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American Fire

Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
Mar 14, 2018PimaLib_NormS rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
In the literary world, there are few things I like better than a good ol’ 364 (364 refers to the Dewey Decimal number for criminology, otherwise known as true crime). Monica Hesse has penned a page-turner in “American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land”. I have read quite a few true crime stories over the years, and I never cease to be amazed at what people will do in the name of love. Of course, it usually is someone’s warped, even sick, version of love, but still. It has been said that love is blind, and the self-professed in love fire-setters in “American Fire” seemingly were blind to the possible consequences of running up to a building and torching it. These fires took place in Virginia’s Eastern Shore area, which is the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. It is economically depressed, rural, and somewhat isolated. It was rather easy for the arsonists to approach a building, light it up, and then take off. They were able to set 60+ fires in 5 ½ months before they were apprehended. It put quite a strain on the local volunteer fire departments and law enforcement, and Hesse does an excellent job of weaving their points of view together with the arsonists’ to form a coherent, even gripping, narrative. In other words, I liked it.