Serial Burn

Eason (Target Acquired) resumes her Lake City Heroes series with a propulsive game of cat and mouse between a fire marshal and an arsonist who’s eerily familiar with her past. As the story opens, deputy fire marshal Jesslyn McCormick is called to investigate a recent fire set at her own church, bringing back memories of the blaze that killed most of her family 20 years earlier. After touring the crime scene, Jesslyn and FBI agent Nathan Carlisle are mostly in the dark about the criminal’s aims. But when the arsonist strikes again, this time at Jesslyn’s gym, it becomes clear that she’s the target, even if the motive remains murky. As the threat mounts and Nathan becomes increasingly protective of Jesslyn, clues emerge—suspicious jewelry left at the scene of the fires; new, unsettling information about Jesslyn’s father—that ratchet up the suspense to hair-raising levels. Eason ably balances the escalating paranoia with heartfelt emotion as Jesslyn turns to God for help weathering the crisis and coming to grips with her past. The result is a thrill ride worth taking. (Jan.)