Blog Tour - A Killing Fire

TITLE: A Killing Fire
AUTHOR: Faye Snowden
PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press
PUBLISHING DATE: August 8, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: The first time Raven Burns saw her father kill, the victim was her mother. Afterwards, Floyd "FIRE" Burns set the house on fire, making Raven watch as the flames slithered across the yard like some unknowable language. Then he took her on a multi-state killing spree. She could've told or killed him in his sleep. But there were his constant whispers, his wet lips close to her ear saying that little girls who told were sent to hell, and their mothers were called down from heaven to take care of them. 

By the time he is executed, Raven has become a cop with the sole purpose of putting men like him away. But she can't escape Floyd's terrorizing voice in her head, somehow guiding her steps while reminding her of the horrors he had forced her to witness. And she can't escape the questions that continue to haunt her: Did witnessing make her complicit? Had the same evil that lived in her father taken residence in her soul? 

 The town of Byrd's Landing, Louisiana appears to have made up its mind. The community accepts that Raven had nothing to do with Floyd's crimes. But when Raven shoots a teenager who points what turns out to be an unloaded weapon at her, stories about Floyd resurface. The whispers begin. No voice is louder than wealthy socialite Hazel Westcott. When Westcott turns up dead in the backyard of her Big Bayou Lake estate, the doubting voices reach a deafening crescendo, and the ghosts of her past rise up to greet her. To catch Westcott's killer, Raven must come to terms once and for all with who she is. And who she is not. What are you willing to do, what are you willing to become, to save someone you love? 

MY THOUGHTS:  When I first accepted to be on this blog tour, I admit I did so basically because I've had such success with Flame Tree Press titles. I knew there was some sort of mystery element to it but honestly, from the cover, I was getting a sci-fi feel.  Well, be aware, this is not sci-fi but it's still a heck of a good read.

Raven Burns and her partner Billy Ray are detectives in a small Louisiana town.  As a child, Raven was raised primarily by her father, Floyd, who became the well-known 4th of July serial killer.  Raven works hard to put people like Floyd away, but secretly wonders how much like him she just might be.  One night, Hazel Westcott, a wild-child from a prominent family, ends up dead following a 4th of July celebration.  Raven and Hazel are not strangers, but how much does she really know about her death and what is she hiding.

This book was a very quick read.  I think because of the mystery elements, I was constantly wanting to see what was going to happen next as well as find out if my amateur theories panned out.  While I don't know that any of the characters were extremely likable, they were all flawed and very realistic.  I did feel for Raven and what she had been though but there were a few times where I felt like her actions were actually complicating her life more so than making it easier.  Billy Ray was a great partner and at time I believed he had to be the most patient and understand person on Byrd's Landing.

If you love mysteries and thrillers, you really need to consider picking up "A Killing Fire."  This title could clearly go head-to-head with some of the more hyped thrillers on the market right now and dare I say that I actually have liked it better than so of the more popular ones I've read recently.

RATING: 4 PAWS

COYER CHALLENGE UPDATE: A book from Netgalley

Faye Snowden is the author of three published mysteries with Kensington— Spiral of Guilt (1999), The Savior (2003, 2004) and Fatal Justice (2005, 2006). She has published short stories and poems in various literary journals and small presses including The African American Review, Calliope, Red Ochre Lit, Bay Area Poets Coalition and Occam’s Razor. A new book, A Killing Fire (Flame Tree Press) will make its debut in August, 2019.

Although born in San Fernando, California, she was uprooted while young to a place where supposedly people had swamps in their backyards and alligators for pets. She didn’t have any pet alligators in Shreveport, Louisiana, but an amazing, resourceful single mother raised the family of six in a shotgun house. And she had a cat named Blue.

At eighteen, Faye left Louisiana to join the Navy. The Navy gave her an opportunity to spend some time living in Naples, Italy and on both US coasts—Washington, DC and northern California. After the Navy, she went to work as an information technology professional in various industries while on her way to a masters in English literature.

Aside from her publications, she also managed two boys, a husband, five dogs and three writing fellowships following those years. Today, Faye works and writes from her home in Northern California.