BURNING HEAT

A South Carolina veteran who recently brought his uncle’s killer to justice has another murder to solve.

Brack Pelton lost his wife to cancer. Although he nursed a death wish in Afghanistan, he’s inherited his uncle’s bar on the Isle of Palm near Charleston, and his life has recently been improved by the friends he made while investigating his uncle’s murder. New trouble finds him when he walks out of his friend Mutt’s decrepit bar to find a man attacking a woman named Willa Mae with a little girl in tow. Brack knocks the assailant down, but he rises with gun blazing and shoots Willa Mae. Shaken, Brack calls his friend pastor Brother Thomas, who arrives to claim little Aphisha just before the police arrive. His determination to find Willa Mae's killer may be the least of Brack’s problems, because a politically powerful family bent on putting his bar out of business manages to get his liquor license at least temporarily suspended. Brack’s also distracted by another friend from his uncle’s case, stunning TV reporter and investigative journalist Darcy Wells. There’s definitely a spark between them, but Darcy’s engaged to a professional student, though she seems in no hurry to set a date. Along with attractive Detective Rosalita Warrez, they start digging into a dangerous world of drug dealing, prostitution, and political skulduggery. As they maneuver against a slick professional killer, they’re forced to use every trick in their arsenal.

This second case for Brack (Southern Heat, 2014) is marked by a challenging mystery, quirky characters, and nonstop action.