What do you think?
Rate this book
Cleansed by Fire
A serial killer is terrorizing Seattle.
Private investigator Karen Hunter agrees to locate a teen who has gone missing.
His mother is frantic to find the son she kicked out for being gay before he becomes the killer’s next victim.
Karen encounters layers of lies from suspicious teens and the sleazy adults who prey upon them.
When she realizes she’s out of her depth, Karen enlists the aid of homicide detective Court Pearson, the only cop she can trust.
As the evidence pushes Karen closer to the killer, Court tells her to concentrate on finding the kid before she gets hurt and let the cops handle the big stuff.
Convinced the teen is in danger, Karen presses ahead, risking her career and life to save him.
Private investigator Karen Hunter agrees to locate a teen who has gone missing.
His mother is frantic to find the son she kicked out for being gay before he becomes the killer’s next victim.
Karen encounters layers of lies from suspicious teens and the sleazy adults who prey upon them.
When she realizes she’s out of her depth, Karen enlists the aid of homicide detective Court Pearson, the only cop she can trust.
As the evidence pushes Karen closer to the killer, Court tells her to concentrate on finding the kid before she gets hurt and let the cops handle the big stuff.
Convinced the teen is in danger, Karen presses ahead, risking her career and life to save him.
450 pages, ebook
Published December 2, 2018
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 4, 2018
Interesting book. I enjoyed reading every page.
December 18, 2018
The main character in the story is Karen Hunter, a private investigator, who gets asked by a mum to find her missing son. The teenager was kicked out of the family house for being gay and has been living on the streets ever since. Young homeless males are being murdered and it seems a serial killer is targeting them. Karen has to try and get into the close knit groups of young homeless people to try and trace the missing teenager, before he ends up sa another victim. Attempting to get information from the other homeless teens, mostly using street names and hiding their true identities, and from shelters for the homeless, leads her to realise she needs more help/
She asks the only cop she trusts, Court Pearson, to help her, but he is busy on the serial killer case and to start doesn’t realise that this missing teen is connected to his case. He tells her to keep out of his investigation and concentrate on just looking for her missing teen. Karen finds the teen has not been keeping to his normal routing and his homeless friends haven’t seen him for a while. She worries he may have already been taken and is the killer’s next victim.
This is an interesting murder mystery with an unusual victim pool. The manner of homelessness, with teens being thrown out of home due to their sexual orientation, or having been victims of abuse and having to escape their own families, brings out the prejudice still visible in many areas of the States and other countries around the world. To show the young age of the homeless in this story was quite a shock for me, not something I expected. Add in a very unlikely killer and it keeps your attention throughout!
A well told tale, with an interesting mix of characters, both main and minor. You don’t get too many clues, too early, and so are left to read on and wait to see who the killer may be and if the young teen can be found or saved in time. The combination of a determined private investigator and a local detective, ramp up the intrigue and details of the case will pluck at your heart strings along the way. Definitely one, not for the timid.
I read this book straight through as I was drawn into the setting of the homeless youths and the problems they were facing from sexual predators whilst on the streets and also the danger from a serial killer after soft and easy targets. A great read! I will be looking out for any other books by this author. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
She asks the only cop she trusts, Court Pearson, to help her, but he is busy on the serial killer case and to start doesn’t realise that this missing teen is connected to his case. He tells her to keep out of his investigation and concentrate on just looking for her missing teen. Karen finds the teen has not been keeping to his normal routing and his homeless friends haven’t seen him for a while. She worries he may have already been taken and is the killer’s next victim.
This is an interesting murder mystery with an unusual victim pool. The manner of homelessness, with teens being thrown out of home due to their sexual orientation, or having been victims of abuse and having to escape their own families, brings out the prejudice still visible in many areas of the States and other countries around the world. To show the young age of the homeless in this story was quite a shock for me, not something I expected. Add in a very unlikely killer and it keeps your attention throughout!
A well told tale, with an interesting mix of characters, both main and minor. You don’t get too many clues, too early, and so are left to read on and wait to see who the killer may be and if the young teen can be found or saved in time. The combination of a determined private investigator and a local detective, ramp up the intrigue and details of the case will pluck at your heart strings along the way. Definitely one, not for the timid.
I read this book straight through as I was drawn into the setting of the homeless youths and the problems they were facing from sexual predators whilst on the streets and also the danger from a serial killer after soft and easy targets. A great read! I will be looking out for any other books by this author. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
December 23, 2018
Just when I thought that we had grown far beyond the days when folks would have been prosecuted for being openly gay in most states of the union in the US, this was a horrifying reminder of the politics of abandoning children of a much marginalized group.
A foster system that ages children out at 16, but does not allow minors in shelters without parental permission is a sort of legalized murder and a ready pool of slavery for a wide variety of abominations.
how horribly sad that we cannot begin to address issues of veterans with ptsd and credit/ behavior/ housing issues, as well as other mentally ill folks and insufficient programs and housing.
we speak of the inconvenience of the lazy homeless - while generating groups that readily feed this population.
This book is an exciting thriller / murder mystery that addresses many of those issues in an interesting format.
A mom who just happens to be an ex domme turned PI - and appealing character with humor, wit, mom instincts, and enough empathy to be very relatable.
I found a new addition to my list of authors whom I enjoy reading, that both entertain me and make me think.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A foster system that ages children out at 16, but does not allow minors in shelters without parental permission is a sort of legalized murder and a ready pool of slavery for a wide variety of abominations.
how horribly sad that we cannot begin to address issues of veterans with ptsd and credit/ behavior/ housing issues, as well as other mentally ill folks and insufficient programs and housing.
we speak of the inconvenience of the lazy homeless - while generating groups that readily feed this population.
This book is an exciting thriller / murder mystery that addresses many of those issues in an interesting format.
A mom who just happens to be an ex domme turned PI - and appealing character with humor, wit, mom instincts, and enough empathy to be very relatable.
I found a new addition to my list of authors whom I enjoy reading, that both entertain me and make me think.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 7, 2018
This was a pretty good read but lost interest with the amount of characters as you couldn't can a connection with the main characters. The constant mention of Karen been a ex pro-domme is not needed but love how you included the LGBTQ community but it was getting a little repetitive. Good story line and great author.
December 30, 2018
Pretty decent story with an awesome lead-in and decent characters. The story immediately pulls you into what is happening and continues through the story. I had a problem with the judgmental attitudes everyone had throughout the story, and the lack of compassion for one of the characters but that's me.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 18, 2020
A serial killer is stalking the streets and she is asked to find a missing teen before they become a victim. The case starts to get more complicated so she asks for help from a friend. He warns her to just concentrate on the missing teen. Will she listen to him? Will.She find the teen? See if she can
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 5, 2019
Cool story, interesting characters. Does a great job shining a light on homeless youth and things the world would rather ignore.
November 4, 2019
I read Cleansed by fire as an ARC provided to me in return for writing a review. As a self identified Seattlite, I enjoy reading books that are based back home. Cleansed By Fire was very detailed in the description of Seattle, to the point that I knew what bus the main character was on and could smell the Seattle weather changes from the books. Though this book is part of a series, the past was explained and given impact only on how it changed the characters in the moment. I was so enticed by the character development through the book, even of characters with bit parts ( no one was left flat). I am eager to read every book in the series and would encourage anyone to read it. (Especially if you miss Seattle and don't mind the grimey parts. )
Edit
Edit
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews