Flashover

Three firefighters are dead.

Everyone calls it a tragic accident.

Fire Investigator Jack Mercer knows better.

When a devastating warehouse fire erupts along the St. Louis riverfront, veteran fire investigator Jack Mercer arrives expecting to determine how a routine structure fire turned deadly. Instead, he finds something far more disturbing. The fire behavior doesn't make sense. The building had been altered. And the evidence suggests the fatal flashover that killed three firefighters may have been engineered.

As Mercer digs deeper, he uncovers a web of corruption stretching from demolition contractors and city inspectors to powerful political figures with millions of dollars at stake. A missing electrician, a murdered city official, secret airflow tests, and a federal corruption investigation all point toward one terrifying possibility:

The fire wasn't an accident.

Someone designed the building to become a deadly trap.

Partnering with homicide detective Sarah Delgado, Mercer follows a trail of hidden records, suspicious deaths, and long-buried secrets that lead to a conspiracy far larger than either imagined. As witnesses disappear and bodies begin to pile up, Mercer must uncover the truth before those responsible silence everyone who knows what really happened.

But in a city built on power, money, and influence, exposing the truth may be the most dangerous job of all.

From award-winning author Gary Ludwig comes Flashover, the second installment in The Jack Mercer Files-a gripping fire investigation thriller packed with suspense, forensic detail, political intrigue, and relentless twists.

Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly, Robert Dugoni, and fire service thrillers that blend authentic emergency services realism with edge-of-your-seat mystery.

Some fires destroy evidence.

This one reveals murder.