The Burning

Reviewed by Danni Jackson © 2007

Wild Child Publishing.com © 2007

Title of Book: The Burning
Author: Jackie Tritt
Publisher: Virtual Tales
ISBN Number: 0-9782157-2-9
Genre: Fiction, Mystery/Crime
Rating: PG
Length: 190 Pages
Release Date: December 15, 2006 (e-book)
Author's Website: Jackie Tritt's website

Senior Constable Alan Foster has a problem besides Ms Montague’s missing horse, the impending bushfire, his impetuous daughter and the new young female assistant Constable Jade Lee. He has a possible murder to investigate and only a week to do it in.

On a day that’s hotter and drier than usual, coupled with strong winds a bush fire is a disaster in the making for the small town community of Pelican East. Senior Constable Foster plans ahead with help from Constable Lee and prepare for the worst by beginning evacuations early starting with the schools and nursing home first by having everyone go to the fire refuge. The fires break out and start to spread fast. And like the wild fire in the bush, people’s tempers flare along with the worry, fears and panic of the populace of Pelican East.

Constable Foster thinks his town is nice, quiet and better than living in the city. He knows most of the residents and there is little to no crime most of the time. But he soon becomes aware that a lot more goes on in Pelican East than what he originally thought. After the fires the badly charred body of Peter Halliday is discovered. Now the question becomes how did he die and why. Was it a result of the fires spreading to quickly and he couldn’t escape? Or foul play?

Alan has his doubts as evidenced from this passage on page 69, “How could a healthy, fit young man, skilled in the art of fire fighting, let himself burn to death in a shed? Maybe he had an accident first. Maybe stored flammable liquids went up first and cut off his access to the door. Maybe someone saw the fires as an ideal screen for murder. But who? And why?”

Pieces of the puzzle slowly falls into place while Alan tries to solve the mystery surrounding Peter’s death in a week as well as find his daughter, two missing horses and help his town begin to rebuild. There’s a bit of everything in this book – murder, prejudice, drugs, infidelity, teen/parent conflict just to name a few. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I became engrossed in this story.

Rating: 4 cats

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To find out more about how to purchase The Burning visit Jackie Tritt's website.