Dead Hot Mama [Paperback]

Victoria Houston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004

It's ice-fishing season in Loon Lake and Doc Osborne is thoroughly hooked. But things heat up when Police Chief Lew Ferris discovers a mystery buried under the icy waters.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Victoria Houston is the author of the highly popular Loon Lake mystery series. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425193322
• ISBN-13: 978-0425193327
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,233,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner from Houston, April 6, 2004

By 

Cynthia Chow (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Hot Mama (Paperback)

Paul (Doc) Osborne is back in Victoria Houston's enjoyable fifth Loon Lake Fishing Mystery. Things are looking up for the retired Wisconsin dentist, as not only does he have a fishing date with the attractive Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris, but he's also able to spend Christmas repairing his relationship with his estranged, recovering alcoholic daughter Mallory. Unfortunately, things start to go downhill when his dog Mike leads Doc to the beautiful body of a strip club's bartender. Then, his date with Lew is cut short by the gruesome discovery of two more bodies, this time both missing their legs. Saddled with a coroner who is the incompetent relative of the county board's chairman, Lew once again looks to help from Doc in what has become a truly gruesome scheme that is as horrific as it is profitable.

This is another enjoyable mystery from Houston, who brings back the charming fish-hat-wearing Ray Pradt, who has as many illegal pursuits as he does undercover legal ones. Doc's relationships with his grown daughters has also evolved throughout the series and sheds a soft light on his character, especially when he begins to fear that Mallory is showing a little too much interest in Ray. The plot twist involved is original, with suspense building quickly to its exciting conclusion. This is a witty, humorous, and extremely engaging entry in what has become a great series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best yet in the series..., July 12, 2004

By 

CozyMysterynut (Appleton, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Hot Mama (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed "Dead Hot Mama" and the entire series. The characters continue to grow and evolve, the plotting is tight and twisted. Being from Wisconsin, I especially enjoy the Northwoods backdrop and localisms. Don't let the fishing theme scare you off from reading this series. I fished every summer with my Grandpa and all I ever caught was a cold, but I still LOVE this series and can't wait for the next installment!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Yet, But . . ., January 15, 2006

By 

P. Bigelow (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dead Hot Mama (Paperback)

This is the fifth in the Loon Lake Fishing series. In this outing, Christmas is approaching as is a storm sure to dump several inches, if not feet, of snow on Loon Lake. Doc Osborne and Chief Ferris are looking forward to some down time only to be called out to one of Osborne's neighbor's home to investigate what looks like murder.

This entry in the series is by far the most complicated. What looks like a "simple" murder soon becomes much, much more - the harvesting of bodies for parts and tissues. The relationship between Osborne and Ferris does not advance in this book, but does not retreat either.

The one issue I had with this book was that the ending seemed very rushed. I can say no more without giving away too much of the ending, but suffice it to say Houston gave up a potentially nail-biting, page-turning ending to speed to the end of the book by tying up loose ends in short stilted paragraphs.