Fire Engine Dead (Museum Mystery Series #3)

Love this author. Fun to read.

I have read most of the books in this series and enjoyed them all very much.

Sometimes you just need an easy read! It is even better when it is thoroughly enjoyable!

The Fireman Museum loses most of their collection when their storage facility is set afire. When the FBI seeks Nell help in gathering information; Nell’s discovery exposes a secret that someone is willing to kill for. This intriguing whodunit had plenty of action that kept me turning the pages to see what happens next. It was fun watching Nell piece all the clues together to find the culprit in these deadly fires and also moving forward with the handsome James. This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book in this wonderful and well-written series.

I like to find new mysteries and this caught my attention from the cover. I am glad I bought it and have the others in the series on my wish list.

Fun and quick read. Interesting factoids thrown in.

In Connolly’s mystery novel, the police are scrambling over a series of warehouse fires and the search for the arsonist. The search intensifies when valuable pieces in storage belonging to the Fireman’s Museum are torched, and a security guard is killed in the inferno. But a picture in the newspaper of the museum’s 1825 horse-drawn hand-pump fire engine catches Nell Pratt’s attention. Although damaged beyond repair, the vehicle clearly does not match the museum’s records of the original. Questions arise when no one from the Fireman’s Museum notices the discrepancy. As the situation heats up, FBI agent James Morrison taps Nell’s inside knowledge of the museum community to help find the truth. A sharp and sophisticated addition to the A Museum Mystery series with Nell Pratt.

This was a little different than the run-of-the-mill cozies, so it was fun to read.

Sheila Connolly can set a scene in just a few pages and bring you right into her Antiquarian Society museum Nell Pratt, director of the museum, keeps us up to date on the inner workings of the museum - the staffing, problems with the collections and financial challenges. She also becomes involved in trying to solve the arson fire which has consumed the collection of a neighboring musuem. It's a good mystery with interesting historical facts about the Philadelphia Firemans Association beginnings - going back to Ben Franklin's days! It's an enjoyable read!

Nell Pratt, the new president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, is busy trying to hire staff and keep The Society running in these hard economic times, but when The Fireman’s Museum loses most of it’s collections to a fire she realizes things could be much worse. She tries to help by gathering all the information The Society has about local fire history to help them tally their losses and file an insurance claim. It is a picture that makes Nell understand there is much more to the story that meets the eye. When the smoke clears she knows she has to help find the truth. Hopefully she will not go down in a blaze all her own. Dollycas’s Thoughts Being a daughter of a firefighter this story really touched by heart. The fire department where I grew up has many treasures from the past including an antique engine that travels around to nearby parades and events throughout the summer. My father was the chief for many years before he passed away. The department was an integral part of my life. There is even a Fire Training Facility dedicated to my dad at a nearby college. So growing up you could say fire fighting and all that goes with it was the family business. Because of that I know Sheila Connolly has created a very accurate picture of the dedication of the men and women in this dangerous profession. Arson is a horrible crime and the reactions of all the characters are realistic and true. She also takes the saying of “a picture is worth a thousand words” to a very practical level, the key to the mystery. I enjoy this series because Nell takes us into a museum full of paper and books that unless you are doing research could be quite boring but all the interplay with the characters and where their lives take us is anything but boring. It’s exciting, entertaining, and fun. It’s amazing what can happen in rooms full of ledgers, letters and legal documents. Connolly has created a complex and complicated mystery that will keep your feet to the fire as you follow the clues that will slam the door shut on those who ignited the flames. Sit back and enjoy this one, just stay back from the fire, we don’t want any readers to get injured during the reading of this book.

love her books

Makes a nest out of scrappy fluffy pieces of moss and feathers. Along with a old fleecy twoleg jacket. She snuggled in and fell asleep immidiatly.