ASHES NEVER LIE

5 stars out of 5

Two series by this author have become favorites of mine: those featuring arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his newish partner Andrew Walker and those with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Detective Eve Ronin and her partner Duncan Pavone. What a treat it is, then, to find all four in one book!

As the fire-related title suggests, it is Sharpe and Walker who get more of the page time here; they lead off by looking into a fire in an in-progress housing development blaze thought to be accidental, but a common object found in the ruins sparked the investigators' notion that arson may be the case. No one was living there at the time, though, so why would anyone want to torch it?

Shortly thereafter, Sharpe and Walker head to another home devastating home fire - this one with a body inside and Ronin and Pavone outside. The same question arises - accident or arson - until they learn where the dead man worked. Using their best investigative skills, Sharpe and Walker come to some frightening (and subject-wise, timely) conclusions that have great and far-reaching implications far beyond their little part of Los Angeles County.

Of course, I always advise starting any series with the first book - especially since they're all very good - but this one stands on its own quite well. I'm already looking forward to the next installments, so bring 'em on! Meantime, many thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg (Thomas & Mercer, September 2024); 286 pp.