Vacant homes in a new housing development are erupting into flames in broad daylight with no apparent cause. It’s a perplexing mystery for dogged arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his restless new partner, Andrew Walker, an ex–US marshal who craves action.
But as they puzzle over the blazes, another home miles away burns to the ground, leaving a man’s corpse in the ashes and homicide detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone demanding answers. The burn patterns and charred body tell Sharpe a bizarre story that only creates more questions for Eve. So the four detectives team up to find the answers. Their investigation into the two unrelated cases leads to one shocking discovery after another.
Now they must gamble their lives to unmask a brilliant arsonist, crack open a massive swindle, track down a desperate fugitive with a terrifying secret, and race against time to save thousands of people from an agonizing death.

I’d been waiting for ‘Ashes Never Lie‘ to come out ever since I finished the first Sharpe & Walker book, ‘Malibu Burning‘ in August 2023. I had the book on pre-order for its release on 17th September 2024 so when I got the opportunity to read an ARC in advance of the release date, I dived in.

I had great fun with ‘Ashes Never Lie‘. I’m a Lee Goldberg fan but even so, this book exceeded my expectations. It was fast-paced, action-packed and completely engaging. Perhaps best of all, it has an Eve Ronin crossover that results in Walker and Ronin teaming up in a spectacular takedown that results in another viral Eve Ronin video, this time with her dressed as Wonder Woman.

I love the humour and the larger-than-life characters in Lee Goldberg’s books but what I admire most are the clever, surprising but reality-based plots that drive the action. There’s a lot going in ‘Ashes Never Lie‘. More happens in the first half (140 pages) of the book than most writers manage in a 500-page novel and yet it didn’t feel rushed or confusing.

Sharpe and Walker investigate two very different arson-related crimes in ‘Ashes Never Lie’. One has an epic, “unleash the apocalypse “scope worthy of a Michael Chrichton novel, The other has a domestic focus but has a lot more fireballs and explosions along the way to finding the guilty party. Both cases have scary, off-beat but believable bad guys and both bring Sharpe and Walker and Ronin and Pavone together to solve them.

Both plots benefit from Lee Goldberg’s usual attention to the technical details. Both rapidly escalate from well-grounded (and in once case quite gruesome) starting points to something dangerous, explosive and unexpected.

Teaming up Walker and Ronin in these scenarios is like throwing gasoline on the fire. You know you need to stand well back and enjoy the show. Even then, I wasn’t prepared for the tense, cinematic finale which kept me on the edge of my seat, grinning with amusement while still caught up in the action.

Will somebody PLEASE, PLEASE. PLEASE make this into a TV series? It would be so good (although I bet the books would still be better).

Anyway, If you’re a Lee Goldberg fan, you’re in for a treat with ‘Ashes Never Lie‘. This is Lee Goldberg at his best.