Burn What Will Burn: A Novel

"Burn What Will Burn is a gritty, gripping mystery and an enthralling character study of its poet-protagonist, who is self-exiled and bedeviled by the locals, the summer Arkansas heat, and his own past. I was hooked by sentence one and burned right through the pages."—Michael Kardos, author of Before He Finds Her

Bob Reynolds doesn't recognize the body in the creek, but he does recognize the danger of it. He's a newcomer to town, not entirely welcome, and not entirely on good footing with the sheriff. So far he's kept his head down, mostly over the bar at the Crow's Nest. But he has interests other than drinking and spending his inheritance, including one that goes by the name Tammy Fay Smith and who may have caught the sheriff's eye as well.

Reynolds would rather pretend he never saw the body, but when it disappears, he begins to doubt what little he knew about this secretive town, a town that seems to become more unwelcoming by the day. Try as he might, he just can't forget the body, despite the advice he's been given to do so, and despite the evidence to suggest that he might be disappearing himself soon enough.

Following his acclaimed, award-winning debut, Burn What Will Burn confirms CB McKenzie as a one-of-a-kind crime novelist with an unforgettably original voice.

© 2025 Minotaur Books (Ebook): 9781250083388

Release date

Ebook: March 14, 2025