Skating Under the Wire by Joelle Charbonneau, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Rebecca Robbins owns the Toe Stop Roller Rink in Indian Falls, Illinois. She inherited the rink when her mother died and her first instinct was to sell the rink and return to Chicago where the action is. But selling in this market is tough and has decided to stay and make her home in Indian Falls. It didn’t take Rebecca long to realize not all the action was in Chicago; Indian Falls has its fair share, too. Rebecca has seen car thievery, arson and murder in just her first year there. Because of her keen people skills, she jumped right to do her part to find the offenders. In some cases she was able to solve the crime before the police did. The town’s folk now think of Rebecca as an investigator, albeit an unlicensed one, and come to her when anything goes wrong. Too, she is happy to be living near her grandfather Pop, who is a geriatric flamboyant impersonator of The King, Elvis Presley. He entertains the residents of the local Senior Center. And it is at this very same Senior Center that one of its residents has died during a wedding shower. When the cause of death is given as a murder, friends of the woman ask Rebecca to investigate. Separately, she has also been hired as an investigator to solve a ten year old mystery. Every Thanksgiving Day someone enters the home of a family who had gone away for the holiday. Items stolen are typically small, i.e., jewelry and money. The police have not been able to catch the thief. With all her commitments for this Thanksgiving she has her plate full in Skating Under the Wire, the fourth mystery in this series by Joelle Charbonneau.

When the driver of a car nearly runs her down, her one time boyfriend, Deputy Sean Holmes, comes to her aid even though he resents her involvement in the cases that belong to the sheriff’s department. Though she is not hurt, she insists she will continue her investigation. Sean reluctantly agrees to share with her his knowledge of the crimes if she will share with him. Maybe together they can solve the ten year old mystery, the current murder and her hit and run.

The mystery here is an entertaining one if also a very light one. The appeal here is primarily in the diverse cast of characters. Rebecca is an appealing amateur sleuth and she takes her community responsibilities very seriously, even if the police don't necessarily share her enthusiasm for her work. The venues, from the roller rink to the Senior Center to the community of Indian Falls, provide a colorful backdrop to the proceedings. All in all, a solid entry in this series.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Skating Under the Wire.

Acknowledgment: Minotaur Books provided a copy of Skating Under the Wire for this review.

Skating on the Edge
Minotaur Books (Hardcover), October 2012
ISBN-13: 9780312606633; ISBN-10: 031260663X

Skating Under the Wire

A Rebecca Robbins Mystery by Joelle Charbonneau