Welcome to Hurricane Bay, Florida, where the act of arson isn’t uncommon. When a popular gay bar, the Flaming Flamingo, burns to the ground with bartender Rudy inside, fear rocks the Gulf-side community. Bar owner Peter Rotunda wants to learn who destroyed his business and committed murder. Soon after the incident, Rotunda hires adorable and sexy private investigator Axle Dupree to take the case.<br><br>Axle is a fresh private eye with exemplary charm. Not only can he woo the pants off his boyfriend Casey, but also just about every other guy in town. Soon a list of alleged suspects builds: wealthy Laura Monigal, who has a history of arson; mysterious faux-cowboy Clifton Monigal; a Daisy Dukes-wearing circus performer; and a “fluff” romance writer.<br><br>As June unfolds, conversations are sharp, road trips into the Everglades become overwhelming, and spying is necessary. But after applying heat to the suspects, Axle learns who the murderer is ... and so much more about his community.

Heat

Margo Pagino hires me to find her missing son, Bobby, but her kid doesn’t want to be a part of her world. Margo writes about fire all the time, perhaps maybe obsessed with it. The main character of her romance novels is named Fire. Can a woman like Margo start fires in Hurricane Bay and accidentally murder a liked bartender? I believe so.


Bobby is missing. He’s somehow tied to Edgar Sign. Bobby has never been missing, though. Never. Instead, he leads a secretive and quiet life as a practicing member (a firewalker) of Underground Spectacle because of his “alleged” father’s established hierarchy and history with the group. Edgar says that I may not like what I see when I find Bobby. Why? What does Edgar know about Margo’s son that he’s keeping from me? Is Bobby an arsonist? Is he a murderer? It’s obvious that Bobby favors the act of walking on fire, but does he also enjoy setting them?


Chapter 39