No stars. Dnf

Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and LibraryThing for providing an advance reading copy of this book. The views expressed are my own.
This is a novella length cozy mystery story set in the Caribbean. It one of the Rapid Reads series of short stories written by leading Canadian crime fiction authors.
The story is narrated by Ashley Grant, a Canadian paramedic who is working in the Victoria and Albert Islands. in the Caribbean. She misses Canada and is treating her time in the Caribbean as only a temporary assignment. The story begins with Ashley and her paramedic partner responding to a fire alarm at the island's swankiest resort hotel. Unfortunately a hotel worker dies of smoke inhalation from the fire. Shortly after this, the body of her abusive boyfriend is found, an apparent suicide. The police close their investigations, rather too quickly for many of the locals. Ashley and her landlady (who is a cousin of the dead kitchen worker) begin to ask questions about some suspicious activity at the resort. Their activity leads to some tense confrontations at the resort, and the brakes on their car are tampered with. They narrowly escape from serious harm and the police re-open their investigations.
It's a well-plotted mystery set in an exotic location. There's some social commentary: how corruption and greed exist everywhere. It's easy to read without being simplistic and has a satisfying ending.
A worthy addition to the Rapid Reads series. ( )

Blue Water Hues by well known Canadian author Vicki Delaney is her second book about Ashley Grant and her life in the Caribbean. Vicki Delaney has contributed several books to the Rapid Reads series aimed at an adult audience with a limited reading level. Ashley is settling into life as a paramedic and finds herself involved in a murder investigation after a fire in a hotel kitchen kills one of the chefs. Her friend convinces her that her relative, the chef, would never have been so negligent and is convinced the fire was no accident. Ashley agrees to investigate. The plot is absorbing and fast moving. This book is an excellent addition to the Rapid Reads series. ( )

Canadian Ashley Grant is working as an EMT in the Caribbean. She and her partner are called to a kitchen fire at a luxury hotel, where they assist a couple of the kitchen staff. Unfortunately the chef was overcome by smoke and perished in the fire. She was related to Darlene, the office manager of the hotel where Ashley lives. The police investigation is closed after a second death seems to explain everything. However, Darlene suspects there is more to her cousin's death than the investigation uncovered, and she asks Ashley to help her dig deeper.

The Ashley Grant mysteries are part of the Rapid Reads series of high interest/low level books for an adult audience. These are truly rapid reads. I read the entire book during a salon appointment while sipping a glass of white peach tea lemonade. The drink lasted longer than the book. The plot is complicated enough to keep readers guessing, but without a lot of red herrings that would lengthen the story. The book has a strong sense of place on a fictional Caribbean island. The Rapid Reads books seem to be more plot driven than the average cozy, and the secondary characters are somewhat underdeveloped as a result.

This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. ( )

I really need to look more closely, and stop requesting these Rapid Reads. I'm just not the right audience. That said, for such a short book, it was well-written and the story was interesting. I can see why the author gets good reviews, and for the right audience (especially new readers or those learning English) this would be a good choice. ( )