Ashes Never Lie - (Sharpe & Walker) by Lee Goldberg (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Worlds collide as Eve Ronin and Sharpe & Walker race to find hidden secrets in smoldering ash, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.

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.

Review Quotes

"Goldberg manages to give each of his four leads their due while keeping the investigation's fuse burning bright. This series deserves a long life." --Publishers Weekly

"The sequel to Malibu Burning unites Goldberg's Ronin and Pavone police team with his arson investigators Sharpe and Walker in a clever, complicated story. With its witty banter and well-developed characters, Goldberg's latest procedural is tailor-made for readers who enjoy shrewd investigators in fast-paced dramas." --Library Journal

"Pure enjoyment for anyone who doesn't happen to own a home in the Valley." --Kirkus Reviews

"Malibu Burning, which launched the Sharpe and Walker series, was an excellent novel; this one's even better. Goldberg, who wrote extensively for television before segueing into novel-writing, brings a screenwriter's sense of pace and character to the story, making it a pure pleasure to read. Highly recommendable." --Booklist

"Goldberg overtly offers sly, knowing commentary on the state of today's media, even as he spins an engaging and exciting police procedural." --Deadly Pleasures

Praise for Lee Goldberg

Malibu Burning

"The author of the Eve Ronin mysteries returns with a fast-paced, over-the-top caper that entertains while keeping readers guessing." --Library Journal (starred review)

"Goldberg returns to the wildfire he memorably chronicled in Lost Hills (2020) from a strikingly new angle...A businesslike thriller that shows how rewarding it can be to revisit the same story from a new point of view." --Kirkus Reviews

"Goldberg's well-drawn characters will keep readers rooting for both crooks and cops, and he hangs everyone's fates on a clever, complicated con. The result is as explosive as a wildfire." --Publishers Weekly

"Action-packed and captivating, Malibu Burning is a scorching-hot and fast-moving thriller that will have you sweating as if you're in the middle of a five-alarm fire. Once again, Lee Goldberg delivers a fast-paced, entertaining novel with well-constructed characters and an intriguing plot..." --Best Thriller Books

"Both fans and newcomers to Goldberg's work will enjoy the fast-moving, at times terrifying, tale and its close look at firefighting and arson-investigation techniques." --firstCLUE

"Hilarious and touching, exciting and endearing. Highly recommended." --Deadly Pleasures

"Lee Goldberg is one of the best thriller authors in the business and proves it again with Malibu Burning. He keeps things racing along at such a pace, and in such smooth prose, that it's almost impossible to stop reading in this novel." --Rough Edges

"If Malibu Burning were a wine, we'd describe it as rich and full-bodied, with tasty top notes of humor and lightheartedness, a robust blend of experience infused with enormous heart." --The Thriller Zone

"Lee Goldberg writes a scorching-hot thriller with his Malibu Burning that delivers on all the heat. Fast paced, the plot moves relentlessly to an unexpected climax." --Montecito Journal

"Lee Goldberg knows how to write entertaining novels. His latest thriller, Malibu Burning, is a prime example. He creates a diversity of characters, throws them into some impossibly dangerous situations, and ratchets up the tension and suspense. Like a wildfire storming through the woods, I was racing to get to the novel's ending." --Gumshoe Review

"This splendidly entertaining tale unfolds at a cinematic pace. Goldberg blazes new ground in his already storied career, treading on the territory of the great Don Winslow. Not to be missed for crime-thriller aficionados." --BookTrib

"Malibu Burning is a blistering thrill ride full of Southern California thieves, cops, and firefighters, all facing high stakes and imminent danger. Superbly researched and told, fast-paced, and downright fun, this is Lee Goldberg at his best!" --Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gray Man series

"By turns tense and rambunctious, wildly entertaining, and breakneck-paced, Lee Goldberg's splendid Malibu Burning is pure storytelling pleasure from beginning to end." --Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-, Anthony Award-, Thriller Award-, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize-winning author of The Turnout

"Malibu Burning is classic Lee Goldberg at the top of his game: a fast-paced, funny, and deeply satisfying page-turner." --Jess Lourey, Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Quarry Girls

"An inventive, twisty, and funny caper from one of crime writing's true pros. Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake would've loved this wild heist." --Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby and The Heathens

"This is a book I couldn't put down. Lee Goldberg is a master when it comes to building tension and writing heart-pounding action scenes. Malibu Burning is a roundhouse kick of a thriller, a true nail-biting race against time." --Simon Gervais, former RCMP counterterrorism officer and author of The Last Protector and Robert Ludlum's The Blackbriar Genesis

"Superb characterizations and pacing, a tight-as-a-drum plot, and bold pops of humor make this cinematic tale a scorching (can't resist) page-turner." --Vannessa Cronin, Amazon editor

"The heist mystery--when the theft is the most overriding plot point--is having a resurgence, and among the leaders of this venerable subgenre is Lee Goldberg. The prolific Goldberg melds the heist with the procedural into a solid plot with fully realized characters in the highly entertaining Malibu Burning, which launches a new series." --Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun Sentinel