Firebug

by Michael McBride

When Amelia Behrent is murdered, her sister—FBI Special Agent Emma Behrent—discovers her death is only the most recent in a series of killings spanning the American Southwest. Someone is hunting young women and setting fires to cover his tracks. All Special Agent Behrent has to go on is his unique signature as an arsonist and the fact that each of his victims had a dead firefly in her mouth. She must discover the killer's next victim if she hopes to stop a monster who wants nothing more than to watch the entire world burn.

Genres: Thriller, Horror

53 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Michael McBride was born in Colorado and still resides in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. He hates the snow, but loves the Avalanche. He works with medical radiation, yet somehow managed to produce five children, none of whom, miraculously, have tails, third eyes, or other random mutations. He writes fiction that runs the gamut from thriller to horror to science fiction...and loves every minute of it.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Special Agend Behrend is hunting down the killer of her younger sister. The killer is on a killing spree for quite a long time. His trademark are fireflies and fire. His victims are girls with red hair. Will she be able to find the killer? Can he be captured alive? What's his profession? The book started strong but over the pages didn't add anything special to that kind of genre. Would have loved to read more about the killer's motifs and the collections in his cave. The killer remained a bit of a shady character. Otherwise a quick and intriguing read. Recommended!

[Paul Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firebug is a dead painful fuckburn of a serial killer thriller, with dead being the operative word, a killer who leaves cauterized, char-grilled victims in his wake. Now the links have been made and his previously undetected crimes are now in someone’s spotlight.
 
He made one pretty monumental mistake in his clever little burning games of murder hidden in arson, he cooked the sister of FBI Special Agent Emma Behrent and times a ticking. She's one pissed off woman and with just one focus in her life, catch the killer.
 
This killers a patient man, not prone to bloodlust, he keeps to a time table and his restraint borders on superhuman. Not once has he taken a victim out of season, not once has he escalated his killing and he's going to take some catching.
 
Well worth finding out how she goes about it, in this excellent 50 page novella.

Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another top-notch thriller by author Michael McBride! Special Agent Behrent is searching for the man responsible for killing her little sister. This story goes back and forth in time, clearly indicating the sequence of events that we have to follow up. The pacing, atmosphere and characterization in this were absolutely flawless, in my humble opinion. Each section was complete in itself, yet added depth to the story as a whole.

One thing that I really appreciate in this type of story, is that I was unable to "solve" it on my own early into the tale. McBride takes his time and spaces his clues out in increments so that you get several moments of revelation, but are unable to take that final leap on your own.

Very suspenseful story from an author who always delivers his best.

Highly recommended!

[Andi Rawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Firebugs" are what Emma and her sister Amelia called fireflies as children. Twenty years later, Special Agent Emma Behrent is hunting a different type of firebug. A serial killer with a penchant for setting fires and killing redheads, her sister Amelia, being one of them. With a firefly left in the throat of his victims, Behrent must catch this sicko before he kills again.

My favorite author does it again. :) Firebug is an awesome short story from Michael McBride, the author of Sunblind and most recently - CONDEMNED.






Merged review:

Review of Firebug: A Short Story by Michael McBride "Firebugs" are what Emma and her sister Amelia called fireflies as children. Twenty years later, Special Agent Emma Behrent is hunting a different type of firebug. A serial killer with a penchant for setting fires and killing redheads, her sister Amelia, being one of them. With a firefly left in the throat of his victims, Behrent must catch this sicko before he kills again.
 
My favorite author does it again. :) Firebug is an awesome short story from Michael McBride, the author of Sunblind and most recently - CONDEMNED.
 
© 2015 by  Andi Rawson of Andreya's Asylum
 

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent story by MM! I gave Firebug 4 1/2 stars.

[Janina s. Asselin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not his best

Interesting short story. Due to the abbreviated format there was no way to have a good enough character development. That meant I couldn't feel invested in the characters. For me, that is an essential component to my enjoyment of a piece. Nice little ending though!

[Tim Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

With FIREBUG, author Michael McBride gives readers an entertaining short story of about fifty pages to tide them over until his next novel, CONDEMNED: A THRILLER is released later this month. As the novel’s title promises it will be, FIREBUG is a thriller, but not one without horror elements. McBride’s description of the scent pervading morgues is particularly horrific “... sawed bones, a scent that reminded her of getting a cavity filled as a child…” packs a punch strong enough to make the reader pleased that they’ve never had to experience it. The story follows FBI Special Agent Emma Behrent as she tracks a serial killer and arsonist responsible for the deaths of dozens of people, including her sister. The story plays out in a even, compelling pace that demands the story be finished in one sitting. The climax of the story is big and dramatic and a fitting conclusion. At one point during the final conflict there’s a “Don’t open that door, there can be nothing good behind that door” moment that is stereotypical at first read. But it quickly becomes clear that the character is thinking that same thing, Special Agent Behrent is no dummy, and she knows there’s nothing but potential danger beyond the door and she just doesn’t care, going in is worth the risk. A brief epilogue closes the story out and, with the exception of an unnecessary explanation of the antagonist’s motive, nicely brings Behrent’s story arc to a conclusion.