Time Under Tension (A Kelsey James Fitness Mystery)

Kelsey James is a vibrant fitness instructor who shows great care for her clients at Fox Fitness. She is greatly concerned about her regular/friend Tina, who has been experiencing some issues with her father. Kelsey’s worries are magnified the night Tina shows up at her door, covered in blood. Fortunately, the blood doesn’t belong to Tina, but it belongs to Tina’s newly deceased mother, Anna. Tina doesn’t know what happened, whether it was an accident or murder, but she is too distraught to even think straight. On the other hand, Kelsey is the daughter of the local police chief, and she possesses the instincts of an amateur sleuth. The evidence points to Tina’s mother’s death as a homicide.

While Kelsey begins to investigate the case inconspicuously, Tina is kidnapped from the gym. Their fear for Tina is not assuaged when the kidnappers are Tina’s relatives, who believe they are shielding Tina from harm as they believe her mother’s killer might be her father. Tina is soon extricated from her involuntary confinement and placed under protective custody. While Tina is seemingly safe, Kelsey has been receiving messages warning her to back off the case, and she has a new man in her life who is keeping a secret of his own.

The apparent dysfunction Kelsey witnesses from Tina Scott’s family is unnerving, but Kelsey is in for a shock when she learns about a skeleton in her family’s closet. Anna Scott’s murder has reverberations for more than a few people in the town of Oakview.

Time Under Tension is the excellent debut mystery novel by author Kristina Fox. The story begins unassumingly with the introduction of the affable protagonist and develops into an absorbing narrative involving murder and familial intrigue. Kelsey James is the apple of her father’s eye and respects his authority, but she proves herself capable of acting independently when it comes to assisting a friend in danger. Her love and loyalty to her family and friends are admirable and charming. The crux of the plot line revolves around family and secrets and what one will do to protect those closest to us. The families, as written by Fox, are flawed but human, providing the story more authenticity. Fox does an exemplary job of allowing the suspense to slowly build throughout the book and keeping the reader guessing until the excellent climax. Fox has a bright future as a mystery writer with her inaugural offering.