HOT ON THE TRAIL, a Mystery by Jane Isenberg

She fell in love in her fifties, and now busy New Jersey community college professor Bel Barrett can barely find time to plan her upcoming wedding to her sweetie Sol--or to read urgently needed e-mail messages on bladder control at mid-life. She must have been crazy to volunteer to teach a writing class to senior citizens. And fitting extracurricular sleuthing into her overbooked schedule should be damn near impossible. But when one of her older students, racing pigeon enthusiast Dom Tomaselli, fails to show up due to a death in the family--his own--Bel can’t control her urge to investigate…especially when Dom’s distraught daughter insists the old man’s demise was not “accidental.” With the help of family and friends, Bel races against time to home in on the killer. When she ruffles feathers in the arcane world of racing pigeons where the sins of the Tomaselli family come home to roost, Bel becomes a clay pigeon herself. One false move, and she won’t have to worry any more about planning her wedding.

"Isenberg's latest Bel Barrett mystery glows with heart, humor and hot flashes. . . . underneath its comedy, the book is a surprisingly nuanced look at the way individual lives and communties survive difficult transitions."

    Publishers Weekly

"It's a funny, fast-moving addition to her series about Bel Barrett, smart-mouthed English professor and occasional sleuth."

    Adam Woog, The Seattle Times

"It is tantamount to revisiting old friends when one is able to enjoy a new book in this series. Bel and her cohorts, her mother and her mother's roommate, and Sol, Bel's long-time friend/lover/partner, who has finallly convinced Bel to get married but can't seem to overcome her reluctance to actually make wedding plans, are delightful people, and this new book [is] a welcome entry in the Bel Barrett Mysteries. The book is well-written, well-plotted and witty, and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

    Gloria Feit, Poisoned Pen Press

"Bel Barrett does for Hoboken what Stephanie Plum does for Trenton. This is an upbeat amateur sleuth tale in which the major characters are in their fifties. Jane Isenberg makes it clear that life does not stop once a person reaches the half century mark; it just gets better. If the heroine is any example that is certainty true because she has a lust for life and an appreciation of it that younger people don't have. HOT ON THE TRAIL is a charming romantic amateur sleuth mystery. "

    Harriet Klausner, allreaders.com

" As usual, Jane Isenberg has written an amusing but powerful story, giving the serious problems the gravity they deserve, while keeping tongue in cheek as she writes. This is very much the approach of the protagonist, who takes life seriously, but always looks for the light touch. Ms. Isenberg provides a very sympathetic portrait of aging people, and an understanding approach to the problems faced by women during and after menopause. One of the things I found most appealing was Isenberg's portrayal of the similarities that we all share, regardless of age, race, religion or national origin. Because the book is set in early 2003, the post 9/11 feelings of people in close proximity to Manhattan are reflected. There were a lot of small touches that resonated with me in terms of people's speech, attitudes, and regional vocabulary. But the thought that I will take away from this book is Bel's wish that her grandchild will live a happy, healthy and useful life in a peaceful world. Me too! RECOMMENDED. "

    Eden Embler, I Love a Mystery Newsletter

"Jane Isenberg has assembled a most interesting array of characters from Bel herself to her colorful and caring best friends to Bel's mother and her roommate. Add to these the setting of Hoboken, New Jersey and the lifetime interest of the alleged victim, namely pigeon racing and you have the makings of a story that is vivid and engaging. HOT ON THE TRAIL is the seventh offering of Isenberg in the Bel Barrett Mysteries, but the reader rarely feels it except for a few references to previously solved cases.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading HOT ON THE TRAIL; it was great to have a sleuthing protagonist who has hot flashes in addition to her sleuthing abilities. This book was a delightful light read, and there are plenty more available where this comes from in the other books in the series. HOT ON THE TRAIL is a great introduction to Bel Barrett and crew. "

    Deb Jones, Roundtablereviews.com

"Jane Isenberg’s wonderfully energetic menopausal momma Bel Barrett is Hot on the Trail in this seventh in the sassy series[. Bel] mixes wedding plans, the world of racing pigeons and her elderly student’s suspicious demise in one classy mystery for all ages. Don’t miss this series. . ."

     Mysterylovers.com

"The plot is a good one and reaches its conclusion with logic, as well as great one-liners. "

    Mary Ann Smyth, BookLoons.com

"This is a delight to read. "

    Sara Berger, Mysterious Women

A Reading Group Guide

1. Flora Tomaselli faces the same challenges many modern midlife women face. What are they and how does she meet them?

2. The Hoboken setting is crucial to the crime. What is it about the Mile Square City that lends itself to murder?

3. How does the memoir class that Bel teaches further the plot?

4. In this book Bel and Sol marry. How do you feel abot the author's decision to have these longtime lovers actually tie the knot?

5. Bel and Sol have trouble planning their wedding. How is the second time around wedding different from the first?

6. Pigeon racing is a fading pastime. Why is it no longer popular? What did it offer to those who participated in it?

7. Bel and her friends suffer from SUI, or stress urinary incontinence. Bel turns to her on-line support group for help. What does this theme add to the book?

8. Dom Tomaselli, the victim, is perhaps misunderstood by his family and friends, as are other older characters in this book. Do we often misunderstand our older friends and relatives? Why?

9. Bel's friends play a big part in her investigations and in the rest of her life. Are friends more important as we age? What else might account for the big role friends play in our lives today?

10. Bel and her friends often seem to be overbookedand pressed for time. Is this a problem common to midlife? To women? Can you identify with her? Explain.

Return to Mysteries

Return to Home Page