Bubbles Ablaze

Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Published: June 2003 (Dutton)
Category: Mystery
Quote of choice: "The brighter the lipstick, the darker the deed."

This is the third book in Sarah Strohmeyer's Bubbles series. Yes, our heroine's name is ridiculous, but strangely appropriate with her blonde hair, high heels, and proclivity for spandex outfits. Although having a main character named Bubbles would make you think the book will be dumb and fluffy, it's surprisingly layered (ha ha, a hair term - Bubbles is a hair stylist).

Besides hair dressing, Bubbles works part-time for her local paper in Lehigh, PA. She's not the most traditional of reporters, since she doesn't have very good technique, like not having any sources or evidence. Her love interest is a Mel Gibson lookalike named Steve Stiletto, a reporter for the Associated Press. Steve is a wild man, unable to stay in one place for very long, which doesn't bode well for a steady romance. In fact, in three books, Bubbles and Steve haven't gotten past second base (if that far).

In this installment, Bubbles and Steve are lured to a coal mining site for a press conference, where they are trapped in a cave-in after an explosion. Somebody's out to kill both of them, but who could it be? Learning the answer to this question takes almost the entire book, and it turns out to be a surprisingly complex story. This isn't one of those point A to point B mysteries!

Bubbles' mom, Lulu, and her mom's militant best friend, Genevieve, return in this book as well. This time, Genevieve is armed with her usual musket, but has new weapons, which include mashed potatoes, and a pea shooter loaded with homemade tranquilizer darts.