Fire on the Hill
is a gritty fast- paced mystery thriller that drags its readers into the dusty heart of California's backroads and the dark underworlds that operate in it's shadows. Set against a noir backdrop of of danger, deception, and regret, this novel introduces us to Jake Starr- a hard-nosed private investigator with a past, a conscience and a gut feeling that won't let him walk away from a case, even when everything - and everyone is telling him to.
This isn't just another whodunit. It's a story where past sins, half- truths and power plays collide in a complex dance of motive and misdirection. The murder of a young girl named Sherry Anders might have been dismissed as an unfortunate accident - an intoxicated girl in the wrong place at the wrong time - but Jake isn't buying it. When a client with deep pockets and even deeper secrets offers him a payout to uncover the truth, he takes the case... only to discover the truth doesn't want to be revealed.
What unfolds is a chain reaction of violence, loss and loyalty. Jake's old friend Max- an honourable cop and reminder of Jake's former self- is pulled into the mystery, only to become one more casualty in a complex case that's turning deadlier by the minute. The deeper Jake digs, the more corruption he unearths. From desert diners to highrise boardrooms and politics, from love interests with haunted eyes, to hitmen with deadly aim. Fire on the hill is a portrait of moral ambiguity and the price of justice.
Author Michael W Scott weaves a story full of gallows humor, noir cynicism, and I brutal honesty. His protagonist is damaged but determined. His side characters -from Max and Susan to the slick and dangerous Walrus- are vibrant, flawed and painfully real. The dialogue crackles, the pacing never lets up, and the prose is sharp as a switchblade.
This book is for readers who love the complexity of noir classics, the emotional grit of modern thrillers, and the relentless pursuit of justice found in the best detective fiction.
Welcome to Fire on the hill. Just remember that nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and nobody gets out clean.