Taos Chill (Carmen and Chill Mystery Series)

By Linda Lea Castle

Taos, New Mexico, is a winter wonderland where you can rub elbows with cowboys, artists, and Hollywood expats. Native New Mexican Carmen Pollini is an up-and-coming author with lots of fans. One in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159414754X
• ISBN13: 9781594147548
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Five Star
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

fun fun fun

This is a fun lazy afternoon read. Carmen & Chill are characters with enough back story to make it interesting but not so much that you can't concentrate on the here and now. I am new(ish) to mystery and the "Book ONE in the Carmen & Chill Mystery Series" below the title was all I needed to know. I like characters that aren't supernaturally anything but still likable in almost every way. I like a story that doesn't take itself too seriously but still has respect for the subject. Taos Chill has it all. If you like the Lacey Smithsonian mysteries, I'd bet you'll like this.

lighthearted police procedural

In 2007 in Taos, New Mexico romance author Carmen Pollini is knows for her flash temper. This morning she got into a dispute with Rapid Express Delivery person Jake the Snake over a fender bender; she and Jake have been going at it for longer than that as she accuses him of tossing her packages haphazardly. After stopping to see her insurance agent Mr. Hardass; whoops make that Hardwick, she goes home only to find the corpse of Jake in her driveway. County Sheriff Jim Dunn arrives immediately and arrests Carmen while his replacement as sheriff Hugh Blaines watches in shock because any arrest seems premature at this time. Meanwhile Carmen is stalked by emails that contains threats of exposing plagiarism and by gifts left anonymous by her biggest fan. Soon after being released from jail, she learns Dunn was fired due to accusations by women of sexual harassment and replaced by Blaines. At a nearby convention Carmen accuses her literary agent of stealing her royalties; Ethyl Gatz admits it, but also says she is filing for bankruptcy so Carmen will collect nothing. When Carmen slips and accidentally takes down Ethyl to the floor everyone assumes she lost her temper and attacked the woman. Soon afterward, Ethyl is found dead. Blaines initially believes Carmen is a killer, but reconsiders his premise when he learns of the sexy gifts and the nasty emails. He vows to find the killer and learn who is causing so much trouble for Carmen. This is a lighthearted police procedural starring a trouble magnet and the sheriff attracted to her though he believes she is epitome of what he detests in a woman. The story line is fast-paced as Carmen has quite a temper, which she gets from both of her compassionate divorced parents (what can one expect from a transplanted New Yorker - I know personally). Readers will enjoy this fun tale though the solution to the murders seems abrupt and the motive required a crazy person to forge it. Harriet Klausner