American Fire details the true crime spree of 80+ fires that engulfed a Virginia town over a period of five months, night after night, until the arsonists were finally apprehended. It follows the townspeople as they went about fighting the fires while suspicions sprang up against each other in this small town. It also follows the arsonists, how they met, and what happened leading up to and during the crimes.
I enjoyed the book's journalistic, straightforward style. Hesse spent a lot of time in this town talking to residents, firefighters, law-enforcement, and friends of the arsonists, and it shows in how detailed the story is. The one thing I wished I knew more of at the end is the true motives behind the crimes, but we only know as much as the arsonist are willing to share.
At times, the narrative digressed into small rural towns falling on hard times, and Hesse tried really hard to tie that into the arson story, which I found to be a bit forced and irrelevant. Otherwise, it was an easy and fascinating book to read about a truly strange crime spree.
Readaroo Rating: 4 stars
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