Books like Flames of Deceit by Loretta Jackson

Reena Hale's destiny was shaped in the destructive--yet fascinatingly beautiful--fire that leveled her family's pizzeria when she was young. Now an arson investigator, she finds her strength and wits constantly tested--although sometimes the job seems like a snap compared to her love life. But she can't always blame the men. After all, a soot-caked woman barking orders and smelling of smoke isn't the biggest turn-on in the world. Then she meets Bo Goodnight, who seems different. He's been trying to find Reena ever since the long-ago night when he glimpsed her from afar. And now that she's close enough to touch, he has no intention of letting go. Nor does the man who has begun to haunt Reena's life--with taunting phone calls and a string of horrifying crimes. And as Reena tries desperately to trace the origins--of the calls, the fires, the hatred aimed in her direction--she will step into the worst inferno she has ever faced ...

"Assaulted by the bitter cold of a Montreal winter, the American-born Dr. Temperance Brennan, Forensic Anthropologist for the Province of Quebec, digs for a corpse where Sister Elisabeth Nicolet, dead for over a century and now a candidate for sainthood, should be lying in her grave. A strange, small coffin, buried in the recesses of a decaying church, holds the first clue to the cloistered nun's fate."--BOOK JACKET. "The puzzle surrounding Sister Elisabeth Nicolet's life and death provides a welcome contrast to discoveries at a burning chalet, where scorched and twisted bodies await Tempe's professional expertise. Who were these people? What brought them to this gruesome fate? And where are the children?"--BOOK JACKET. "Homicide Detective Andrew Ryan, with whom Tempe has a combustive history, joins her in the arson investigation. From the fire scene they are drawn into the worlds of an enigmatic and controversial sociologist, a mysterious commune, and a primate colony on a Carolina island. Tempe is overwhelmed by the case, confused by her mounting attraction to Ryan, and plagued by worries about her sister Harry's search for spiritual awakening."--BOOK JACKET.

Special Agent Pendergast arrives at an exclusive Colorado ski resort to rescue his prote ge e, Corrie Swanson, from serious trouble with the law when he uncovers a mysterious connection between long-dead miners and a fabled, long-lost Sherlock Holmes story--one that might just offer the key to an outbreak of modern day killings involving a deadly arsonist.

Ryan Piasecki: A man's man. A woman's fantasy. The kind of guy who got the job done, no matter what the obstacles...or how beautiful they were. Natalie Fletcher: Cool, calm, collected. Until someone started making trouble for her business...and he showed up. Arson investigator Ryan Piasecki came from the street, and he wasn't exactly the type to make nice with an upper-crust business executive like Natalie Fletcher. His business was fires - and his instincts told him the one at Fletcher Industries was no accident. They told him something else, too - that the sparks flying between him and this very classy lady had all the makings of a five-alarm blaze...

**#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen turns up the heat in this explosive new psychological thriller. This time a gifted arson investigator teams up with a mysterious operative to stop a killer raging completely out of control...For Kerry Murphy, the inferno is never far away. The flames of that long-ago night still burn in her nightmares: the heat, the choking smoke, the helplessness. She can never run fast enough...Now Kerry works as an arson investigator with her evidence-sniffing dog, Sam. Together they're a great team, but her life is about to change in the time it takes to strike a match. The deadly flames of her past are back, and from out of the ashes a stranger appears. Who is Silver? And why has he chosen her in the desparate race to find a killer determined to ignite hell on earth? Kerry and Silver may not have a chance against a psychopath as coldhearted as his method is red-hot. To save themselves and the innocent lives at stake, Kerry will have to do what she hoped she'd never have to do: fight fire with fire. From the Hardcover edition.**

The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston's South End and killing three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. A year later, as the city prepares to honor their sacrifice, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson, and is convinced department investigators aren't sufficiently connected to the city's lowlifes to get a handle on who's behind the blaze. McGee takes the case to Spenser, who learns that the fire might be linked to a rash of new arsons, and he follows the trail of fires to Boston's underworld. Spenser has to find the firebug before he kills again -- and stay alive himself.

When her sister is wrongly implicated in an explosion that has destroyed her family's priceless antiques business and killed an employee, Hannah struggles to find clues in the ashes and discovers a life-threatening secret from the past. What was Kate Connelly, a tall, glamorous CPA, doing in her family's antique furniture museum when it exploded in the middle of the night? Why was Gus, a disgruntled retired employee, with her? Kate lies in a coma, unable to explain the tragedy.

This compelling page-turner is the first novel in a new series about a romantic buy highly neurotic ghostwriter whose new assignment is a ticket to mayhem and murder.

Scarred ex-cop John Gabriel didn’t need anyone else’s problems, but he couldn’t refuse a request from his former chief. Until John learned what the favor to Chief Kelly entailed: keeping an eye on his granddaughter, Fiona, a young police officer facing a dangerous work situation. John quickly saw that Fiona was in trouble — the fiery redhead lacked departmental support as she investigated a serial arsonist. And when the attractive rookie was trapped in a burning building, John was the one who ended up rescuing her. Yet could Fiona’s strong faith rub off on the cynic and make John believe in the Lord. . .and in the love that was miraculously blossoming in the stony soil of his heart?

"Los Angeles homicide detective Elouise "Lou" Norton and her partner, Colin Taggert, arrive at the scene of a tragic house fire. Juliet Chatman perished in the blaze, along with her two children. Left behind is grieving husband and father Christopher Chatman, hospitalized after trying to rescue his family. Chatman is devastated that he couldn't save them. Unless, of course, he's the one who killed them. Neighbors and family friends insist the Chatmans were living the dream. But Lou quickly discovers the reality was very different. The flames of adultery, jealousy, scandal, fraud, and disease had all but consumed the Chatmans' marriage before it went up in smoke. Lou's own marriage hangs by a thread. Soured by the men in her life, Lou is convinced that Chatman started the fire. Her colleagues worry that her personal issues are obscuring her judgment. With very little evidence regarding the fire--and rising doubts about her husband's commitment to monogamy--Lou feels played by all sides. Was the fire sparked by a serial arsonist known as The Burning Man? Or by the Chatmans' son, who regularly burned his father's property? Searching for justice through the ashes of a picture-perfect family, Lou doesn't know if she will catch an arsonist or be burned in the process. Skies of Ash is another thrilling read from author-to-watch Rachel Howzell Hall"--