SOLVED. Adult Science Fiction novel about an alien invasion/ ufo crash, possibly while fireworks or a celebration were happening in the town. [s]

[Reader]

The main things I remember are that the main/narrator was male, the ufo crashed into the lake outside of town, martial law is then enacted. The man was a visitor to this town, either on vacation or for work. I think an old lady was left to die because she had touched the ship, or an alien, and the main character can do nothing but watch for fear of getting shot by the military. It is a science fiction novel, paperback, that had a reddish colored cover and was quite thick but still small. It was set in the time it was written, although I fail to remember what year. I read it in the late 90s and I remember thinking that it was old when I read it, so It’s probably from 1970-1999. It was an adult book and i very specifically remember that martial law was enacted in this town, because I had never heard the term before, so it stuck with me.

[Joseph]

James A Moore wrote Fireworks, in 2001, so that’s slightly more recent than your remembered time frame.
But it’s worth looking at to rule it in or out.

[Reader]

SOLVED SOLVED SOLVED!

[Joseph]

👍