Desiring Fire's Det. Esperanza Marquez after nursing a bullet wound for a month was not supposed to come in to work today, it IS Saturday. 

Nonetheless, the chief did send for her, must be some kind of case to require that she must be the one to come and listen to a rich widow, and a mail order Russian bride at that, yak about why she thinks her husband has been murdered.  

Sipping a mocha, not her usual fare, Marquez prepares for the trek up the stairs to her office.  Of course, she could have taken the elevator, however Marquez resists babying herself or her wound.

What is known is that millionaire Jack Walker may have died in the house fire that sent his wife Milena to the hospital overnight due to smoke inhalation.

Marquez, her leg hurting like a son of a gun, is in no mood for this.  But, the chief wants Marquez to listen to the widow and give her opinion, did the widow kill her husband?

Within minutes after meeting the beautiful, young widow Marquez realizes there is a whole lot more to the story than simply a perhaps murderer hoping to throw suspicion on someone else. …

The opening lines of E J Michael’s Desiring Fire appear to indicate an interesting, albeit, pretty standard whodunit type work.  Detective Marquez, on a disability leave nursing a gunshot wound has been summoned by her boss to come in to the police station where it is hoped she will be able to get to the bottom of a murder. 

An older, wealthy man is dead, his house set afire and the local chief of police wonders if the young, recently married bride, might be the culprit.  Marquez is known for her ability to cut through the extraneous and get to the facts of the matter.

Marquez, her leg hurting from the accidental discharge of her partner’s weapon, is in no mood for donning kid gloves for some rich phony flashing perfect nails and makeup and crocodile tears.

Marquez learns quickly that little is exactly as first might be thought in this dark tale of romance, greed, revenge, duplicity and murder. 

On the pages of Desiring Fire Writer Michaels offers an ingeniously composed work peopled with fully developed characters complete with much of the  angst, hope and desires as are common to most of us.

The need to fit in, to find those who can have affection for and about us, to take care of ourselves are all portrayed with dexterity under the clever pen of the author.

The story line draws the reader into the work, and despite many twists and turns, surprises and, at times, really terrible conduct of nearly every player keeps the reader turning the pages. 

Not the usual formula type plot with a followed by b followed by c from first paragraph to end lines; Desiring Fire is presented as a series of, at times meandering, revelations offered by widowed Mrs Walker as she discusses her life, people she has known, what brought her to marriage with the wealthy Jack Walker and how she knows that her husband has been murdered.

As the story unfolds the average reader may learn more about the seamy, previously unknown, underbelly of some areas of society including a brush with aberrant sexual behaviors. 

Children placed in foster care following the murder of their mother at the hands of their now incarcerated father, a girl forced to grow up too quickly, prostitution, seduction and retaliation all play a part in this tale filled with twists and turns.

Note:  Gritty language, brutality, explicit sexual content may put off some readers.

Happy to recommend for the target audience; mystery readers who are not easily put off or get their knickers in a knot due to use of  language or situation somewhat out of the norm.

Desiring Fire  should be considered as a PG 13/mature audience work due to gritty language, brutality and explicit sexual content.

One suggestion I have is regarding the physical book itself, print is somewhat small and not as bright or dark as some books I read. 

This may be a problem for aging eyes.

Reviewed first for AuthorsDen member.

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Reviewed by Molly's Reviews

molly martin

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Amazon About the Author

E.J. Michaels lives quietly on the Oregon coast where he writes amid raising and teaching his children.

He has written articles for small newspapers and military publications, switching to writing fiction when he realized how much he hated writing facts. As such, there are very little facts in his writings. Yet there are many truths.

Michaels received his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from National University in La Jolla, Calif., and his Bachelor of Arts in film from the Pennsylvania State University.

Desiring Fire is his debut full-length novel.

AMAZON Product Details

Paperback: 258 pages

Publisher: Michael Edmond (July 7, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0692666281

ISBN-13: 978-0692666289

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inch