Dead Hot Mama

A Loon Lake Mystery #5

by Victoria Houston

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.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Friendship, Crime, Suspense

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 2, 2004

About the author

She is the author of the Loon Lake Mystery Series -- DEAD ANGLER, DEAD CREEK, DEAD WATER, DEAD FRENZY, DEAD HOT MAMA, DEAD JITTERBUG, DEAD BOOGIE, DEAD MADONNA, DEAD HOT SHOT, DEAD RENEGADE. DEAD DECEIVER, DEAD TEASE, DEAD INSIDER, DEAD HUSTLER, DEAD RAPUNZEL, DEAD LOUDMOUTH, DEAD SPIDER, DEAD FIREFLY, DEAD BIG DAWG and WOLF HOLLOW in hardcover, trade paperback and as an eBook from Simon & Schuster. The mysteries are set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin against a background of fishing – fly fishing as well as fishing for muskie, bass, bluegill and walleyes.
Houston’s mystery series was featured in a story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (January 20, 2004) and on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan” (February 2, 2006). Both can be seen/heard on the website: www.victoriahouston.com.

She has also written or co-authored over seven non-fiction books. An award-winning author specializing in family issues, Houston’s non-fiction books include the highly recommended ALONE AFTER SCHOOL: A Self-Care Guide for Latchkey Children and Their Parents (Prentice Hall, 1985); the national bestseller, LOVING A YOUNGER MAN: How Women Are Finding and Enjoying a Better Relationship (Contemporary Books (1987); Pocket Books (1988); MAKING IT WORK: Finding the Time and Energy For Your Career, Marriage, Children and Self (Contemporary Books, 1990) -- which was published by Simon & Schuster's Fireside imprint in August 1991 as a trade paperback titled MAKING IT WORK: Creative Solutions For Balancing Your Career, Marriage, Children And Personal Life. Houston co-authored RESTORE YOURSELF: A Woman’s Guide to Reviving Her Libido and Passion for Life (The Berkley Publishing Group/2001) with Dr. James Simon, a Past President of the North American Menopause Society.

Reviews

[Anastasia]

Dead Hot Mama by Victoria Houston is book 5 in the Loon Lake Fishing Mystery series. It is ice-fishing season at Loon lake when the body of a young girl is found under a snow mound and the bodies of two snow- mobilers are found missing their legs. I enjoyed this book very much and even though fishing plays a big part, it was not overwhelming. I liked the various characters and the mystery was captivating and suspenseful. I thought it unusual to have a retired dentist helping out with the investigation. Overall a well written and interesting book.

[Abibliofob]

Dead Hot Mama by Victoria Houston is another enjoyable murder myster. This time it revolves around ice fishing, snowmobiles and organdonations. Yes I know, not the usual combination but bad acts happens all year round in Loon Lake.

[Renee]

Enjoyable characters & a tight, "page-turning" mystery.

Kindle Unlimited, read & listen

[Eileen Lynx]

Interesting story about winter fishing and snowmobiling.

[Janell]

Another very intriguing mystery in this series. This author involves her characters into many interesting and different scenarios, weaving the details into her story. Plus, the fishing angle is a nice change. :-)

[Bryan]

5th in the series, thankfully more to come. Greatly enjoy the main characters. Doc, Lew, and Ray are like old friends. Victoria Houston writes a great mystery. I figured this one out early, but didn't care!

[Jennifer]

I really enjoy the Loon Lake Mysteries

[John Geary]

Another fun little whodunit, part of an ongoing series set around the fictional community of Loon Lake in Wisconsin. Like all the books in the series fishing and the great outdoors plays a major role in the stories.
This particular story is set around Christmas time, although it’s not really a “Christmas mystery” per se. I was more drawn by the fact it’s set during the winter. It’s actually the third book I’ve read in this series; I read the other two back in the first decade of the 21st-century. The main characters are Loon Lake police chief Lew Ferris and Doc Osborne, a retired dentist.
In this story, dead bodies of snowmobilers start turning up around the lake and some of them are missing their legs. The author does a good job of weaving all the different elements and characters in the community into the narrative, which revolves around the business of obtaining allograft tissues for surgery – tissues which are not always obtained legally.
Without giving too much away, I thought the ending was just a little too neat and convenient, although all the loose ends are certainly tied up.

[Gretchen Mattingly]

This series got off to a great start - the characters were likeable, the settings were enjoyable, the circumstances were believable. But as I read more and more of the series, little things started bugging me - time had passed, but characters didn't age... tiny stuff like that - It was almost as if Victoria Houston had contracted other writers to keep the stories going, and they didn't do their homework... or follow the style book... As I was reading these recovering from an illness, I was reading them one right after the other, so those inconsistencies would be more apparent....just my two cents.

[Vicki]

Christmas isn't fly-fishing season in northern Wisconsin, so this addition to the excellent Loon Lake series is more about tying flies, ice-fishing, and snowmobiling--and, of course, solving murders. It also is very informative about allograft tissue collection, especially of bones used in dentistry. Doc, Lew, and Ray are all in fine form.

[Debra]

Another interesting adventure with Lew and Osborne. You know, every single book in this series has an interesting topic at the center and I seem to get an education during my leisure reading time. I love it!

[Mary A Schmitzer]

Addicting

Another exciting drama in the series on Loon Lake keeps me wanting to read more. Can't put the book down. The humor is just right mixed in. Love each book so far. Can't wait to read the next in series

[Kathy Schouten]

I’m binge reading this series and every time I start a new book it’s like sitting down with old friends. This one took place in the winter and had a lot of fast aced action and mystery. Love the budding romance between Doc and Lew

[Kelly Derlein]

I don't know why I resisted reading the Loon Lake Mysteries when they first were published. I sure do enjoy a good mystery from an area that I am familiar with. Always good to read about Lew and Doc and the adventures in the North Woods of Wisconsin.

[Marian]

Like this one better than the first one I read. And will continue reading this series. The characters in this one are a bit more nuanced and the plot more exciting.

[aprilla]

Enjoy this series

[Teri Pre]

Still going strong!

[Larry Tessler]

Sloppy

The first half of the book was totally boring...difficult to read. The second half was far better although the conclusion was hurried.

[Chuck]

A lot of Northwoods murders. Pretty good plot

[Baglady]

ice fishing, snowmobile deaths, sale of body parts - what more could be needed for a strange but entertaining story?

[Jan]

The setting had me hooked.

[Quinn]

Another great story in the Loon Lake series. Interesting plot revolving around securing human tissue for allografting.

[Susan]

really enjoying the series, this was a really interesting book...

[Swan Bender]

It's ice-fishing season in Loon Lake and Doc Osborne is trying to convince Police Chief and fishing pal Lew Ferris to give it a chance. But fish aren't the only things lurking below the surface. The bodies of two snowmobilers have just been pulled out of nearby Two Sisters Lake. And a beautiful woman's corpse turns up in a snowdrift. Is it payback for a drug deal gone bad? Or is it something more sinister?
I certainly enjoyed Doc Osborne, Police Chief Lew and their friend Ray and will probably catch more of this series moving forward but doubt I have any interest in their back stories. This was a good mystery with an interesting topic and nasty folks involved.

[Jennifer]

The 5th book in the Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series.

Retired dentist Dr. Paul Osbourne is looking forward to a little fishing time with his crush chief of police Lew Ferris - instead they get called out to a snowmobile accident scene that turns out to be no accident (the legs are missing from both the snowmobilers!) and the death of a local stripclubs bartender as well! With the help of Dr. Paul's neighbor Ray they slowly unravel the murders.

Another enjoyable read from Victoria Houston!

[Lorlee]

Another Doc and Lew mystery -- this one involves people who are stealing body parts.

All the bad guys end up dead. Mitten-- the wife of the supposed rich guy making body glue -- she who inherited Thunder Bay and all the sex places in the area. She is killed with her latest lover -- the Mayor's grandson who wanted to sell body parts and killed 3 snowmobilers and the girl from Thunder Bay -- they crash the snowmobile and are eaten by wolves. On their way out they killed the husband who is susspected of killing his wife for her money.

The Hot Mama is Ray's new lure.

[Grey853]

This was not at all what I expected. It was listed as a cozy, but it's anything but that. It's much more gruesome. Apparently there are lots of dead people showing up without body parts at Christmas at Loon Lake. Turns out there are people who are making a fortune with stolen body parts and human tissue.

When it wasn't talking about something so gristly, it had some interesting characters. Still, I don't know how soon I'll be looking up other books in the series.

[Roxann]

Another good little mystery from Houston. This one had more twists than some of the others. It starts with a body of a young woman found in a snowbank near Christmas. It later expands to snowmobilers found dead in a lake. I continues to expand to include gathering body parts. The main characters stay true to form once again.

[Gloria Mccracken]

I really like this series filled folksy, sometimes quirky, characters. Set in northern Wisconsin, it always bemuses me to see Wausau, the small town of my childhood, referred to as the local "big city".

Not to say that everyone is nice. They're not. Some of them are downright vicious--which is just as well. A murder mystery with all sweet people would not be very exciting, it seems to me.

[Naomi]

This author is from a location where my husband and I vacation every year and her books were recommended to me. They were very shallow, but very cute. A good choice to lighten the load after reading heavy mysteries.