I?ve been a fan of Linda Barnes for quite a while. Her books feature Boston P.I. Carlotta Carlyle. The latest Carlotta Carlyle book is Flashpoint. It was published by Hyperion Books and copyrighted in 1999.
Carlotta plays volleyball at the Y with Gwen Taymore. When Gwen asks her to help with a problem, Carlotta is hesitant. An older woman is being forced out of her rent-controlled apartment. The landlord, Tony Peritti, is a real bully. He wants everyone out of the building for an urban renewal project. He expects to make a lot of money. If only he could get Mrs. Phipps out of the apartment and onto the street.
Carlotta reluctantly agrees to help Mrs. Phipps. Then the lady dies suddenly. Did Valentine Phipps just not get to her medicine in time? Or was it murder? Peritti seems to be the only one to gain from Phipps' death. But Gwen goes missing and Carlotta finds that the woman had a relationship with Peritti.
And there is entertainment mogul Bronson Hohen. He might have been related to Valentine Phipps. He wants to find out. Does he have a hidden agenda? And then there is Carlotta's old friend and mentor, Moody. After being promoted in the Boston police department, Moody doesn't get out into the field much. But he helps Carlotta out sometimes. But this time is different.
It seems that Moody has a relationship with the female officer in the Phipps case. Where it might have been an accident, it now looks like murder. Teri Kiley could go far in the department if she caught a murderer. Carlotta is suspicious of Teri. Is there something there or just a little jealousy over Moody?
A subplot also involves Carlotta's Little Sister, Poalina. Carlotta has helped Poalina throughout the years, being a Big Sister. Now the little girl is growing up, maybe too fast. Carlotta comes across Poalina in an awkward situation and tries to help her out.
Flashpoint is full of twists and turns. You might or might not be able to pick out the bad guy early on. Clues are sprinkled throughout the book. In reading the conclusion, I found myself going back over the story to see why I hadn't picked up on the bad guy sooner.
Read Flashpoint and you won't be sorry. You might even be inclined to read the rest of the Carlotta Carlyle books.