THE TORCHING

Mysterious fires. A haunting past. A secret file.

Three years ago, Olivia Callahan endured an assault that resulted in a devastating brain injury. She survived, but she couldn't remember anything about her life or who she was. Now, she's determined to build a bridge between the past she lost and the life she must reclaim.

When Olivia crosses paths with Private Investigator Tom Stark, she is drawn to the investigative field, and becomes his intern. She finds a heavily redacted, forty-five-year-old file locked in his desk drawer that mentions her mother as a young woman. Why had her mentor hidden the file from her, and why had he never mentioned a case involving her mother?

As Olivia moves forward with her fledgling career, a string of mysterious fires moves through the community, puzzling the Baltimore Arson Investigative Unit. One of the fires strikes Olivia's beloved farmhouse in rural Maryland. Now, in addition to uncovering the secrets bound within the redacted file, she becomes convinced that the fires happening around the area are disturbing calling cards…and they're meant for her.

. . .

“Thumbs up for Kerry Peresta’s The Torching. I love a good character-driven suspense novel, and Peresta gives us an engaging, multi-layered protagonist in Olivia Callahan. Then she tosses in an arsonist! She had me at the first match strike.” 

~ Tracy Clark, author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery Series

and the Det. Harriet Foster Series and winner of the

2020 and 2022 Sue Grafton Memorial Award

“Where there is smoke, there’s fire and more for Olivia Callahan. A cold case tests what she knows about her family and mentor. An arsonist is on the loose, leaving calling cards. This is a slow burn of a mystery with several explosive endings. The Torching is a book you won’t soon forget.” 

~ Gabriel Valjan, Agatha and Anthony-nominated author

of the Shane Cleary Mystery Series

“A contentious election, a crazed arsonist, and long buried family secrets, combine to give newly minted PI Olivia Callahan all she can handle. Loaded with twists and turns, Kerry Peresta’s The Torching is an unforgettable read!” 

~  Bruce Robert Coffin, award-winning author

of the Detective Byron Mysteries

“Kerry Peresta has done it again, giving us Olivia Callahan, a complex heroine, who is strong, yet vulnerable, clear-headed one moment, lost in the terrifying fog of traumatic brain injury the next. In The Torching, we get to ride along as Olivia battles to rebuild, literally and figuratively, her life and her home, while her murky past continues to throw shadows over her present and future. Tightly written, this one’s a heart-pounding page-turner from beginning to end.” 

~ Annette Dashofy, award-winning and USA Today bestselling author

of the Zoe Chambers and Detective Honeywell Mystery Series