Slow Burn: An Andy Hayes Mystery (Andy Hayes Mysteries) - Hardcover

Welsh-Huggins, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0804011605 ISBN 13: 9780804011600

Publisher: Swallow Press, 2015

Synopsis

Almost two years have passed since Aaron Custer supposedly set a fire at a house in Columbus that killed three college students, including the young woman with whom he had argued just hours before. Prosecutors had an ironclad case against Custer, a convicted firebug whose fingerprints were found on the lighter that started the blaze and who quickly pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.Private investigator and fallen Ohio State football star Andy Hayes is skeptical when Custer’s grandmother asks him to reopen the investigation by finding a mysterious witness who may have seen the real culprit that night. Andy’s doubts fade as he uncovers a tangle of motives for the victims’ deaths, implicating the state’s natural gas fracking boom, drug dealers, and more. But to delve deeper, Andy must once again make amends with his past. TV reporter Suzanne Gregory, a former fiancée, has more information on the Orton Avenue fire than any journalist in town, but asking for her help means reopening old wounds—just as Andy has embarked on a new relationship he’s determined not to screw up. As Andy follows Custer’s trail down ever-darker paths, he must revisit his past and decide whether he can afford to forfeit his future.

Author and reviewer Bill Osinski called Fourth Down and Out, the first of the Andy Hayes mysteries, “A tall, frosty stein of Middle-American noir, backed with a healthy shot of wry.” In this second installment, Andrew Welsh-Huggins draws on real events and current affairs to bring his city to life—warts and all.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Welsh-Huggins covers criminal justice issues for The Associated Press in Columbus, Ohio. He is the author of six Andy Hayes mysteries: Fourth Down and Out, Slow Burn, Capitol Punishment, The Hunt, The Third Brother, and Fatal Judgment. He also wrote No Winners Here Tonight: Race, Politics, and Geography in One of the Country’s Busiest Death Penalty States and Hatred at Home: Al-Qaida on Trial in the American Midwest, both from Ohio University Press.

Review

“Even more gripping than his debut novel, this second installment firmly establishes Welsh-Huggins as a rising star in the genre. Expect a late—and rewarding—night of addictive reading.”—Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Andy gets a lot wrong before getting it right, but his dogged digging is fun to follow.”—Publishers Weekly

“With snappy dialogue and a hard-boiled protagonist, Slow Burn is a timely, refreshing return to the pulp novels of long ago. It’s a wonderful mix of vintage detective work with a modern nod toward Mike Hammer.”—Reavis Z. Wortham, author of the Red River mystery series

“Great fun to read.... Grade: A”—Jane Durrell, Cincinnati CityBeat

“Brisk pacing and a convoluted plot make Slow Burn a juicy, satisfying thriller as Andy follows multiple improbable but increasingly convincing leads...a rousing read that will gratify the most jaded of mystery fans, with added interest for those familiar with Columbus.”—ForeWord Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Swallow Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0804011605
• ISBN 13: 9780804011600
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 312