Passions run high in this sparkling collection from what Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine describes as “one of the best mystery short story writers of her generation.”

From shy insurance clerks obsessed with a stripper (Pirate of Penance) to wives plotting murder (Killing Kevin), there’s always a twist in the tail. Like harmless old beachcombers (The Old Man and the Seashore) and good-time girls finding that respectability isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (Long Slow Dance Through the Passage of Time), even magicians’ assistants (Saw Point), they’re all driven by a burning desire.

And be it for justice or greed, retribution or love, the flames burn hotter than hell.