Weeping

In the entire canon of tough-girl sleuths, gumshoes, PIs, detectives, and investigators, there's no one quite like Fritillary Quilter. A New York claims representative with a nose for arson, an eye for fraudulent claims, and a hankering to investigate fires, "Tilly" pushes the envelope of traditional female investigators with self-deprecating humor, hero-worship, and indefatigable zeal. "Weeping" is an arson investigator's terms, and also the state that befalls the grief-stricken survivors of a fire. So it is with a raised eyebrow and incipient suspicion that Tilly encounters cool, calculating, and unemotional Faith Browning, whose sister Dorsey has just burned to death in their family home. When Faith puts in a claim without first giving the insurance company a chance to conduct a fire investigation, Tilly is teamed with arson pro Isaac "Ike" Blessing. Tilly and Ike must sift through the ashes to find the truth. Written by a real-life private eye and fire investigator, Weeping is fueled by technical authority, lively characters, and stylish prose.