by Russ Thomas
ONE FALSE MOVE
Someone is setting fire to Sheffield. It starts with small things – dustbins and abandoned sheds – so people don't notice at first. But the calling card is there if you look for it.
WILL IGNITE
Soon the fires spread to offices, homes, people. The Firewatcher's followers are growing and they have one particular blaze in mind – one that the police would do well to pay attention to.
THE CITY
But D/S Adam Tyler is distracted by a case, one that he is unknowingly connected to. And if he can't discover the link between the fires and himself, he will burn – along with the entire city.
Fans of Adrian McKinty, Ian Rankin, Sharon Bolton and Broadchurch will love Firewatching, a compulsive, breathless and twisty thriller with an incredible lead detective at its heart.
"[E]xcellent...Red herrings and uncovered family secrets abound. This stunning police procedural marks Thomas as an author to watch." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The subsidiary characters are lively and believable, the arsons are particularly well described, and though the plot sometimes seems gratuitously complex, this is a rewarding entertainment. A good detective in an incendiary procedural." - Kirkus Reviews
"Firewatching is a UK cop novel with a pitch-perfect blend of the best of the old and the best of the new - all the traditional strengths and charms are here, with a fresh and relevant 21st-century edge. I loved it." - Lee Child
This information about Firewatching was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Russ Thomas grew up in the 80s reading anything he could get his hands on, writing stories, watching television and playing videogames: in short, anything that avoided the Great Outdoors. He spent five years trying to master the Electronic Organ and another five learning Spanish. It didn't take him too long to realize he'd be better off sticking to the writing. After a few 'proper' jobs (among them: pot-washer. optician's receptionist, supermarket warehouse operative, call-center telephonist and storage salesman) he discovered the joys of bookselling, where he could talk to people about books all day. Now a full-time writer, he also teaches creative writing classes and mentors new authors. Firewatching is his first novel.

If you liked Firewatching, try these:
Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire
by Don Martin
Published 2026
Welcome to Foxfire.
by Joseph Knox
Published 2019
From the acclaimed author of Sirens, damaged Detective Aidan Waits returns in a mind-bending new thriller that will have everyone asking "Who is the Smiling Man?"
by Gaute Heivoll
Published 2014
An international literary sensation about an arsonist on the loose in rural Norway and the young man haunted by the story.
The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.