What do you think?
Rate this book
Bang Boom Burn: Explosive True Crime Gun, Bombing and Arson Cases from a Federal Agent's Career
Explosive True Crime Gun, Bombing, and Arson Cases from a Federal Agent’sCareer.
Federal Agents never know what to expect from day to day. During his 25 year career with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Special Agent Wayne M. Miller investigated dozens of remarkable and sometimes high-profile horrific gun, bombing, and arson cases.
In Bang Boom Burn, a collection of 21 real-life stories,you’ll delve into cases including:
- Undercover assignments that turn dangerous on a dime
- A suburban house full of stolen machine guns
- Shocking bombings that killed and maimed police officers and others
- Strange serial arson investigations plus several white collar arson-for-profit cases
- And, some humorous situations
These accounts show true crime enthusiasts what Federal investigators regularly face. All investigators could use this as a detailed textbook to see and feel the highs and lows, with the good and bad experienced by someone who has been through it.
Agent Miller puts the reader up close and personal during interviews, crime scenes and in the courtroom. Anyone interested in true crime, investigative procedures, crime scene forensics, the inner workings of criminal conspiracies and fires, and trial proceedings will want to read this book. Many who read Miller’s first book are clamoring for more of his in-depth chronicles.
Federal Agents never know what to expect from day to day. During his 25 year career with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Special Agent Wayne M. Miller investigated dozens of remarkable and sometimes high-profile horrific gun, bombing, and arson cases.
In Bang Boom Burn, a collection of 21 real-life stories,you’ll delve into cases including:
- Undercover assignments that turn dangerous on a dime
- A suburban house full of stolen machine guns
- Shocking bombings that killed and maimed police officers and others
- Strange serial arson investigations plus several white collar arson-for-profit cases
- And, some humorous situations
These accounts show true crime enthusiasts what Federal investigators regularly face. All investigators could use this as a detailed textbook to see and feel the highs and lows, with the good and bad experienced by someone who has been through it.
Agent Miller puts the reader up close and personal during interviews, crime scenes and in the courtroom. Anyone interested in true crime, investigative procedures, crime scene forensics, the inner workings of criminal conspiracies and fires, and trial proceedings will want to read this book. Many who read Miller’s first book are clamoring for more of his in-depth chronicles.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 22, 2021
18 people are currently reading
461 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 30, 2021
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
An ATF agent details some cases of gunrunning, bombing and arson cases in the Northeast. It's amazing what these criminal thought they could get away with, and some of them did get away with it...at least for a while.
Told from the viewpoint of the investigator, which is quite different than some other true crime books I've read.
An ATF agent details some cases of gunrunning, bombing and arson cases in the Northeast. It's amazing what these criminal thought they could get away with, and some of them did get away with it...at least for a while.
Told from the viewpoint of the investigator, which is quite different than some other true crime books I've read.
March 1, 2025
I found this book at a museum in Harrisburg Pa and it caught my interest. This is a great book that details the career and life of a (now retired) ATF agent. It provides vivid details on the experiences throughout his career. The author describes not only incidents but also the training aspects and education needed along with fire science. It is a very engaging, informative and entertaining book. I definitely recommend this for not only true crime lovers like myself but also first responders and anyone interested in explosion investigation
November 5, 2021
This is a truly great book that provides a detailed look into the career and life of ATF agent (now retired) and author Wayne M. Miller. It does a wonderful job of describing the many adventures and interesting experiences that occurred throughout his long and exciting career. He has definitely earned my respect by doing this very difficult and demanding job in such a conscientious manner. Some of the highlights of the book include aspects of the training and background needed to become a Certified Fire and Explosions Investigator, and also the fire science which is relevant to several of his cases. In this book, the author describes some amusing incidents and also some very tragic and touching stories as well. It is an inspiring book that is both extremely entertaining and informative.
December 5, 2024
This could have been a contender.
The author had a lengthy career as an ATF agent investigating gun crimes, bombings and arson cases, and some interesting ones are detailed in this book.
Unfortunately, the writing style is rambling, replete with grammatical oddities and errors. There's inexplicable repetitiveness. The story lines jump around confusingly. A lot of time is spent emphasizing the cooperation the ATF received frrom various police departments and agencies, which must have been gratifying for Miller and gives him an opportunity to thank former colleagues but gets boring for the reader after awhile.
As an example of frustrations the reader encounters, in one story (of a bombing that killed one Boston P.D. bomb squad member and severely injured another), Miller announces that he will refer to father and son suspects as Shay Sr. and Shay Jr. to clearly differentiate them - but later, Jr. is simply referred to as "Shay". The same chapter features a minutely detailed, endless discussion of less than fascinating courtroom proceedings.
Bang Boom Burn could have been a far better book if an experienced editor had been used to tighten up the writing, eliminate excess verbiage and fix grammar mistakes. As things stand, the book is much less interesting and effective than it could have been.
The author had a lengthy career as an ATF agent investigating gun crimes, bombings and arson cases, and some interesting ones are detailed in this book.
Unfortunately, the writing style is rambling, replete with grammatical oddities and errors. There's inexplicable repetitiveness. The story lines jump around confusingly. A lot of time is spent emphasizing the cooperation the ATF received frrom various police departments and agencies, which must have been gratifying for Miller and gives him an opportunity to thank former colleagues but gets boring for the reader after awhile.
As an example of frustrations the reader encounters, in one story (of a bombing that killed one Boston P.D. bomb squad member and severely injured another), Miller announces that he will refer to father and son suspects as Shay Sr. and Shay Jr. to clearly differentiate them - but later, Jr. is simply referred to as "Shay". The same chapter features a minutely detailed, endless discussion of less than fascinating courtroom proceedings.
Bang Boom Burn could have been a far better book if an experienced editor had been used to tighten up the writing, eliminate excess verbiage and fix grammar mistakes. As things stand, the book is much less interesting and effective than it could have been.
March 13, 2022
A good overview of what an ATF Investigative Agent does. Definetly written by a gentleman who is used to writing case reports.
In the first chapter he acknowledges the difficulties of being a federal agent and having people think he's out to take their guns. He deftly sideswipes that and says he wanted to put bad people away.
Not so much an investigative book but a recapping of several cases that stick out in his mind. He does give a good job of explaning ...not basic, not difficult... maybe advanced concepts of fire investigation and burn patterns.
The amount of difficulty in proving arson is astounding. He literally lays out a few cases that seem like straight slam dunks... but as he is quick to point out, they were simply found not guilty- which is not passing judgement on whether or not they did the crime.
I definetly learned more. And, it was all local so i found myself wondering if he worked with anyone that I knew or investigated fires in my area.
If you reading my reviews, sure go ahead and read it.
In the first chapter he acknowledges the difficulties of being a federal agent and having people think he's out to take their guns. He deftly sideswipes that and says he wanted to put bad people away.
Not so much an investigative book but a recapping of several cases that stick out in his mind. He does give a good job of explaning ...not basic, not difficult... maybe advanced concepts of fire investigation and burn patterns.
The amount of difficulty in proving arson is astounding. He literally lays out a few cases that seem like straight slam dunks... but as he is quick to point out, they were simply found not guilty- which is not passing judgement on whether or not they did the crime.
I definetly learned more. And, it was all local so i found myself wondering if he worked with anyone that I knew or investigated fires in my area.
If you reading my reviews, sure go ahead and read it.
May 29, 2024
This book was not well written, there are a ton of typos and grammatical errors. Besides that, it was very dry and repetitive in parts. Some of the stories were very interesting, just not told well. Honestly, the author is a bit of a blowhard trying to relive his glory days with some semi pathetic war stories. Personally, I feel like the book should be considered highly embarrassing to the ATF by pointing out how many cases they totally tanked/lost. It’s surprising you would want to write a book documenting so many epic failures. It’s another of many glaring examples of the overly bureaucratic, incompetent, episodes of ATF. From Ruby Ridge to Waco, the Boston Marathon, to the (minor by comparison) stories detailed in this book, it doesn’t paint a good picture of ATF.
November 30, 2021
wow, this is an awesome book, I tried to read again but somehow I couldn't. I wanted this book not to end which probably sounds bad but it's also a learning experience . Learning how Mr. Miller knew who the person was that set the fire even if it didn't seem like the first innocent one.. The forensics in this book is over the top. So sorry to the families who lost love ones due to arsonists. I would like to read this again and Mr. Miller's other book Burn Boston Burn.
Thank you Good Reads Giveaways for copy of free ebook.
Thank you Good Reads Giveaways for copy of free ebook.
April 7, 2023
Some Exciting Content, Some Not
Won this as a Giveaways on Goodreads. There were definitely exciting stories in here...but some of them were a little monotonous.
That being said a few of the chapters I found myself on the edge of my seat as he went through each scenario. I learned a ton for sure.
I found it a little disrupting to the flow of things having biblios and acknowledgements at the ends of several chapters.
Won this as a Giveaways on Goodreads. There were definitely exciting stories in here...but some of them were a little monotonous.
That being said a few of the chapters I found myself on the edge of my seat as he went through each scenario. I learned a ton for sure.
I found it a little disrupting to the flow of things having biblios and acknowledgements at the ends of several chapters.
August 28, 2025
After reading Wayne Miller’s other books and really enjoying them, I knew I had to pick this one up too. Bang Boom Burn is a fascinating collection of true crime cases that range from shocking to almost unbelievable. Some stories are intense and tragic while others show the strange or even humorous side of federal investigations. What I liked most was how close the writing brings you to the action. It feels like Wayne is letting you sit right beside him in the middle of these investigations.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews