AND BY FIRE
by Evie Hawtrey
|
|
Crooked Lane Books
5/10/22
Historical / Crime Fiction / Mystery
Hardcover, 336 pages
|
"[R]eaders swept up in this double-barreled inferno will forget the history they know as they root for both heroines to bring the malefactors to book before things get even hotter."
-Kirkus Reviews
|
|
Tempered by fire and separated by centuries, two extraordinary female detectives track a pair of murderous geniuses who will burn the world for their art in this mystery perfect for fans of Sarah Penner and Dan Brown.
Nigella Parker, Detective Inspector with the City Police, has a deeply rooted fear of fire and a talent for solving deadly arson cases. When a charred figure is found curled beside Sir Christopher Wren’s Monument to the Great Fire of London, Nigella is dragged into a case pitting her against a murderous artist creating sculptures using burnt flesh.
Nigella partners with Colm O’Leary of Scotland Yard to track the arsonist across greater London. The pair are more than colleagues—they were lovers until O’Leary made the mistake of uttering three little words. Their past isn’t the only buried history as they race to connect the dots between an antique nail pulled from a dead man’s hands and a long-forgotten architect dwarfed by the life’s work of Sir Christopher Wren.
Wren, one of London’s most famous architects, is everywhere the pair turn. Digging into his legacy leads the DCIs into the coldest of cold cases: a search for a bookseller gone missing during the Great Fire of London. More than 350 years earlier, while looking for their friend, a second pair of detectives—a lady-in-waiting to the Queen and a royal fireworks maker—discovered foul play in the supposedly accidental destruction of St. Paul’s Cathedral…but did that same devilry lead to murder? And can these centuries-old crimes help catch a modern-day murderer?
|
|
Dear Readers,
Ambitions—everybody’s got them. No crime in that. What some people are willing to do to pursue their ambitions on the other hand . . . that’s where things can get ugly, even murderous.
As a writer, I am interested in the creative process. Art requires sacrifice, so the conventional wisdom goes. But surely that adage refers to self-sacrifice not the sacrifice of others? In And by Fire, I explore what happens when two London artists—one past and one present—fail to make that distinction, committing arson and murder for the sake of their craft.
Solving these crimes falls to a pair of fierce, ambitious female detectives centuries apart. Like the “artists” they pursue, tough choices must be made regarding what they’re willing to sacrifice for success.
In the here-and-now, London City Police DI Nigella Parker faces not only the daunting task of catching a “sculptor” who uses burnt flesh, but her own fears. She’s feared fire since childhood. But Nigella’s biggest fear is emotional intimacy. Relationships take time and, as she muses, being a professional woman means being “first to arrive, last to leave, overkilling it to make certain you were seen as being as competent as male colleagues who do less.” One of the things Nigella sacrificed in pursuit of her work—though he mightn’t like being referred to that way—is DI Colm O’Leary. Now awkwardly partnered with her former lover in the multi-jurisdictional homicide investigation, maybe there’s a chance for personal growth?
In 17th century England, royal Lady-in-Waiting turned sleuth Margaret Dove is fascinated by science. But when asked by Royal Fireworks maker Etienne Belland, “Are you a woman of science?” her answer is telling: “There is no such thing.” When a friend disappears during London’s Great Fire, Margaret uses science and deductive reasoning to find him and pursue justice. Justice that requires painful sacrifice. But unlike the criminal she pursues, Margaret understands the difference between giving all of herself and sacrificing Etienne for the cause.
I hope you enjoy my time-twisty mystery, and that it makes you think just a little bit about what we do in pursuit of both ambition and love.
Cheers!
Evie
|
|
AND BY FIRE
Book Club Menu
|
|
And by Fire is dual timeline mystery, so some multi-era menu fun is in order!
When readers meet Lady Margaret Dove, a seventeenth-century Maid of Honour to the Queen turned detective, the English royal court has just returned to Whitehall Palace after fleeing London due to an outbreak of plague. Since I have a recipe for “plague-water” on my desk (doesn’t’ everybody?), I suggest you start your bookish evening with a plague-water-inspired cocktail. The base for the original, medicinal brew was white wine —admit it, you were expecting something far more gruesome. Four days before your book club gathers, open a bottle of your favorite white, add some rosemary, sage, and sorrel —maybe in a sachet, to save you having to strain as you pour out) and let them steep until the first book club member arrives. You’re welcome to add mugwort and celandine if you have it laying around. But nobody does these days. If the idea of herbaceous white wine doesn’t tickle your fancy, I am certain most members of your club would enjoy a proper cocktail made with good British gin.
|
|
That’s the drinks sorted. For snack inspiration, let’s head to the 21st century where DI Nigella Parker and Colm O’Leary don’t have much time for fine dining —or dining at all. They’re chasing a murderous arsonist across Greater London—a killer who thinks of himself as an artist and creates sculptures using burnt flesh. Any wonder then that eating isn’t a top priority for my detective duo?
Discussing a good book always makes me crave a plate full of nibbles. Since And by Fire is British as British can be, why not prepare a take on a ploughman’s lunch I call the Ploughman’s Platter? A traditional ploughman’s lunch appears early in And by Fire when Parker and O’Leary meet at a pub to grab a bite and review CCTV footage from their first crime scene. O’Leary’s cold, mid-day meal is a big, rustic take on a charcuterie board, brimming with crusty bread; two or three UK cheese choices—I suggest a Wensleydale, paired with a Blue British Stilton, rounded out with an English Cheddar, sliced ham, and hardboiled egg halves. Or, if you are an adventurous cook, Scotch eggs—soft-boiled eggs wrapped in layers of sausage and breadcrumbs and deep-fried— celery sticks; and Gherkins. Don’t forget to set out some Colman’s mustard, fresh watercress, and a nice chunky chutney beside your platter.
After the savory, I suggest scones for your book club sweet treat. I am a scone-oholic. From the traditional buttery variety full of plump sultanas to my secret-recipe chocolate chocolate-chip version to the Fat Rascals at Betty’s in York, my all-time favorite Tearoom. I love scones smeared generously with thick clotted cream (Double Devon anyone?) and strawberry preserves. Is it teatime yet?
—Evie Hawtrey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|