Sharpe also does not focus much on interpersonal relationships, rubbing the fire personnel the wrong way by dismissing their often incorrect case theories. Sharpe’s partner, Andrew Walker, is the team’s novice arson investigator, but he’s no green rookie. Walker is a former U.S. Marshal who tracked down fugitives for years before his wife insisted he change careers to something less stressful. (Of course, the cases he takes on now are both stressful and dangerous.) And if Sharpe invites comparisons to Walter Matthau, the Stetson-hat-wearing Walker brings to mind Chuck Norris’s Walker Texas Ranger. While arson investigators are supposed to turn cases over to regular detectives once they determine a suspicious fire is a case of arson, Walker still wants to pursue and catch the arsonists.

“Ashes Never Lie” follows Sharpe and Walker through a typical workday that turns out to be far from typical. A house in the final stages of construction explodes in a new housing subdivision. Sharpe and Walker determine the explosion was caused by a bomb hidden inside the drywall and that other houses in the same subdivision also have bombs ready to go off when the power is turned on. The second fire is clearly a case of arson. A man sets fire to his house and then shoots himself before his body and the house are consumed by flames. The mystery isn’t how he died, but why he would commit suicide in such a bizarre manner. Since the victim was a scientist involved in some top-secret government research, the FBI gets involved in the case as well.

Although Sharpe is content to remain in the background doing his forensic thing for most of “Ashes Never Lie,” Walker gains an unofficial new partner as he goes after the arsonists in his various cases. She’s Eve Ronin, and Lee Goldberg fans will immediately recognize her as the protagonist of the author’s other series featuring the LA County Sheriff’s Department. While Sharpe and Walker could form the basis for a TV series, Eve Ronin goes them one better. She’s the main character in an ongoing series about her high-profile cases and a genuine celebrity. She gets assigned to investigate one of Walker’s cases and winds up teaming with him to go after the bad guys.

The author has extensively researched arson investigation, and the technical aspects of “Ashes Don’t Lie” seem accurate to this lay reviewer. Moreover, Sharpe’s explanations were simple to follow and, more importantly, did not bog the book down in lengthy information dumps. Goldberg impressed me even more with the vivid descriptions of the book’s villains. The arsonists weren’t just shadowy figures pouring gasoline into empty houses. Instead, they came to life as three different criminal types, with unique motivations for their actions, linked by an abnormal fascination with fire. They weren’t likable, but they were understandable.

The author has written many teleplays and TV novelizations for mystery series, and he understands the need for humor in books of this type. So, the various investigators are quick with quips, sarcastic comments, effective disses, and assorted one-liners. About half of them are funny, but the fast pace of “Ashes Don’t Lie” ensures readers don’t dwell on the groaners too often. This rapid-fire patter is also the book’s primary weakness. I had difficulty buying into some of the far-fetched scenarios, even by action thriller standards. Worse, the dialogue sometimes sounds like a group of comedy writers trying to turn random improv into a cohesive script for a scene. When an entire page comprises one-liners in response to other characters’ one-liners, the jokes get tiresome.

The most bizarre sequence occurs when Walker and Ronin go undercover to San Diego’s famous Comic Con to catch one of the book’s villains, a diehard Star Wars fan. Walker dresses as a Mandalorian, while Ronin is appropriately garbed as Wonder Woman. I could easily visualize this scene on a TV episode. Surprisingly, even though it may have been the least credible moment in the book, the set-up (accompanied by some great description by the author) was effective. This was one of the most enjoyable sequences in “Ashes Don’t Lie.”

With his Eve Ronin and, now, Sharpe and Walker series, Lee Goldberg has breathed new life into the police procedural. Beneath the quips, banter, and Star Wars memorabilia, “Ashes Don’t Lie” is an entertaining story with several good mysteries within the novel. Andrew Walker, who juggles these cases with the pressures of being a new father, is a likable hero who could anchor a lengthy series (I’d like to see more of Walter Sharpe in future books. You can never get enough Walter Matthau.) I’m not lying; “Ashes Don’t Lie” is a lot of fun for crime fiction fans.  

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.