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Emily Taylor Mystery #4
Seventh Fire
Step out of the fire and into the flames...
Emily Taylor's husband, Langford, has a troubled past that has come back to haunt them, but it's time to clear his name. Along with their lawyer and a skilled private detective, they travel back to Vancouver, BC, the site of tragedy and heartbreak.
When a twisted serial killer, who calls himself The Artist, discovers that Langford and his wife have returned, he is determined to complete a gruesome ritual of evil. He knows how to lure his victims into his trap.
But The Artist has a formidable opponent--the powerful, sustaining love between two people who have survived his malice before and plan to do it again.
Book 4
"Seventh Fire is a chilling tale with unimaginable evil at its core. Astolfo slowly but steadily builds suspense while introducing a handful of plausible villains that keep the reader guessing until the very end. The story is a chilling, cautionary tale at odds with the beautiful setting of Vancouver, which Astolfo paints with a deft hand." --Brenda Chapman, author of In Winter's Grip
"Thirty years ago a horrific murder shocked the city of Vancouver. The killer was quickly caught, tried, and incarcerated. But they had the wrong man, and Emily Taylor has devoted her life to seeing her husband exonerated. Seventh Fire is a powerful tale of love verses hate and the ability of that love to triumph over evil." --Vicki Delany, author of Among the Departed
"The evocative setting of 1980's Vancouver is beautifully described in Astolfo's latest Emily Taylor mystery "Seventh Fire." The horror of murder intertwines with the passion of art in an intriguing plot that the reader unravels only at the end. Emily Taylor fans will be astounded at the dark secrets that lurk in her past." --Janet Kellough, author of On the Head of a Pin
"Catherine Astolfo has an unusually keen insight into the sometimes-skewed human condition. One is struck by the amount of research Seventh Fire must have required. But don't read this at bedtime, since it will make you distinctively uneasy. A writer of masterful plots, Catherine has completed the story of Emily Taylor's secret past with a twist and a shock. One can only hope Catherine Astolfo produces further work for our eager consumption." --Merci Fournier, author of Plural Spaces
Emily Taylor's husband, Langford, has a troubled past that has come back to haunt them, but it's time to clear his name. Along with their lawyer and a skilled private detective, they travel back to Vancouver, BC, the site of tragedy and heartbreak.
When a twisted serial killer, who calls himself The Artist, discovers that Langford and his wife have returned, he is determined to complete a gruesome ritual of evil. He knows how to lure his victims into his trap.
But The Artist has a formidable opponent--the powerful, sustaining love between two people who have survived his malice before and plan to do it again.
Book 4
"Seventh Fire is a chilling tale with unimaginable evil at its core. Astolfo slowly but steadily builds suspense while introducing a handful of plausible villains that keep the reader guessing until the very end. The story is a chilling, cautionary tale at odds with the beautiful setting of Vancouver, which Astolfo paints with a deft hand." --Brenda Chapman, author of In Winter's Grip
"Thirty years ago a horrific murder shocked the city of Vancouver. The killer was quickly caught, tried, and incarcerated. But they had the wrong man, and Emily Taylor has devoted her life to seeing her husband exonerated. Seventh Fire is a powerful tale of love verses hate and the ability of that love to triumph over evil." --Vicki Delany, author of Among the Departed
"The evocative setting of 1980's Vancouver is beautifully described in Astolfo's latest Emily Taylor mystery "Seventh Fire." The horror of murder intertwines with the passion of art in an intriguing plot that the reader unravels only at the end. Emily Taylor fans will be astounded at the dark secrets that lurk in her past." --Janet Kellough, author of On the Head of a Pin
"Catherine Astolfo has an unusually keen insight into the sometimes-skewed human condition. One is struck by the amount of research Seventh Fire must have required. But don't read this at bedtime, since it will make you distinctively uneasy. A writer of masterful plots, Catherine has completed the story of Emily Taylor's secret past with a twist and a shock. One can only hope Catherine Astolfo produces further work for our eager consumption." --Merci Fournier, author of Plural Spaces
196 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2012
About the author
Catherine Astolfo
20 books27 followersCatherine Astolfo retired in 2002 after a very successful 34 years in education.
Catherine is a past President of Crime Writers of Canada and a Derrick Murdoch Award winner (2012).
Writing is Catherine’s passion. She can recall inventing fantasy stories for her classmates in Grade Three. Her short stories and poems have been published in a number of literary Canadian presses and anthologies. In 2005, she won a Brampton Arts Award. Her short stories won the Bloody Words Short Story Award (second and first) in 2009 and 2010. She won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Best Short Crime Story Award in 2012 and 2018.
Catherine has a 4-book novel series, The Emily Taylor Mysteries, one standalone Sweet Karoline, and two novellas that are combined in Twice The Chit. Her most recent novel is a collection of connected short stories, Auntie Beers. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, and The Mesdames of Mayhem. Catherine is a regular contributor of the Mesdames anthologies, all available on Amazon.
Catherine's books are gritty, yet portray gorgeous surroundings; they deal with sensitive social issues, but always include love and hope. They're not thrillers, but rather literary mysteries with loads of character and setting. And justice always prevails.
For all Catherine's books, check out her website.
Website: www.catherineastolfo.ca
Catherine is a past President of Crime Writers of Canada and a Derrick Murdoch Award winner (2012).
Writing is Catherine’s passion. She can recall inventing fantasy stories for her classmates in Grade Three. Her short stories and poems have been published in a number of literary Canadian presses and anthologies. In 2005, she won a Brampton Arts Award. Her short stories won the Bloody Words Short Story Award (second and first) in 2009 and 2010. She won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Best Short Crime Story Award in 2012 and 2018.
Catherine has a 4-book novel series, The Emily Taylor Mysteries, one standalone Sweet Karoline, and two novellas that are combined in Twice The Chit. Her most recent novel is a collection of connected short stories, Auntie Beers. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, and The Mesdames of Mayhem. Catherine is a regular contributor of the Mesdames anthologies, all available on Amazon.
Catherine's books are gritty, yet portray gorgeous surroundings; they deal with sensitive social issues, but always include love and hope. They're not thrillers, but rather literary mysteries with loads of character and setting. And justice always prevails.
For all Catherine's books, check out her website.
Website: www.catherineastolfo.ca
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 14, 2013
Emily Taylor and her husband Langford have a dark secret. A gruesome murder rocked the art community in Vancouver years ago and demolished their lives and their futures. For decades they have hidden the crime and its horrendous details from even their closest friends.
But now their lives are changing with the addition of two children they want to adopt. To move forward and bring this dream to fruition, they must go back and revisit the ugly past. The story moves back and forth with them between the present and the 1980s. We find out what happened back in 1980 when Emily and Langford's lives changed in ways they never would have foretold or chosen. And, in the present, as their investigators unearth new evidence, we learn the truth about the grisly killing.
Faithful readers of the Emily Taylor series have been waiting to find out about the secrets in her past. I haven't read the earlier books, but found this one easy to follow and involving on its own. Astolfo's detailed description in her second chapter of the 1980s crime scene is one of the most unique, shocking, and somehow fascinating I've ever read. It drew me in and kept me reading to find out more. I guarantee you will never forget the picture she paints of this murder.
This story is about more than solving a crime. It's about Emily's challenge to stride forward with strength and determination to change their lives for the better, which she likens to the Ojibwa legend of facing a seventh fire test where the world shifts and there is no one to serve as a guide. It's about loss and forgiveness and how Emily and Langford's persistence and love win out over adversity.
If you like a thrilling crime story with engaging characters who triumph over a long history of injustice, you will definitely enjoy this book.
But now their lives are changing with the addition of two children they want to adopt. To move forward and bring this dream to fruition, they must go back and revisit the ugly past. The story moves back and forth with them between the present and the 1980s. We find out what happened back in 1980 when Emily and Langford's lives changed in ways they never would have foretold or chosen. And, in the present, as their investigators unearth new evidence, we learn the truth about the grisly killing.
Faithful readers of the Emily Taylor series have been waiting to find out about the secrets in her past. I haven't read the earlier books, but found this one easy to follow and involving on its own. Astolfo's detailed description in her second chapter of the 1980s crime scene is one of the most unique, shocking, and somehow fascinating I've ever read. It drew me in and kept me reading to find out more. I guarantee you will never forget the picture she paints of this murder.
This story is about more than solving a crime. It's about Emily's challenge to stride forward with strength and determination to change their lives for the better, which she likens to the Ojibwa legend of facing a seventh fire test where the world shifts and there is no one to serve as a guide. It's about loss and forgiveness and how Emily and Langford's persistence and love win out over adversity.
If you like a thrilling crime story with engaging characters who triumph over a long history of injustice, you will definitely enjoy this book.
November 19, 2012
> The title, Seventh Fire by Catherine Astolfo, is well chosen. Native Americans view the Seventh Fire as a time for the rest of us to choose between good and evil. It is a metaphor for the choices Emily Taylor and her husband must make. Astolfo has written more than a murder mystery, she has written a story with a message – a very dark message.
Catherine takes us on a journey through different points of view from a mad artist to Native American rituals, and the bonds and sacrifices of family. Emily and Langford want to adopt their foster children and to do so must make the painful choice of disclosing Langford’s past. As this was the first Emily Taylor mystery I’ve read, I had no insight into the protagonists’ history. But Catherine developed her plot in a way that made that previous knowledge unnecessary. There are few mystery series that accomplish such a task. Her characters and setting are so engaging that I can’t wait to go back and read the previous novels in her Emily Taylor series.
I highly recommend Seventh Fire to anyone who enjoys reading mystery plots with realistic (and sometimes macabre) characters and surprise endings. i.e. If you like Patterson and Grafton, you will love Seventh Fire.
Catherine takes us on a journey through different points of view from a mad artist to Native American rituals, and the bonds and sacrifices of family. Emily and Langford want to adopt their foster children and to do so must make the painful choice of disclosing Langford’s past. As this was the first Emily Taylor mystery I’ve read, I had no insight into the protagonists’ history. But Catherine developed her plot in a way that made that previous knowledge unnecessary. There are few mystery series that accomplish such a task. Her characters and setting are so engaging that I can’t wait to go back and read the previous novels in her Emily Taylor series.
I highly recommend Seventh Fire to anyone who enjoys reading mystery plots with realistic (and sometimes macabre) characters and surprise endings. i.e. If you like Patterson and Grafton, you will love Seventh Fire.
December 28, 2012
I've now read all four books in the series and enjoyed each one. This last one was great. I had no idea who was the killer until the end. I had actually picked a different character as the killer. Recommend these books
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews