Firebug

There's more than one way to get burned.

After the successful completion of the auto theft ring investigation, Joel is hit with a new case, and this one is almost too hot to handle. A hardware store in downtown London has gone up in flames, taking the apartment above it—and its tenants—with it. A thorough inspection by the fire department has determined that arson was involved. Were these deaths accidental, or is this murder?

It's not the first time the owners of the building have watched one of their properties go up in smoke. This is the second time the Bertons' apparently simple, quiet lives have been reduced to ashes, and Joel's interview with the family reveals there's something a little different—and a bit unnerving—about their eerily precocious son. Julius seems to see and remember everything, and even, at times, to read people's minds. It's no wonder the other kids at school are afraid of him.

Still, despite the parallels between the fires, nothing is quite adding up, and Joel's dogged detective work, his Eye of Horus amulet, and the assistance of a distraught essence, can't seem to keep the case from slowly burning out of control. The charred remains of the bodies can't be identified, the dead are driving around town in fancy Cadillacs, and now people are going missing. There's more going on here than a gallon of gasoline and a lit match.

Firebug is the tenth installment in the Joel Franklin Mystery series, which began with Lightning at 200 Durham Street. Set in Ontario, Canada, in the 1930s, with a cast of recurring characters, this paranormal historical whodunit harks back to the Golden Age of detective fiction and will appeal to readers of all ages.