Blaming the Arsonist

Kris Nelscott

UC Berkeley, January, 1969—In the midst of turbulent student protests on campus, a cherished building suddenly bursts into flames. Pammy Griffin, an alum who owns a women’s gym nearby, heads over to check out the fire and walks straight into a troubling mystery. Who wants Berkeley to burn? Hippies? Protesters? Or someone with an even darker motive?

But as Pammy investigates, she finds herself, and her gym, embroiled in a troubling turn of events. To catch the arsonist, she and members of her gym must confront some of society’s most brutal, and most hidden, violence using whatever weapons they can.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s Readers Choice Award 2017, Fifth Place.