Russ Thomas | FIREWATCHING

Plot (via Goodreads):

When financier Gerald Cartwright disappeared from his home six years ago, it was assumed he'd gone on the run from his creditors. But then a skeleton is found bricked up in the cellar of Cartwright's burned-out mansion, and it becomes clear Gerald never left alive.

As the sole representative of South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler is not expected to get results, but he knows this is the case that might finally kick start his floundering career. Luckily, he already has a suspect. Unluckily, that suspect is Cartwright's son, the man Tyler slept with the night before.

Keeping his possible conflict-of-interest under wraps, Tyler digs into the case alongside Amina Rabbani, an ambitious young Muslim constable and a fellow outsider seeking to prove herself on the force. Soon their investigation will come up against close-lipped townsfolk, an elderly woman with dementia who's receiving mysterious threats referencing a past she can't remember, and an escalating series of conflagrations set by a troubled soul intent on watching the world burn . . .

Review:

Finally! Some LGBTQ representation in a thriller! My prayers have finally been answered. I really enjoyed this story and these characters a lot. This one is without a doubt a slow-burning thriller that is very heavy on the police procedural aspect and while I enjoyed it, it did take me a while to become immersed in the story. I absolutely loved the character of Adam Tyler and felt that he was written very well, to the point that I am excited that this is going to be a series. The LGBTQ portion of this one was handled well and honestly, I was so relieved it was free of cliches.

The pacing to this one is a lot slower than what I was used to and relied heavily on the police procedural aspect to tell a lot of the story, but there were some smaller chapters featuring websites and a message board that I felt really lagged the story for me and if they were omitted, it may have made the pacing seem like it was done better. I definitely love a good police procedural and this one was good, but it took a while for the pacing to fully increase and thankfully, I stuck around to get to the great parts of the story. I found the twists and turns to be believable and harrowing - the story was definitely emotionally-charged in some portions and brought life to all of the characters involved. Overall, I think this was a solid and great start to a series and now that I am used to the way that this author tells a story, I will not only be back for more but I am eager to see where this series goes. I think a serial killer thriller or something more sinister is a story this author would do a great job telling.

Special thanks to Putnam for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5