Quirky Sleuths. Big Murders. Very Bad Alibis.
County fire investigator Cal Rourke trusts burn patterns more than people, which is useful when a widely hated developer dies inside a historic Briarfall barn scheduled to make way for a controversial resort expansion. The fire looks electrical. Cal's cousin had publicly threatened the victim. Half the county would prefer the whole thing declared an accident before the next planning vote.
Cal has a different problem. The point of origin is too clean.
Someone knew enough about fire to make faulty wiring look guilty, but not enough to understand what ventilation, soot, heat, and an opened door would reveal afterward. With his daughter visiting, his own family tangled in the suspect list, and retired arson investigator Arlo Danner appreciating the killer's technique far too enthusiastically, Cal has to read what the fire was forced to say. People can rehearse an alibi. Fire cannot.
