Cold Fire

In Hilton’s 10th Grey and Villere thriller (following Fatal Conflict) PI Tess Grey and partner/fiancé ex-con Nicolas “Po” Villere are hired by a Massachusetts police detective to find her missing sister. Joanne, a nanny, is accused of bludgeoning a mother and three babies to death with a claw hammer. She fled and needs to be brought back so her sister can discover who really committed the murders. Tess and Po have barely started the case when two of Po’s businesses, an auto shop and a restaurant, are torched. Who could be after Po? Tess and Po follow Joanne, who heads for Canada. A pair of ruthless killers are after her too, to clean up the evidence. At home, Po’s friend Pinky deals with two more arson attacks. Tess, normally heedless of risk, needs to be careful now, as she’s pregnant. Now they’ve crossed paths with a psychopathic monster who loves killing and is strong as an ox. Meanwhile, there is an arsonist to deal with. Everything comes out right in the end, but it’s a heck of a ride getting there.