FIRETRAP by Otho Eskin

5 stars!

This OUTSTANDING third thriller in the Marko Zorn series has you on the edge of your seat the entire time cheering maverick D.C. homicide detective Zorn on as he investigates what starts with a murder of a man set in fire in a rental car. It quickly turns into complex and dangerous investigation into a major pharmaceutical company, run by two psychopathic twin brothers. Prepare to stay up late finishing it!

First, Detective Zorn has to navigate a skeptical, tough new female police chief who wants things done by the rules and threatens to fire him. Next, she assigns to him a new police partner, Tyrone Clifford, formerly in the Internal Affairs Bureau, who’s clearly out to keep tabs on him and report back to the chief. While Zorn’s beloved by his homicide chief and the police staff, his completely unorthodox way of solving huge cases gives him a troublemaker reputation with the brass. There’s also his m.o. in that he refuses to ever carry a gun, and personally sees through any promise he makes.

On top of all that, Zorn gets tapped by Sister Grace, a tiny older black woman who’s a behind-the-scenes D.C. community powerhouse, to get a new drug called Speedball off the streets as it’s proving both highly addictive and causing untold deaths. The drug dealers turn out to be heavily guarded and highly trained. She assigns him a partner Stryker, who’s an older former convict turned neighborhood protector and vigilante.

There’s also a senior FDA investigator who turns up dead as she’s looking into a new pharmaceutical drug that turns out to be the same as the new illegal Speedball. And, there’s the kidnapping of the Chief of Police’s teen daughter and the need to rescue her. Oh, then there’s the missing stolen paintings from the Isabel Stewart Museum thrown into the mix. Add in a heiress and a spectacular suicide, and the action keeps ratcheting up.

All this converges under Zorn’s unstoppable courage and clever bravado to take on Big Pharma behind all the murder and mayhem. The plot twists abound and crescendo into one heart-stopping thriller. Simply amazing!

Thanks to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.