Going Crazy in Public — Earl Emerson

It takes one small spark to start a killing blaze...

Nothing much ever happens in sleepy little Staircase, Washington-and it's Fire Chief Mac Fontana's job to help keep it that way. But madness sets in on a balmy June night--when someone lights a match and starts the town burning.

An arsonist is on a torching binge, and innocent life has been lost. Suddenly the tabloid media is descending upon Staircase, questioning Mac's abilities--and digging for sordid details about his relationship with a reclusive, scandal-ridden Hollywood star...and her fire-fixated son. A small town has gone crazy with the heat, but Mac Fontana must avoid all distractions. Because it's his duty to stop a deadly firebug who could be closer than the Chief dares to imagine...and it may be Mac whom the killer is out to burn.