Fire Dance

Review Mike Sirota is an absolute pro of a writer and, even for non-aficionados of ghost stories, these pages sing. --John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Treasure Hunt and Damage So great to have a new book from legendary writing coach Mike Sirota. When he writes, you should listen! --Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Live to Tell. Sirota returns to SF for the first time since 1994's The 22nd Gear with this atmospheric tale of horror in the American Southwest. In the late 19th century, Dr. Everett Cooke established the unconventional Concordia Sanitarium in California's Anza-Borrego desert. During a dance for an inmate's birthday, patient Bruno Leopold murders the doctor and another caretaker, and the other residents are trapped in a fire caused by another inmate. In the summer of 1994, single mother Tracy Russell moves to the retirement community of Smoke Tree with her son and encounters Bruno's newly awakened spirit, which possesses animals, hobos, and the dying elderly as it seeks a powerful new human form. Horror fans will enjoy this updated take on the western ghost town. (Feb.) --Publishers Weekly Product Description LEGENDARY AUTHOR MIKE SIROTA RETURNS! The flames took them all. They spared no one. From the circle of dancers, spinning in their dementia, to the crazed killer in the dungeon below, every man and woman in Concordia Sanitarium was burned alive. Over a century later, few know the story of the fire. The ruins of the Sanitarium stand isolated in the lonely Anza-Borrego Desert until one gruesome murder after another rocks the nearby quiet community of Smoke Tree, California. A spirit has risen from the sand, an entity searching to possess a host with two strong hands.