American Fire is a wonderful book of page-turning, true-crime reportage, exquisitely reported with both humanity and humor. Books like this remind us, in an uncertain time, of what journalism is supposed to look like.
Nick Reding, author of Methland America in decline, a love gone berserk, and fire...lots and lots of it. If you pick up this ... Read morebook and open it to the first page, I double-dog dare you to put it down.
Dennis Covington, author of Salvation on Sand Mountain A rare combination of reportorial know-how and literary flair, American Fire is a page-turner. Crimes and chaos, detectives and firefighters, headlines and red herrings, and it all boils down to a Gothic love story gone wrong. You need time to investigate a story like this, following the police leads all the way to the hidden-in-plain-sight, off-kilter individuals generating the mayhem; you need space to tell a story like this, fact-based and evocative. People who think they don't like nonfiction will devour this book. People who love nonfiction will love it, too.
Melissa Fay Greene, author of Praying for Sheetrock and The Underdogs Washington Post reporter Hesse leads readers on an extended tour of a bizarre five-month crime spree in rural Accomack County, Va.: a series of over 80 arsons, of predominantly abandoned buildings, committed by a local couple... A page-turning story of love gone off the rails.
Publishers Weekly A captivating narrative about arson, persistent law enforcers, an unlikely romantic relationship, and a courtroom drama... Throughout, the author offers a nuanced portrait of a way of life unknown to most who have never resided on or visited the Eastern Shore. A true-crime saga that works in every respect.
Kirkus Reviews, starred review Mesmerizing... Hesse recounts the fires and their investigation and the subsequent trials with cinematic immediacy.
Jonathan Miles - Garden & Gun Show Less