Ashes Don't Lie - Every Secret Burns Eventually. Gideon Detective Series, #9

In Black Rock Cove, Oregon, storms don't just tear at the cliffs - they rip open secrets that should have stayed buried. When the Harrow estate ignites in a midnight inferno, private detective Vincent James Gideon is the only man who walks away from the flames unshaken. But the blaze isn't the beginning. It's the end of a mystery that began in whispers, locked rooms, and shadows thick with lies. The Harrow family has ruled the coastal town for generations, their wealth bought with silence and their pride built on bones.
But when Elena Vale, a mother fighting to protect her child, uncovers hints of the darkness inside the mansion's walls, Gideon is drawn into a case that will test his wit, his grit, and the last threads of his humanity. At the heart of the Harrow legacy lies a tragedy smothered by brick and ash, a crime so monstrous that the family would rather burn than confess. Gideon finds himself trapped in a cat-and-mouse battle against Julian Harrow, the tortured heir who hides more than guilt in his eyes, and Margaret Harrow, the matriarch unraveling into madness.
Every truth uncovered drags Gideon deeper into a house that feels alive with menace - and every locked door he forces open threatens to make him part of the Harrow curse. Written in the razor-sharp, hardboiled style of Raymond Chandler, this is not a ghost story, nor a tale of fantasy. It is the anatomy of a cover-up, a descent into a family's rot, and the price of silence. In "Ashes Don't Lie, " Gideon doesn't face monsters or specters.
He faces human cruelty, desperation, and the corrosive power of secrets left to fester in the dark. The novel spans twenty relentless chapters, each thick with atmosphere, dialogue that crackles like gunfire, and suspense that tightens with every scene. From the storm-beaten cliffs to the smoke-choked hallways of the Harrow mansion, readers will find themselves holding their breath, waiting for the subsequent collapse of timber, the next confession, the next betrayal.
Elena's fight to keep her daughter alive collides with Gideon's fight to uncover the truth, and together they peel away the gilded lies of a family empire built on blood. What begins as a missing-person inquiry becomes a locked-room nightmare, where walls talk, the air tastes of ash, and loyalty can kill. This is a noir mystery reimagined for today's readers: sharp, cinematic, and merciless in its pursuit of justice.
Perfect for fans of Tana French, Gillian Flynn, and classic detective fiction, "Ashes Don't Lie" will leave readers shaken, satisfied, and haunted by the final image of Gideon walking away from the smoldering ruins, his silhouette swallowed by dawn. Some houses die slowly. Some burn fast. And some take everything with them.