Book Review: The Fire Killer by Ross Greenwood

A lovely big welcome back to Ross Greenwood and the blog tour for his novel, The Fire Killer.

When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it’s either children fooling around or a worrying racially motivated crime.

As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. And after an idea is suggested by pathologist Mortis, Barton suspects he has the arsonist’s motives wrong.

When a night worker comes forward with a tip, Barton narrows down the suspects. Yet all of them act suspiciously and he knows for sure that one or more of them are lying. And when a huge house blaze shocks everyone, Barton fears the killer has lost all control.

Who is The Fire Killer? What will be next to burn?

*****

DI Barton and his team are back! 

A mysterious person is setting fires and it’s not long before arson turns into murder. Time is running out. Can they find The Fire Killer before they kill again? 

Having previously read The Cold Killer, I was excited to start reading DI Barton’s latest case. If you haven’t read any of the previous novels, don’t worry. This can be read as a standalone although I do recommend them. They are so good! In fact, DI Barton and his team are now amongst my favourite fictional crime solvers. The Fire Killer is book five in the series. In case you wanted to pick up this series from the beginning, it starts off with The Snow Killer, then The Soul Killer, The Ice Killer and the Cold Killer. 

Ross Greenwood immediately draws you into the action so I very quickly got pulled into the story, wanting to know what happens. 

The tension and suspense builds very well and I was with these characters, invested in trying to find this killer.

I do like how the point of view shifts between DI Barton and the killer. It gives the story a very rounded narrative that allows the reader to be in the mind of this person as they try to justify and give reason for their actions. 

It’s going to be a little tough to talk about the plot as I don’t want to give a lot away. The plot moves well and there is a huge intensity bubbling below the surface all the way through. 

I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen. A sign of a good crime/thriller. 

The Fire Starter is full of twists, turns, suspense and surprises. Whether you’re already a DI Barton fan or looking for a new crime series, this book is perfect. 

I loved it. 

About Ross Greenwood: 

Ross Greenwood is the bestselling author of ten crime thrillers.

Before becoming a full-time writer he was most recently a prison officer and so worked everyday with murderers, rapists and thieves for four years.

He lives in Peterborough. 

Say hello to Ross on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bookbub. You can also sign up to his newsletter by clicking here. 

The Fire Killer was released on 30th May 2022 by Boldwood Books. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Waterstones.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.