Tahoe Blowup (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller Book 2)

Held my attention. Good story lines. The end held a surprise. Highly recommend!! Liked the relationship between Owen and Street.

Another good one from Borg. Spoiler alert.This one starts with a man named Jake. He's lit a match to set a fire. Only problem is his sleeve is soaked in gasoline so the fire rolls up his arm. He threw himself on the ground rolling to try and put the fire out but the grass is starved for rain and does nothing but catch fire.Jake scrambled to his feet and headed into the woods toward a creek bed. Only problem was the creek is dry and when Jake threw himself down he hit his head and was burned alive. The fire is now headed up the mountain.Owen McKenna is out back on his deck grilling a piece of salmon for supper. Owen is 6'6" and weighs in at over two hundred pound. His dog, Spot, his 170 pound Harlequin Great Dane is lying by the cooker. He gives a little growl. Owen ignores it and Spot gives another deeper growl. Owen can't see or hear anything that would make Spot sound off. Owen decides to take a look around because his largeness doesn't usually growl for nothing.At first he can't see anything but then notices a faint red glow in the air. He also smells something that causes the hair on the back of his neck to stand straight up. Owen grabs the phone and called his girlfriend Street. Owen asks Street to look out her window up the mountain towards his cabin and to tell him what she sees.Street does just that and gets back on the phone telling Owen he has to get out. There is a fire headed his way up the mountain.Owen calls 911 to report the fire and then calls his neighbors. Mrs. Duchamp is the only one home so Owen goes to her house, collects her, Spot and Treasure Duchamp toy poodle and heads down the mountain. The fire is headed towards his cabin and the homes in the area.Owen heads for Streets and he and Mrs. Duchamp stay there for the night. The next morning Terry Drier the Battalion Chief calls Owen asking him to come to his office. Owen heads out.Once there Terry shows him a message they received yesterday. Its a message about how Tahoe is going to burn. Terry hires Owen to investigate.So begins a damned fine read.This one has Owen, Spot, Street, Terry, Diamond Martinez the Fire Investigator for the Douglas County Sheriffs Department, Linda Soronna who's with the Forrest Service and runs the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, a second fire where Joanie Dove is killed, Frederick Mallicoff who's the expert in fire science and a man who is far more than he appears to be, Ellie Ibsen the eighty year old dog trainer, Natasha her accelerant trained German Shepherd, the finding of a body near the site of the first fire, a man named Jake Pooler who's the dead body, a Jake Pooler who was a ladies man, a Jake Pooler who owned a construction company, a Jake Pooler no one liked, the reporter Glenda Gorman, a Glenda who's a big help to Owen, Poolers secretary Berry Williamson, his wife Lenora, Winton Berger Pooler's employee who becomes the prime suspect in the fires, a Berger who has been very well framed, a Berger who isn't the fire starter, a kidnapped Street, an Owen and spot to her rescue, an Owen with a wealth of suspects, murder, attempted murder and Owen doing his best to figure it all out, rescue his lady, catch the bad guy and stay alive.Five Stars.

Although this is actually the second book of the Owen McKenna series, Tahoe Blowup was my introduction to Todd Borg and his characters. I've become accustomed to the seemingly industrialized mystery/thriller books so it's a refreshing change of pace to read a story by an author who does most, if not all, of the work himself. I've visited Tahoe a number of times over the years and it was a nice bonus recognizing some of the locales mentioned here. Tahoe Blowup was also an exciting story that, for a person who usually isn't in any hurry to finish a book, found it difficult to put down much of the time.Having said that; however, I do have a few criticisms that while relatively minor did stand out to me: There were a number of scenes that Owen, being a former SFPD officer, either didn't take full advatange of by not asking obvious questions at critical times, or asked questions that he should've already known the answer to. I'm sure the latter point was done in this manner for those who are not familiar with investigative techniques, but the former led to later plot points that could've been better established had they been given more attention when they were introduced, in lieu of side plots that didn't need as much exposition.There were other details I noted as well; such as the half-dozen or so editing oversights in the first third of the book, the needless use of cliched stereo-types about the FBI, and the misguided context of the "homicidal trinity" amongst others, but again these criticisms are minor and didn't detract much from the overall story. I do realize this is a work of fiction, but I also have a background in many of the topics covered in this book, so naturally I'm going to be a bit more nitpicky about them than I would areas I'm less familiar with.I rate this book a solid four stars and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery/thriller, particularly if you've been to Tahoe and can better appreciate the highly descriptive imagery of the area. I've had the pleasure of visiting Todd Borg's website and recall an opinion he shared on his blog about what his favorite book is, to which he reasons is his most recent as his writing skills continue to develop over time. With that in mind, I am very optimistic about the remainder of this series, considering Tahoe Blowup was only his second book and was still well written with decent pacing.

Tense from page 1, but that is how I like it. A few tricks to distract the reader, and a wild ending. I learn so much about places I have not seen.

This book is great from start to finish. Anyone who enjoys the thrill of the chase will love this book.

For anyone who knows or wants to know more about thenTahoe Basin, Todd’s books are an excellent source.

Owen McKenna has moved to the Tahoe area after a life changing event that occurred when he was a policeman in a populated California city. This is the second book in the series. A forest fire starts below his cabin and a body is found. Notes start arriving from the arsonist who tells what the results of the next fire will be. The arsonist is an expert on fire because he can predict how many houses will burn with each fire. Owen is hired to find the arsonist. Soon it becomes very personal.This series has it all. There are great characters that you care about. Spot the Great Dane is always a main character. Owen's girlfriend Street is a bug expert. She can study the bugs on victims and tell relative time of death. Owen is an art lover. The Lake Tahoe is a great location and one that the reader would like to visit after seeing it through the author's eyes. It is a book that you want to keep reading as it twists and teases with upcoming events. The two that I have read have held my interest all the way through without any slow areas for me.

Hard to put this book down. I enjoy every word of it. Keeps you on the end of seat all the way through it. Can't wait to read his next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series Tahoe Death Fall and whilst I'm only halfway through this book it is as good as its predecessor. I particularly like the relationship between Owen and Street and of course the gentle giant that is Spot. It's well written and the prose flows well, Borgs not afraid to shy away from the less than palatable side of crime investigating so making for a gritty and gripping read. I look forward to downloading the next in the series

Well researched and written so that you can feel the heat and smell the smoke. Owen gets involved when his cabin is threatened by a fire. Then a body is found burnt to a crisp and then things take a turn for the worse. A great novel carrying on the lives of Owen, his partner Street and his largeness, Spot.

THis is the book where I discovered Todd Borg and his hero and dog Spot. I love the books and the way I feel the place and the people as well as an eclectic mix of ideas and sources and while it may be improbable that Owen McKenna survives all he is entertaining to read and they are all emotionally rewarding. Gobbled them all up and am now waiting for number 14.

It's a book. Obviously I ate it.

great