Charred

A record-breaking scorching day in Milwaukee sets the scene for a crime of arson and a grisly murder. In her suspenseful follow-up to Frozen, Watterson brings back homicide detective Ellie MacIntosh of Northwoods Killer fame to join the attractive but abrasively "smartass" Detective Jason Santiago in solving a string of murders. Though apprehensive about working together, the two must learn to cooperate to track their killer. The detectives team up with Carl Grasso, a former homicide detective with a troubled past who may hold the key to unraveling the mysterious nature of the killer. Allowing glimpses into the mind of the pyromaniac perpetrator nicknamed "The Burner," Watterson's narrative shuffles between each of the main characters%E2%80%94occasionally disrupted by repetitious description . The detectives' personal relationships play second fiddle to the fast-paced successions of arson and murder in this well-plotted, fast-paced sequel. (June)