Killing Breath

“Full-bodied and dynamic characters carry this one along a mystery, tying a brutal past with a bloody present that will keep you guessing right up to the finale.” — Unnerving Magazine on Book 1 in the series.

Raven Burns owes her life to the kind souls who looked after her while her father, unbeknownst to them, sowed a path of blood and bodies from California to Louisiana as one of the most notorious serial killers ever known, Floyd “Fire” Burns. When Raven was a girl, Floyd brutally murdered one of those kind souls, Miss Ruth Jefferson, when the woman made the fatal decision to open the door to him on a pitch-black 4th of July night. As Raven learned of her father’s crimes, she vowed to do everything in her power to put men like him away. Decades later Raven’s hunt for a serial killer terrorizing the town leads her right back to that 4th of July night, and a memory that will make her question how much Floyd’s evil has settled in her bones.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress

Faye Snowden is the author of noir mysteries, poems and several short stories. Her novels include Spiral of Guilt, The Savior, Fatal Justice, and A Killing Fire, a dark, southern Gothic tale featuring homicide detective Raven Burns. A Killing Fire is first in a four-part series. Faye’s short story, ‘One Bullet. One Vote’ was selected as one of the best American mystery and suspense stories of 2021. The story will be anthologized in the book, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021. Her work has been called ‘intense’, ‘pulse-pounding’ and a ‘solid contribution to a genre lacking in Black women authors’.

Faye has a master’s in English literature. She has been awarded writing fellowships from Djerassi and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime (SinC) where she serves as Board Secretary for SinC National. She has participated on many writing panels, appeared as a guest lecture in several university writing classes, and taught information technology courses at the university level. Today, Faye works and writes from her home in Northern California. Aside from her publications, she has managed two boys, a husband, five dogs and three writing fellowships over the years. Learn more about her work at fayesnowden.com.