved the story. My first Kea book!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews