Kindle Edition
Amazon
Category:
Historical Fiction
Publisher: Robert Pajer
Type: Fiction
Pages: 262
Copyright: May 2026
Price: $0.99 (eBook)
A fast paced historical fiction thriller.
A historical thriller set in 1930s New York City, where corruption seeps through the city’s justice system and a deadly fire refuses to die in the shadows. When fifty‑one innocent women are falsely indicted on prostitution charges and sent to the Bedford Women’s Prison, Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt appoints Judge Samuel Seabury to expose the political rot. NYPD Detective Lee Marshall resigns to become a whistleblower, but his pursuit of justice leads him straight into the embers of the fire that destroyed his family.
As Marshall follows the trail, he uncovers chilling links between the wrongful indictments, the blaze, and a buried chapter of his own past. The closer he gets to the truth, the more he realizes the tragedy was never random — it was set in motion long before the flames ever rose. In a final confrontation where justice and memory collide, Marshall must face the secret that ignited everything.
Excerpt
Monday October 13th, 1930, 12:15 A.M.
Haskin Street, Bronx, NY
The flames burst through every window of the house--his house--throwing a violent orange glare across the night sky. Lee Marshall’s legs gave out, buckling his knees and he would’ve hit the pavement if Jim hadn’t caught his shoulder. His brother’s grip felt like the only solid thing left in in the world. Smoke clawed at his throat. The air tasted of burning wood, fabric, and the life he’d built inside those walls. Crackling flames cast sinister shadows across the crowded street lined with neighbors standing in silent rows, their faces somber lit by the fire’s seething glow. Grim-faced firefighters dragged more hoses toward the inferno. Catherine and Steven were still inside. Lee Marshall turned to Jim, tears rolling down his cheeks, “They’re responsible.” A police cruiser rolled past. The officer behind the wheel gave Lee a long unreadable look. Lee returned the glare his fists curling tight.
A fireman jogged over, soot streaking his face “Detective Marshall--we can’t reach the bedrooms yet. I’m sorry.”
Lee sank to the curb, head in his hands. Jim knelt beside him. Lee heard him whisper a prayer. It offered no consolation but fueled bitterness that surged hot and sharp. “They did this, Jim. They think they can scare me off. This won’t shut me up.” The fire roared higher, its fury dancing wildly in Lee’s eyes. “They’ll pay for this,” he said.
Jim didn’t answer. He stood beside Lee watching the house burn.
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