The Skirt Man

Morgan Mason attracts more than a few stares when he drives through town on his ramshackle tractor wearing a skirt. His sister is mortified, his neighbor resents the Skirt Man’s interference, and a local preservationist is horrified by Morgan’s huge satellite dish. When the Skirt Man is killed in a tragic house fire, State Trooper Sebastian Bly and Fire Marshal Billy Nightingale are called in to investigate what some say is a case of spontaneous human combustion. Charred wood and chair remnants at the fire scene lead Sebastian and Billy to uncover clues that reveal hidden conflicts and a shocking discovery that will change the lives of everyone in Killdeer. Bringing back the brave and imaginative family team from Tabula Rasa, author and fire investigator Shelly Reuben fans the flames of small-town passion and breathes life into an unusual local hero.

Every small town has an eccentric or two, and Killdeer, New York, is no exception. Morgan Mason attracts more than a few stares when he drives through town on his ramshackle tractor wearing a skirt. His sister is mortified, his neighbor resents the Skirt Man’s interference, and a local preservationist is horrified by Morgan’s huge satellite dish. These minor small-town annoyances become more serious – and deadly – when the Skirt Man is killed in a tragic house fire during a benefit ballet performance starring Meredith Bly. Meredith’s father, State Trooper Sebastian Bly, and her uncle, Fire Marshal Billy Nightingale, are called in to investigate what some say is a case of spontaneous human combustion. Charred wood and chair remnants at the fire scene lead Sebastian and Billy to uncover clues that reveal hidden conflicts and a shocking discovery that will change the lives of everyone in Killdeer. Bringing back the brave and imaginative family team from Tabula Rasa, author and fire investigator Shelly Reuben fans the flames of small-town passion and breathes life into an unusual local hero.

Shelly Reuben’s first novel, Julian Solo, was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for an Edgar Award, and by the Libertarian Futurist Society for a Prometheus Award. Her crime novel, Origin & Cause, was nominated for a Falcon Award by the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan. The ideas for many of her books come from the cases she investigates as a licensed private detective and certified fire investigator. She also writes two newspaper columns and regularly contributes short stories to The Forensic Examiner. She lives in New York City.