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Porter Cassel #2
One Careless Moment
When a small fire starts to creep through the underbrush, deep within a Montana forest valley, Porter Cassel is brought in to organize the firefighters charged with containing it. The fire moves quickly from bad to worse, rapidly scaling the forest canopy and killing one of Cassel’s men. Removed from command, Cassel takes the fire investigation into his own hands, discovering that the fire was not just a random flare-up, but the work of an arsonist. In this second book in the Porter Cassel mystery series, One Careless Moment picks up where Day Into Night left off -- with Porter continuing to prove himself against all odds. Fighting against local legends about the valley being haunted, shady development deals, and the tree-hugging hippies who’ve chosen Holder’s Canyon as their particular Eden, Cassel must get to the bottom of the case not only to clear his name, but also his conscience. Dave Hugelschaffer has taken the murder mystery into a new realm: the world of the forest firefighter. The setting and characters of the Porter Cassel series makes for memorable reading, leaving the reader in anticipation for the next instalment.
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 16, 2023
Porter Cassel is a forest worker from Canada, on loan in the States to help fight forest fires. In Montana, a fire is started. Seems it might be arson. It quickly gets out of control and kills another forest worker. Nobody seems to want to get to the bottom of things except Porter, who takes a few beatings.
A little different than most mysteries.
A little different than most mysteries.
March 2, 2010
Another thoroughly enjoyable book from Hugelschaffer. The plot and action move at a good pace, and there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and guessing. As with the first Porter Cassel novel, Cassel himself is the best part. A little less emotionally messed up than before, he's still a very well developed character. He still is that combo of screw-up and nice guy that makes him very real, and makes this reader at least rather like him.
August 9, 2021
interesting read, especially with all the wildfires around right now
February 12, 2017
Honestly this author gets better with every book he writes. It's better than the first on but it's hard to say whether it's better than the third one. With his art style I love how he gets into the ash covered details of how fires works and behaves. It is truly the highlight of all three books.
I would like to mention that his title is PERFECT for this book. (I'll get into the reason right away.)
The thing this one has that Whiskey Creek doesn't is Telson. (Honestly why wasn't she in that one.) This book you really get the true feeling of what his girlfriend is like which was lacking in the other two.
There are a lot of moving parts to this book and it runs really well. The title also fits perfectly there are a lot of intentionally written unintentional moments that change the story drastically. It really had me going. I had no clue who was a fault... (It might be because I was spending time trying to finish reading the Bobbsey Twins so I could focus on this one that I did end up getting confused with who some of the names are.) I'm not holding that to him.
And the characters are quite diverse also. (Everyone but the authorities that somewhat confused me. who's who issue)
The one thing I'm going to call out on is the back cover. (I hate to say this but.) It mentions corrupt politicians... I didn't notice any other than at one point they go in and try to look good. (It's something that probably should have been taken off the back cover because it really wasn't in there.)
At times I figured I knew what was going to happen and nope. It went a different direction like that drug dealing teen at the beginning just sort of disappears.
I want to say it again I really did enjoy this book and I hope he makes more.
I would like to mention that his title is PERFECT for this book. (I'll get into the reason right away.)
The thing this one has that Whiskey Creek doesn't is Telson. (Honestly why wasn't she in that one.) This book you really get the true feeling of what his girlfriend is like which was lacking in the other two.
There are a lot of moving parts to this book and it runs really well. The title also fits perfectly there are a lot of intentionally written unintentional moments that change the story drastically. It really had me going. I had no clue who was a fault... (It might be because I was spending time trying to finish reading the Bobbsey Twins so I could focus on this one that I did end up getting confused with who some of the names are.) I'm not holding that to him.
And the characters are quite diverse also. (Everyone but the authorities that somewhat confused me. who's who issue)
The one thing I'm going to call out on is the back cover. (I hate to say this but.) It mentions corrupt politicians... I didn't notice any other than at one point they go in and try to look good. (It's something that probably should have been taken off the back cover because it really wasn't in there.)
At times I figured I knew what was going to happen and nope. It went a different direction like that drug dealing teen at the beginning just sort of disappears.
I want to say it again I really did enjoy this book and I hope he makes more.
September 10, 2016
The blaze on the cover taunted me in the wake of the Fort MacMurray fire.
Porter Cassel is a fire investigator based in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. "Fort Chip" is a tiny, northern community perched smack dab on the run-off stream from the Athabaska Oil Sands. From the onset, already traumatized by tainted drinking water and food, "Chip" is plagued by mysterious fires Porter attributes to Molotov cocktails—murder entering the picture too in the remains of burnt-out cabin debris.
I love this story for all I learned! As he walked me through his dangerous job, Porter made an enlightening guide—offering succulent food for thought about pig galls, bear galls, trapping lures, native culture and politics . . . the dirty politics of Big Oil . . . Rappelling down with him into a fire, I learned firsthand about muskeg scabs that could suck me into an ancient lake—a lesson I all-too-soon forgot when bopped in the head in a trapper's shack, coming to draped over a moose's corpse, then shimmying up the nearest tree, escaping the bear who sniffed his lunch . . .
And that's just a sample taste for starters! There are so many threads in this tangled plot, so many smouldering, testy vibes, in my growing concern for Porter's health, I completely missed who the killer was. (Not that I wasn't provided clues.)
What a shame he's not more widely known! Even imbibing in Trapline Bar, Porter is fun to follow around. His humour is wry—he's kind to dogs. And Whisky Creek is a fabulous drill on how to survive a town so remote the only road out is paved with ice.
(That—plus, the ending is perfect.)
Porter Cassel is a fire investigator based in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. "Fort Chip" is a tiny, northern community perched smack dab on the run-off stream from the Athabaska Oil Sands. From the onset, already traumatized by tainted drinking water and food, "Chip" is plagued by mysterious fires Porter attributes to Molotov cocktails—murder entering the picture too in the remains of burnt-out cabin debris.
I love this story for all I learned! As he walked me through his dangerous job, Porter made an enlightening guide—offering succulent food for thought about pig galls, bear galls, trapping lures, native culture and politics . . . the dirty politics of Big Oil . . . Rappelling down with him into a fire, I learned firsthand about muskeg scabs that could suck me into an ancient lake—a lesson I all-too-soon forgot when bopped in the head in a trapper's shack, coming to draped over a moose's corpse, then shimmying up the nearest tree, escaping the bear who sniffed his lunch . . .
And that's just a sample taste for starters! There are so many threads in this tangled plot, so many smouldering, testy vibes, in my growing concern for Porter's health, I completely missed who the killer was. (Not that I wasn't provided clues.)
What a shame he's not more widely known! Even imbibing in Trapline Bar, Porter is fun to follow around. His humour is wry—he's kind to dogs. And Whisky Creek is a fabulous drill on how to survive a town so remote the only road out is paved with ice.
(That—plus, the ending is perfect.)
February 13, 2015
Not the worst book I've read by far, but soooo many problems....
It's a bad sign when both the editor and the author seem to be unable to keep track of the names of the characters in the novel. If only there were enough characters in the book to make this a reasonable mistake: sadly, there weren't.
Character motivation seems to be a serious problem in this novel: a lot of the things the characters do make little to no sense even after their motivations (if they had any) have been explained. Add to that the things that the main character stumbles upon or is thrown into the middle of on a fairly consistent basis throughout the book, and large portions of it beggar belief.
The characters themselves are fairly well written and realised. That and the pacing make the book readable if not necessarily entirely enjoyable. The author evidently has extensive experience in Northern Alberta and in dealing with fires, and that knowledge makes his story that much more believable and fleshed out.
One thing in particular jarred me and gives an idea of the sort of weird balance the novel achieves: throughout the book, the main character (in a story told in first person) refers to his fiancée either by first and last name or by last name alone. She is always Christina Telson or just Telson - never Christina, yet other characters are referred to by their first name.
I hope my book club makes better choices next time....
It's a bad sign when both the editor and the author seem to be unable to keep track of the names of the characters in the novel. If only there were enough characters in the book to make this a reasonable mistake: sadly, there weren't.
Character motivation seems to be a serious problem in this novel: a lot of the things the characters do make little to no sense even after their motivations (if they had any) have been explained. Add to that the things that the main character stumbles upon or is thrown into the middle of on a fairly consistent basis throughout the book, and large portions of it beggar belief.
The characters themselves are fairly well written and realised. That and the pacing make the book readable if not necessarily entirely enjoyable. The author evidently has extensive experience in Northern Alberta and in dealing with fires, and that knowledge makes his story that much more believable and fleshed out.
One thing in particular jarred me and gives an idea of the sort of weird balance the novel achieves: throughout the book, the main character (in a story told in first person) refers to his fiancée either by first and last name or by last name alone. She is always Christina Telson or just Telson - never Christina, yet other characters are referred to by their first name.
I hope my book club makes better choices next time....
July 15, 2013
The back story made the first book in the series interesting, and though there was a bit of an emotional disconnect between reader and characters, the emotionality of the back story gave the book a little bit of depth. That back story isn't in this second book in the series really, and, as well, I felt there was less connection between Porter and the character most important to him than there was previously. Which was weird and unexpected.
I also found the paternalism a little bit much. I mean, really, one shouldn't be glaring at the main character in an escapist mystery series like this one. This series isn't a brooding-angst-filled one where the hero is not just flawed but repulsive. Porter is a likable character, so this attitude with respect to his romantic interest is a bit much. The reason for it doesn't seem believable enough either. I mean, it's there but didn't fill me with fear for Porter or anyone else in the way other authors can draw you in and terrify you. I'm not sure I'll continue on with this series . . . we'll see.
I also found the paternalism a little bit much. I mean, really, one shouldn't be glaring at the main character in an escapist mystery series like this one. This series isn't a brooding-angst-filled one where the hero is not just flawed but repulsive. Porter is a likable character, so this attitude with respect to his romantic interest is a bit much. The reason for it doesn't seem believable enough either. I mean, it's there but didn't fill me with fear for Porter or anyone else in the way other authors can draw you in and terrify you. I'm not sure I'll continue on with this series . . . we'll see.
January 2, 2017
I think this book is my favorite one although at this time I am partially through book number two. The mystery to this book is really interesting and page turning and correct me if I'm wrong but as a mature read aren't the books getting a little cleaner? I really hope he makes more of these books. I love his description to fire protocol because it makes the book really unique to any other stories I've read.
April 20, 2013
Very good mystery novel. Much tighter writing that his first novel "Day Into Night". Well, written, fast-paced, with a very interesting central character, good plot, interesting developments. I especially like the way Hugelschaffer ties up all the loose ends, without giving a narrative. Looking forward to Whiskey Creek!
December 27, 2013
I personally don't think this is the best one he's written. It seemed a little forced at times. But it is still in Dave's typical style of major plot twists and crazy situations that cassel finds himself in, automatically marketing it a good read if you liked his other books.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews