Firewatching by Russ Thomas
The prime suspect in a high-profile murder investigation turns out to be Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler’s most recent one-night stand in this tense and ambitious police procedural debut.
Six years ago, when financier Gerald Cartwright vanished from his house, it was presumed he had fled away from his creditors. However, it soon becomes apparent that Gerald was never alive when a skeleton is discovered bricked up in the cellar of Cartwright’s burned-out mansion. Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler, the lone representative of South Yorkshire’s Cold Case Review Unit, is not anticipated to produce any results, but he is aware that this is the case that could finally jump-start his stalled career. He has a suspect, which is fortunate. Unluckily, Tyler’s partner the night before, Cartwright’s son, is that suspect.
Amina Rabbani, a driven young Muslim constable looking to make a name for herself on the force, works with Tyler while keeping his potential conflict of interest a secret. Together, they investigate the case. They will soon encounter secretive locals, an elderly woman with dementia who is receiving inexplicable threats referencing a history she cannot recall, and an intensifying string of conflagrations started by a troubled soul intent on watching the world burn as a result of their research.
Firewatching by Russ Thomas
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The novel Firewatching by Russ Thomas is thrilling, taut, and a variety of other wonderful things. The narrative’s antihero is Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler. His past influences who he is today, how he behaves and responds, and his weaknesses and instincts are some of the things that make him so good at what he does. He is the hard-boiled detective. Although Tyler is bound by duty and does take it seriously, he is also not opposed to eluding some of the more onerous requirements of his position in order to solve a case.
Tyler and the DCI, Diane Jordan, have a personal and professional relationship that is important to the plot and presents some issues, but Tyler’s tendency to keep people at a distance makes him challenging to deal with and identifies him as an oddball. Tyler doesn’t put up the effort to influence others or make relationships, and he also doesn’t appear to care. But Russ Thomas skillfully worked all these flaws into a character I now want to learn much more about, rather than making him unlikable or unpleasant. As the case comes to an end, it also influences Tyler’s reflective observations…
