Connie Shelton Balloons Can Be Murder

Balloons Can Be Murder

Connie Shelton

Intrigue, Nov 2005, $24.00, 234 pp.

ISBN: 189076860X

Just prior to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, balloonist Rachel Fairfield, hires RJP Investigations to keep her safe while she tries to set an altitude record in three days. Rachel shows sleuth Ron Parker and his sister Charlie, two threatening letters that she has received in the last couple of weeks. She insists her estranged father William sent the notes, because her testimony sent him to prison when she was a teen, and the wording is his. Ron explains that his agency is too small to protect her from an assassin amidst a crowd of 50,000, but the client says to just keep an eye on her dad, recently released form prison.

Charlie, whose marriage to firefighting helicopter pilot Drake Langston, has problems, looks into alternative threats of which there are two possibilities, an abusive former lover, and a person accusing her of costing him his inheritance, while Ron looks into William's activities. Neither Parker expected the incidents to turn increasingly dangerous towards their client nor themselves, as someone is trying to ensure that Rachel fails at all costs.

The latest Charlie Parker case is a fabulous private investigative thriller, that also contains a powerful subplot centering on the heroine's estranged relationship with her spouse, as both fail to communicate what disturbs them. The protection of Rachel is intriguing, as the Parkers know they cannot keep her safe if she is going airborne during the gala, but try their best to watch the known threats. Connie Shelton brings the air balloon rave and its New Mexico locales alive, as a fantastic backdrop to this enchanting thriller.