Fire at Will's by Cherie O'Boyle

"Fire at Will’s" by Cherie O’Boyle is an Estela Nogales mystery. In "Fire at Will’s" we catch up with Estela as she is walking her two dogs, Shiner and Scout. While out on her late evening walk heading back home she hears the distinctive sound of the fire alarm going off down the canyon. The fire was spotted and called in by a neighbor who just so happened to be at home. Alarm spreads through some of the residents at the fear of the fire spreading and destroying their own homes, so they band together to try and control the fire until the fire engine can get there. Once the fire is successful gotten under control and put out, the questions begin. Who started the fire at Will’s house and where are Will and his wife Janet? It’s not long before a body is discovered back in the house, but the questions still remain. However, more questions have cropped up – who had enough motive and opportunity to start the fire in the first place? Once the body is loosely identified it begs the question who was angry enough to take action?

"Fire at Will’s" is the first book by Cherie O’Boyle and is a story that I truly enjoyed reading. The author does a good job piecing this story together. We have a small community of people who each have their own reasons for being angry with Will, who was only there for a year or so. The author paints him as a passive aggressive person when it comes to the HOA rules. You break a rule, or do something that Will didn’t like, and instead of just coming directly at you he’d do something to sabotage your efforts. Needless to say, I doubt I would have liked him very much either. I like that the author sprinkles humorous moments throughout the story liberally. There are quite a few serious moments, but nothing so intense that it bogs the story down. I absolutely loved Estela’s dogs. One minute they seem like well trained and well behaved pets, and then they show their mischievous sides. Estela will leave them at home or even think she’s left them safe and secure in her vehicle only for one of them to sidle up to her before long. I couldn’t help but laugh.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to mystery novels is that if I can figure out who the suspect/guilty party is before the story is halfway through I don’t like it. The author keeps me wondering for a while. I like that the author allows you to be a part of the mystery. You are figuring it out along with the characters in the story. I was a bit surprised at how quickly they each suspected each other of certain acts committed throughout the story. They always came back together, but there are more than a couple moments of where suspicions are raised.

There honestly isn’t anything that I don’t like about this story. The story is well written and engaging from start to finish. The person everyone wants to suspect seems to have an alibi, but there’s more than meets the eye. I like how the author brings the story to a satisfying conclusion, but also still leave us with questions concerning the residents and other mysteries around the community. This makes me want to read more of the books to see if any conclusions are drawn to the others.

I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. It is well written and very engaging. I enjoyed reading this story and I liked the amount of humor the author has throughout. It keeps the story from becoming too heavy and intense. This is definitely a mystery to read for those who enjoy a good book.