Tahoe Blowup (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller) [Paperback]

Todd Borg (Author)

Book Description

Series: An Owen McKenna mystery thriller | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

When Detective Owen McKenna's cabin narrowly escapes burning in an arson-set forest fire, the local fire department hires him to investigate. Wiith the aid of his Great Dane Spot and search-and-rescue dog Natasha, Owen Discovers a burned body. A second fire and a second body follow. Although Owen doesn't know if the deaths are murders or accidents, it is clear that the arsonist is deadly serious about his threat to light a monster fire that will incinerate a large part of Tahoe. Before Owen can close in, the firestarter kidnaps Owen's girlfriend Street Casey. Owen and Spot have just hours if they are to save Street before she burns up in a fire so big, fire fighters call it a BLOWUP. WINNER of the Ben Franklin Best Mystery Silver Medal.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Detective McKenna is hot on the trail of a murderous arsonist in Tahoe Blowup: An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller by Todd Borg (Tahoe Deathfall). When the killer kidnaps Owen's girlfriend, intending to burn her and hundreds of other people to death, Owen and his dog Spot have to brave the gun-toting arsonist and a devastating forest fire to save her life.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

A great book...for anyone who enjoys a good mystery. -- Tahoe Daily Tribune, September 21, 2001

Has the high tension and roar of a fire out of control. -- Tahoe Mountain News, August, 2001

Some people just can't stay out of trouble...Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna is back to battle a murderous arsonist. -- Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thriller Press (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193129612X
• ISBN-13: 978-1931296120
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tahoe local Todd Borg is the author of the Owen McKenna Tahoe Mystery series, featuring Detective McKenna, natch, his Great Dane Spot, and a bunch of other cool characters. Of course, the books have gotten great reviews coast-to-coast, won awards like the Ben Franklin Award for Best Mystery of the Year, been chosen by Library Journal as one of the Top 5 Mysteries of the Year and more. But the main reason to check them out is that they are fun, fast reads with a lot of action and intelligent stories. The recurring characters will become your friends. Spot will become one of your favorite dogs. You'll love visiting Tahoe from your armchair. And the bad guys will make you... well, let's just say you will despise them. Borg has been waiting for you to give the books a try. P.S. Spot says hi.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dog Day Afternoons, July 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tahoe Blowup (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller) (Paperback)

I liked this book. It's a fast, scary and funny read. It's a timely subject for a thriller--environmental crimes, in this case arson in the tinderbox forests around Lake Tahoe. The setting is vividliy described, the characters are appealing and funny. The protagonist is a cop turned PI with an irresistable sidekick--a Great Dane named Spot. What could be cloying and prescious is instead hilarious and very moving. The action is intense, nonstop, the dilemna interesting and difficult, the characters full and engaging. I read it at the beach in a couple days. Good read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Todd Borg Releases Nail-Biting Second In Mystery Series, November 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tahoe Blowup (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller) (Paperback)

"An ordinary forest fire can be put out, but you can only run from a BLOWUP..."

Well mystery fans, he's done it again. Who you ask? Why, Lake Tahoe's very own author Todd Borg. And just what has he done that has readers from Lake Tahoe to San Francisco so worked up? He's released his second riveting novel in the Owen McKenna mystery series; a suspense-filled tale of kidnap and arson at the height of the fire season titled "Tahoe Blowup."

Toward the close of summer in the Sierra Nevada, people who live and work among the pines and firs of the Tahoe National Forest get real jumpy. Months of long hot days coupled with tinder dry brush and low humidity make the threat of forest fires something many lose sleep over. It is almost unthinkable that someone would deliberately set out to release the fury of such fires with the strike of a match. But that is exactly what has been happening at Lake Tahoe and what local private investigator, Owen McKenna, and his Harlequin Great Dane, "Spot," have been asked to stop. That and a string of murders associated with each devastating blaze until McKenna's own girlfriend, Street Casey, is marked as the next victim. Thrill binding excitement right up to the very end-an ending you'll never expect!

Attention to detail, vivid descriptions and lifelike character portrayals are the hallmarks of Borg's style and he has really done his homework on this one. In depth investigative work on everything from environmentalist watchdog groups to forest management techniques and fire fighting theory. It just doesn't get any more real.

"The Colfax Area Express," Colfax, CA

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killer read!, March 1, 2005

By 

R. Perrin (Birchberg, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tahoe Blowup (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller) (Paperback)

I received this book as a gift. It's been sitting around gathering dust for a while. Started reading Blowup this morning. WHAT AN AMAZING AUTHOR! This guy has an excellent command of the language. He paints vivid mind pictures and is easy to read. I'll probably finish this book before I go to bed tonight, however I already know Todd Borg is going to rank up there with C.S. Forester and Terry Pratchett as one of my favorite authors. Thanks Todd!