Hot, Shot, and Bothered
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
TV news photographer Lilly Hawkins is on the biggest assignment of her career. A deadly wildfire is racing through the California mountains toward the town of Elizabeth Lake. After barely slipping in ahead of road closures, Lilly has her hands full photographing the massive evacuation and approaching inferno. She has no time to cover the accidental drowning of a reckless party girl in the lake . . . until she learns the victim’s name.
When Lilly knew her thirteen years ago, Jessica Egan was a principled environmental activist and not a bit reckless or wild. Could she have changed that much, or is a killer exploiting the chaos surrounding the fire to disguise a murder?
Soon Lilly’s juggling the story she should be covering with the story she can’t let go. What could have been the motive for Jessica’s death? Was it sexual jealousy, long-held grudges, or just plain old-fashioned greed that got Jessica killed? Meanwhile, Lily has to contend with her station’s low-budget technology, the antics of her dodgy uncle Bud, and the alarming job offers her boyfriend is fielding from big-city competitors. Lilly is racing against the clock to get answers. If only the murderer—or the fire—doesn’t get her first . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lilly Hawkins, a "shooter" (news photographer) for KJAY-TV in Bakersfield, Calif., shows her mettle in McFarland's gritty, entertaining sequel to 2010's A Bad Day's Work. While responding to a forest fire at Lake Elizabeth that's already killed two firefighters, Lilly hears of "an accidental drowning." The drowning victim turns out to be environmental activist Jessica Egan, whom Lilly got to know one summer 13 years earlier. KJAY's producer, Rod Strong, reminds Lilly she has "a front-row seat" for the area's biggest natural disaster in 50 years, but Lilly is intent on investigating the drowning, which she believes is a homicide. Rumors that Jessica was wild and reckless don't fit Lilly's memory of her as "smart and strong." Lilly demonstrates great professional poise while revealing much about her disreputable past and forcing a clever killer into the open. Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of the gutsy, stubborn Lilly.