Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Slow Burn by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Andrew Welsh-Huggins is a legal affairs reporter for the Associated Press in Columbus, Ohio. Welsh-Huggins is also the editor of Columbus Noir (Akashic Books, 2020), and his short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, and Mystery Tribune. He’s written seven mysteries about Andy Hayes, a former Ohio State University quarterback turned private investigator. His nonfiction book No Winners Here Tonight (Ohio University Press, 2009) is the definitive history of the death penalty in Ohio. Hatred at Home: al-Qaida on Trial in the American Midwest (Swallow Press, 2011) documents a lengthy government investigation into terrorism that started in Columbus, Ohio. It provided the basis for the fifth Andy Hayes mystery The Third Son (Swallow Press, 2018). The seventh in the series An Empty Grave (Swallow Press, 2021) was reviewed on Lesa’s Book Critiques.

The second in the series Slow Burn (Swallow Press, 2015) finds Andy precariously balancing income and outgo. So when the grandmother of Aaron Custer, who was accused of setting a fire in off-campus housing two years ago that killed three students, says she’s heard there is a witness who can exonerate him and is willing to pay Andy to find the witness, Andy agrees to look into it. Custer pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty, even though he was so drunk he has no memory of the night, and is serving his sentence with no hope of early release.

Andy is skeptical but dutifully begins to dig around, uncovering a local drug gang who objected to one of the dead students selling in their territory. Then there was the seismic activity log he found that implicated one of the biggest fracking companies in the state of Ohio. Some questions about Aaron’s inheritance from his grandfather arose. Before Andy knew it, he established a range of unexpected motives for the arson that were all outside Aaron’s knowledge and accountability.

Regional mysteries, mysteries that reflect the area and could not be set anywhere else, are among my favorite. Milan Jacovich in Cleveland, David Mapstone in Phoenix, Carlotta Carlyle in Boston, Rush McKenzie in St. Paul, Deb Ralson in Fort Worth, etc. I am pleased to add another Midwestern series to my list. The university in the background adds an academic flavor to the story. Andy is not a particularly original character but the people around him are, and the plots are innovative. Strong writing and sound pacing round out a well-conceived and -executed series. Recommended reading.

 

·         Publisher: ‎ Swallow Press (April 15, 2015)

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Hardcover: ‎ 312 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 0804011605

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0804011600 

 

Aubrey Hamilton ©2021 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.