“Carter brings a literary sensibility and an emotional depth to this fast-paced, memorable thriller.”Chris Mooney — #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Some fires never go out. They just wait.”
Jack Coyle knows fire intimately. A career arsonist on the run, he understands its language, its seduction, the way it devours everything it touches and leaves only ash behind. When Deputy Vance Miller contacts him with a desperate request, Jack realizes the past he has spent years running from has been waiting for him all along.
A serial arsonist is burning Plymouth County to the ground. The fires are calculated, personal, and escalating. The deputy needs someone who thinks like the arsonist. He needs Jack. And despite every instinct telling him to walk away, Jack agrees. Because these are not random fires. They are messages. And Jack recognizes the handwriting.
Editorial Reviews
“Carter brings a literary sensibility and an emotional depth to this fast-paced, memorable thriller.”
Chris Mooney — #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“A masterfully crafted novel that excels in compelling plot, deep character development, and immersive New England setting.”
Sadia Usman — Reedsy Discovery • ★★★★★
“A powerful and evocative thriller that combines intense action with profound emotional depth. Highly recommended.”
Books Paradise — ★★★★★
“One of the finest examples of the genre I have encountered this year.”
Book Buster
From the United States to India, from Amazon to Goodreads, Fire and Wrath has moved readers in ways that surprised even them.
Jim Ash
Verified Amazon Purchaser • United States
Reviewed November 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“I had hoped this book would keep me occupied on a business trip. My expectations were dashed when I spent my entire 3-hour flight fully immersed, then stayed up until 2 AM finishing it in my hotel room.”
“Fire and Wrath is a novel about the kind of redemption that does not arrive with applause, but with ash under your fingernails. For those who love long shadows, broken men, and second chances that hurt worse than they heal.”
“Mr. Carter's writing style has shades of Nelson DeMille and yet is not at all derivative. I found the story absorbing and learned quite a bit about arson. Keep them coming, Mr. Carter.”
“With a complex, haunted central character who could anchor a series if Carter decides to continue. Either way, his literary career is about to catch fire.”
“Fire and Wrath transcends a simple whodunit, standing out as one of the finest examples of the genre I have encountered this year. The comparisons to Lehane are fully warranted.”
William F. Carter holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Harvard University, the institution where the discipline, precision, and emotional honesty that define his fiction were forged. Before he ever typed the first line of Fire and Wrath, he had spent years studying what makes a story last. It shows.
Carter’s debut crime thriller has been praised by Chris Mooney, the number one New York Times bestselling author, as bringing a literary sensibility and an emotional depth to this fast-paced, memorable thriller. It has earned five-star editorial reviews from Reedsy Discovery, Books Paradise, and Book Buster, and has moved readers across four continents to comparisons with Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Nelson DeMille, and Tana French.
The road to Fire and Wrath began at age twelve, when Carter received his first writing award and understood, with the particular certainty that only children can access, that stories were where he was meant to live. The Harvard MFA came later. Jack Coyle came later still. But the twelve-year-old who won that award is present on every page.
Carter lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife and two daughters. He plays guitar in the rock band Faded Halo, participates in community theater, and finds in both pursuits the same truth he finds in writing: that the best stories are the ones where the audience forgets they are watching. Book 2 in the Jack Coyle series is currently in development.
The woods are old and they keep secrets. Plymouth County is not merely a backdrop in Fire and Wrath. It is a character in its own right, with its silences, its roads that go nowhere, its towns that hold what they know quietly and without apology. Carter has lived near Boston his entire life and writes the New England landscape with the intimacy of someone who has walked those roads alone at night.
The same tradition of place-driven crime fiction that made Dennis Lehane’s Boston unforgettable and Tana French’s Dublin necessary runs through every chapter of this book. These fires are Massachusetts fires. Jack Coyle is a Massachusetts man. And the truth they are chasing is buried somewhere deep in Plymouth County soil.
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“Carter brings a literary sensibility and an emotional depth to this fast-paced, memorable thriller. A genuine achievement for a debut novelist.”Chris Mooney — #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“A masterfully crafted novel that excels in compelling plot and deep character development”
Sadia Usman • Reedsy Discovery • ★★★★★
“A powerful and evocative thriller that combines intense action with profound emotional depth”
Books Paradise • ★★★★★
When is Book 2 in the Jack Coyle series releasing?
Book 2 is currently in development. Sign up for the email list to be among the very first to hear the announcement and receive early access content before the public launch.
Where can I buy Fire and Wrath?
Fire and Wrath is available on Amazon in both Kindle and Paperback editions. It is also available through Goodreads and wherever fine books are sold online.
How can I invite William to my book club?
William genuinely loves connecting with book clubs and would be delighted to participate in a discussion of Fire and Wrath. Use the contact form on this page to send your invitation.
What inspired the arson thriller premise?
Carter was drawn to fire as both a literal and literary device. Arson is one of the few crimes that destroys its own evidence, which made it the perfect entry point for a story about guilt, secrets, and redemption.
Is Jack Coyle based on a real person?
Jack Coyle is a fictional character, though Carter has described him as carrying the accumulated weight of every morally complicated man he has ever known or read about, which perhaps makes him more real than most.
Are speaking engagements available?
Yes. William is available for speaking engagements, library events, literary festivals, and school and university visits. Please reach out through the contact form with your details and dates.
No upcoming events are currently scheduled. Sign up for the email list to be notified of future readings, signings, and appearances.
Join the Email ListWhether you are a reader with a question, a journalist working on a story, a book club organizer, or an event host, William would genuinely love to hear from you. He reads every message personally.