Firebreak

Tony Hillerman Prize–winner Fields’s fourth Josie Gray mystery (after 2014’s Wrecked) is as crisp as brush ready to catch fire. In the aftermath of a raging wild fire that threatened the small town of Artemis, Tex., the body of a man turns up in a partially burned house. At first glance it appears the fire was the cause of death, but evidence soon indicates that the fire merely served as a cover-up. The owners of the house, Barbara and Billy Nix, proclaim their innocence and attest that they were not in Artemis at the time of the murder. Police chief Josie deals with the effects of the fire and the emerging murder case with an exasperated calm. The humdrum murder is no match for the vividness of the fire that preceded it, and the characters’ motivations, while clear, aren’t always compelling. But what the novel lacks in originality, it makes up for in snappy dialogue. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (Mar.)