Book Review - Three Seconds to Thunder

Three Seconds to Thunder by C.K. Crigger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the third book in the series and so far C.K. Crigger's best about private investagator wannabee, China Bohannon. She is a head-strong, quirky and spunky twenty-one-year old young woman who thinks she can be just as good an investigator as her Uncle Monk and his partner Gratton Doyle. Unfortunately, she is only the office manager for their PI agency. The two have done nearly everything they can think of to keep her out of their line of business. After all, this is Spokane in the '90s, 1890's that is. Private Investagion work is a man's business and considered scandalous for a prim, single young woman to be involved in this sordid line of work. That hasn't stopped China for a minute.

Once more China gets in over her head. It starts with Gratton taking China to a dance because he needs a partner and cover while he is following a married woman, whose husband believes is cheating on him, the usual PI stuff that pays most of the bills. She supposedly hangs out at the local dance pavilion and so that's where China and Gratton go. Actually, China likes it because she is sweet on Gratton, but he is all business. From dance onward, things get dicey as the husband, who is a powerful land baron, has actually forced his wife into an unwanted marriage. This only the tip of the iceburg.

China follows a path of murder, kidnapping, and homestead swindals, and in the midst of it all she is caught in a horrendous forest fire as she tries to rescue Monk and Gratton almost at the same time from horrible deaths.

The writing is tight and fast moving. The descriptions are vivid and you feel you are in old Spokane and in the middle of the fire, you almost feel the heat of the flames and your hair singing.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes mystery and adventure that is set in turn of the twentieth century USA.




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