College student Sara Donovan interns one summer at the Carlton Museum in Washington, D. C. She is assigned to inventory a vast collection of journals bequeathed by the museum’s primary benefactor, Oliver Carlton, and her job requires her to work within the museum’s main vault located deep within the bowels of the building. This rather tedious and boring endeavor is interrupted when the museum is selected to host a fine gem exhibit called Fire and Ice, one that includes a rare, flawless 175-carat diamond and a remarkable 20-carat ruby.

B.T. Polcari’s FIRE AND ICE begins when the power goes out in the museum for a long minute, and Sara’s dog Mauzzy, who came to work with her this day, scratches at the inner vault door. Believing her dog has a gut instinct not to be ignored, Sara suspects something went on in the vault during the power outage. When she is convinced that the rare diamond has been replaced with a fake, she expresses her concern with Mickey, the head of museum security. Mickey thinks Sara’s a bit whacky but nonetheless has an expert come in to verify the diamond’s authenticity. When the diamond is found to be genuine, everyone in Sara’s world advises her to drop the robbery idea, including her boss. But Sara is headstrong and doesn’t listen. Then, when three of Carlton’s journals go missing from the collection, Sara thinks their disappearance is somehow connected to the diamond—which she still believes has been stolen and replaced—and she digs in even deeper.

Many clues are woven into FIRE AND ICE—cryptic messages, an abandoned tunnel system surrounding the museum, and buried treasure. None of the characters in the story is above suspicion, including museum staff, Sara’s distant boyfriend, the gemologist who verified the authenticity of the diamond, and a mysterious octogenarian named Mrs. Majelski. At one point, even Sara is a person of interest in the eyes of the FBI. How does it end?  Readers will have to dig in and find out on their own.

B.T. Polcari’s ‘s cozy mystery, FIRE AND ICE, includes all the elements required to engage readers into solving the puzzle—a compelling hook, interesting characters, a well-structured plot, and a few red herrings.

~Florence Osmund for IndieReader