HUSH LITTLE FIRE

In Stiles’ mystery set in 2015, a Brooklynite pottery instructor likes to start fires, so when a strange conflagration breaks out while she’s home for the holidays in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, she becomes a prime suspect.

Mary Newcombe has no memory of being present on the night of the fire, but several people seem to remember seeing her there, including the local mail carrier: “It creeps me out that they’re all looking over and staring at me like I’m a liar,” Mary narrates. Also, her adoptive mother, Beatrice “Birdie” Newcombe, appears to know more about the evening in question than she’s letting on. Mary wonders if the locals have simply fallen victim to local gossip; she’s also troubled by the possibility that they may have other agendas in accusing her. It doesn’t help her frame of mind that, for as long as Mary can remember, Birdie has habitually kept secrets from her. The police clearly know more than they’re telling as well, as they’re searching for Mary’s cousin, oyster farmer Jimmy Newcombe, as part of their investigation. Soon afterward, the situation becomes more mysterious when Birdie reveals, in a voicemail, that Jimmy has been killed in a car accident. Stiles effectively weaves a grand conspiracy that the protagonist must unravel to prove her innocence and learn the truth. The story, however, isn’t exclusively told through her eyes; Barbara Haskins, who’s a nurse at a women’s health clinic, and Lisa Doanne, a member of a local cleaning company, effectively frame the narrative, as well. One of the novel’s key themes is how people and events often exist in gray areas; as a result, readers may sometimes struggle to sympathize with a given character’s actions. Overall, though, this perspective results in natural, realistic storytelling, in which each moment flows naturally from the last. Overall, this twisty novel will be a good option for those looking for an unconventional and thematically potent mystery.

A swirling story of cross-generational secrets and complex family bonds.