One of the best parts about being a writer is the opportunity to follow whatever curiosity you have that could be used in a story.  I got the idea of a  serial arsonist from a real case in California in the 80’s where a fire investigator had become a national expert because of all the fires he managed to solve.  It turned-out he could solve them because—he set all of them!

I wondered what would happen if something like that occurred in my town and the fires kept getting bigger and more deadly and no one could figure out who was guilty?

My main source of information was one of the Minneapolis Fire Dept. fire investigators.  Like the character in Flashover, my friend was female and smart.  She was generous enough to spend several hours with me going through all the details of a fire investigation and giving me other resources also.  For instance, she talked about how difficult it is, physically, to investigate a fire.  Even though it’s “out” the fire is probably still smoldering and giving-off toxic gases.  It’s still hot and dangerous to be climbing around the remains of a house or office that has burned.

She showed me some of the high-tech equipment they use.  When they’re looking for the presence of gas, they used to have dogs trained to smell it.  But the toxic environment of a fire was too hard on them and they died early.  Now, the fire investigators have a small gadget which measures gases at the scene.  It’s a hydrocarbon meter and the one she used was the MultiRae Pro .http://www.raesystems.com/products/multirae-pro The investigator collects a sample of gas in one end of the machine.  It’s passed over a heating element and the machine has a meter that shows the presence of different kinds of gases.  Then, the results can be uploaded to the crime lab for permanent storage or further analysis.

If they find the presence of gasoline, for instance, that’s pretty good evidence that someone started the fire rather than an accident.

The other aspect that’s so fun about this kind of research is that most people are proud of what they do for a job and are happy to talk about it.  That makes it more fascinating for me—and, I hope, for my readers!!

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Like my previous books, this is a suspense crime novel set in Minneapolis.  The main character is a young, female prosecutor named Zehra who is ambitious to become a judge.  She is assigned a case of an alleged arsonist and hopes a successful conviction of the suspect will give her reputation a boost and her self a judgeship.

Trouble is, as she works on the trial, she becomes concerned that they have accused the wrong man.  There have been a series of suspicious fires during one of the hottest summers in the history of Minneapolis.  While she’s prosecuting the suspect, Cyrus Miller, other fires break-out, including a huge fire near the Mall of America which kills several people.  Did Cyrus Miller also do that one?  If not, who is the real arsonist?  Will she convict an innocent man?

Meanwhile, the villain is planning the biggest fire of all time—an explosion at Target Field, where the Minnesota Twins play, that will burn it down and kill thousands of people.

I did extensive research into many subjects that will interest readers.  The personality of a serial arsonist is much different than that of other criminals.  This villain is also a sociopath—only 4 % of the American population qualifies as such.  When you combine a sociopath with an arsonist—watch out!

I also interviewed a fire investigator from the Minneapolis Fire Department to learn how they investigate fires to determine if it’s arson, who started it, and where the fire started.   A security expert taught me how to build a bomb—not that I’d ever do that!  The arsonist will use that information to blow-up Target Field.  You’ll find out what the villain knows.

The story builds in suspense and Zehra must solve the case and discover the villain in order to stop the fires and the killing.

Also, if you live in the Twin City area, I will host a book release party at:

Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. So.  Minneapolis September 19th from 4:30-7:00.

There will be free food, wine, and live music in addition to the party!  Come celebrate with me and let me thank you for your support!

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