Will End in Fire

All Ellie knows is she must make everyone, including herself, believe. . . ‘I didn't start the fire.’

Twenty-seven-year-old climate journalist Ellie Stone has spent her life locked in an unending sibling rivalry with her brother, Josh, star athlete and golden boy–turned–drug addict. One night, after their parents leave her to “babysit” Josh, the siblings have a fight and Ellie abandons him. Returning to fetch her forgotten laptop, she finds the house consumed in fire—and Josh burnt beyond recognition. Social media takes this on as a local cause célèbre, blaming Ellie since, years ago, she was involved in a blaze that scarred a frenemy in high school. Is history repeating itself?

In shock, Ellie can’t recall: did she leave a lit cigarette in her family home? The police suspect arson; at first they suspect her. But then, what about the unknown vehicle that was spotted in the driveway as the flames erupted?

The only people sympathetic to Ellie are her brother’s best pal—who quickly becomes her new romantic partner—and Josh’s girlfriend, who lets on that their relationship might not have been what it seemed. Searching for answers, Ellie grows closer to her brother’s inner circle and, in the process, discovers secrets that make her question whom to trust, how to stay out of danger, and how to save her own future.

With razor-sharp precision, Nicole Bokat again pieces together fiercely drawn characters, psychological landmines and twisty storylines into a fiery cross between literary and psychological fiction that will engulf you with every turned page.

“A tumultuous narrative that will confound readers’ expectations and keep them guessing.”—Kirkus Reviews