Several years later cousins Lalla and Pearlie Bains have settled in Wishbone, Arizona, and bought into a P.I. business. Then their partner is found dead. ( )

I received an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An excellent mystery and I know I will be searching out the other book in this series. The two cousins, Pearlie and Lalla, who are trying to get their PI licenses are full of life, wit, and courage when the case begins to come to a close. Lalla is the wife of the police chief in Wishbone, AZ so that adds some tension and a little back and forth in the case. Add in her father, and an old case and the plot is set for an interesting whodunit.

The investigator, Ron Barbour, that Pearlie and Lalla are working for to get their licenses is found dead in his home. With him dead how are they going to get their licenses approved. They decide that they will have to solve his murder and then hope the state will give them the license to continue as investigators. As they begin their investigation they realize that maybe Ron was not always on the up and up and that somehow he was tied in with an old case of murder that had never been solved. A young Native American boy breaks into their office and that leads them to the Sheriff of the county and to the Reservation. Suspects are growing to include the mayor of Wishbone, a minster, and a local businessman. But then the suspects begin to disappear and one wonders if the case will ever be solved. Will they get the PI license?

A very intriguing and interesting read. As I mentioned before I plan on looking up the other books in this series. A Dead Red Miracle will keep the reader guessing and reading to find out whodunit. ( )

I love the characters of Pearlie and Lalla Bains. They are witty, courageous and intelligent. Their dream is to become private investigators in Wishbone Arizona. In order to do so they have to intern with another P.I. so they decide to buy his business while interning. Unfortunately Ron Barbour isn't the most honest partner. They discover that he has been hiding cases from them and sometimes fakes information for his clients for a sum. One of those cases was that of a murdered man many years ago - his son is an adult now and wants to know who murdered him.

Ron ends up dead! There are several suspects and even hints that this may go way back to a murder that occurred many years ago. Then a man disappears, someone attempts to kill Lalla, another man is killed.

The atmosphere is tense, so many leads and no real suspects. I have to say the end surprised me. Of all the people that could have done the crimes, I didn't suspect the one that did.

A Dead Red Miracle is 5th in a series but stands alone easily. I have not read the other 4 and it didn't really matter. There was never a lull in the story! I liked the sense of community and family as well and, as mentioned, Lalla and Pearlie are terrific protagonists.

I received this ebook from the author for review purposes. ( )

I received a copy of this book through Library Thing in exchange for an honest review.
An enjoyable read which was somewhat reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's earlier Stephanie Plum novels. Lots of twists to keep you guessing what will happen next. ( )

Lalla Bains Stone and her cousin Pearlie Mae Bains sought to jump start their careers as private investigators and bought into Ron Barbour's business, agreeing to be silent partners, do surveillance in his two beater cars that he made them buy gas for and when he retired in a couple of months to pay him the balance due. In return, Ron taught them the business and agreed to give recommendations to the state of Arizona in order for them to hen a Native American kid came to ask for him,as he turned to leave, but said Ron had his dad's murderer name! That scumbag was keeping clients from them in order to keep all the money, no wonder the telephones were quiet! Lget their license. Ron was mostly at the bar lately and there weren't any new clients ringing their phone, so walla and Pearlie flew out the door after they located Ron's address to give him a piece of their minds, but when they got to the address, the house looked like it should have been torn down years ago! No one answered the door when Pearlie knocked and Lalla peeked in the living room window to see a man on the floor with what appeared to be blood under his head, then she saw the oven door was open and ran to snatch Pearlie off the porch and headed for their car, only to be knocked to the ground when the house exploded!

R. P. Dahlke grabs readers by the throat with just the first chapter and as more people go missing or found dead, Lalla calls on her husband Sheriff Caleb Stone's help. The plot thickens and Lalla and Pearlie Mae find themselves smack dad in the middle of a cold case with no business, a loan to pay off and a fight for their lives! ( )