BURIED EMBERS

 

BURIED EMBERS

By Alex Sigmore

Harper Perrenial

Coming Jan 2027

292 pgs

 

Calla Rowe is an experience fire investigator for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) working out of Portland, Oregon. When her partner dies is bizarre fire, the loss wounds her deeply and she flees to a small mountain town called Pinecrest. There to deal with her grief in private. But that is not to be, as within a few weeks of arrival, she asked by the local sheriff, aware of her expertise, to help with a post woodland fire reportedly started by an anti-logging activist. 

Calla reluctantly agrees. The supposed culprit is a passionate young man who, after the fire, has disappeared and his older sister begs Calla to help find him. She is reluctant to get involved, but in the end, coupled with the sheriff’s request, goes to examine the burned-out section of the woods. There, Calla discovers residue from an unusual chemical accelerant she’s only encountered once before; at the fire that killed her partner eight months earlier. But how would a young, idealistic activist come into possession of such a sophisticated chemical? Could this small blaze be somehow related to the previous one back in Portland? 

Despite the frustrations brought about by this new discovery, Calla cannot simply ignore the puzzle and to the sheriff’s annoyance, begins digging deeper into the situation and the people involved. When an attempt is made on her life, which she barely escapes, it becomes obvious she has become the target of psychotic killer; one who uses fire as a weapon of death. 

Writer Alex Sigmore is a master of suspense, and “Buried Embers” is a polished, deftly presented thriller that grips the reader from beginning to end. Whereas with Calla Rowe, Sigmore has created one hell of a great new, and unique, crime detective. Here’s hope there’s a sequel in the works.

THE BLACK PRINCE

 

THE BLACK PRINCE

By Terry Mark

(@authorTerryMark) Instagram

348 pgs 

Two Viking brothers, Edward and Alistair, are slaves trained to become warriors. On one of their many journeys to the East, they encounter the magic land of Scoria where exist the Vim. A bizarre metal from the stars, the Vim stones provide people with superhuman abilities to include immortality. Possessing these amazing crystals, the brothers attempt to flee Scoria, return to the West and create their own everlasting empire. But as such dreams often do, the fates intervening and in one final battle with opposing oriental forces, Edward and Alistair are thrown into separate time vortexes and separated for hundreds of years. 

Once again, Terry Mark, a master of high fantasy has woven an original tale of wonder and adventure unlike you’ve ever read before. Be on the look out for this, and his subsequent novels in the Vim-Hood series.

MONACO HEIST

 

MONACO HEIST

By Van Allen Plexico & Alan J. Porter

White Rocket Books

306 pgs

 

We’ve always loved “caper” crime novels. It is always fun watching professional thieves overcome near impossible challenges to abscond with whatever prize they are focused on stealing. Award winning pulp writer, Van Allen Plexico is also a fan of this crime sub genre and has created an on-going series featuring two really likeable thieves, Harper and Salsa. He put them through their paces in their first two outings, “Vegas Heist” and “Maimi Heist.” Both are highly recommended, if you haven’t read them yet. 

In this third outing, Plexico is joined by another veteran scribe, Alan J. Porter, who is a racing car affectionato. You see, dear readers, this entry takes place in the colorful principality of Monaco where our guys are out to steal six priceless diamonds mounted on the hood of a racing car as it winds its way through the city’s narrow street in this annual International Grand Prix. 

The diamonds are owned by a wealthy shipping tycoon with plans to take over the small little country. But he’s also heavily in debt to a mysterious criminal organization. Hoping the publicity generated by the audacious racing gimmick will allow him to sell the diamonds for enough money to satisfy his creditors; at the same time have enough left over to continue his own nefarious schemes. Into the twisted scenario, our protagonists, along with their respective girlfriends, Lois and Connie, arrive totally unaware how complicated their plans are about to become. And if all this wasn’t enough to keep one guessing, Plexico and Porter throw in two deadly secret agents in a weird spy versus spy subplot. 

“Monaco Heist,” is one of those fast-paced books that keeps the reader mesmerized from the first checkered flag to the last. There are almost as many twist and turns in the plot as there are in racecourse itself. By the conclusion, we felt as if we were romping through a madcap Pink Panther movie without an Inspector Clouseau. Although Salsa comes very close to filling that role. Honestly, this is a fun read. and we are thrilled to learn there are more Harper and Salsa capers on the way. You should be too.