The Fire This Time

"The Fire This Time is a vivid, harrowing portrait of 20th-century Boston in all its brutal tribal schisms, made deadly by old secrets, old lies, and old hatreds . . . a fascinating trip." - Joseph Finder, The New York Times Best Selling novelist




"The Fire This Time burns with intensity from page one. Liss skillfully paints the novel's settings, characters and plot; His language is descriptive and flawless. A legal thriller with characters who stay with you. Maddie Devlin is an attorney who grabs your mind and senses, a protagonist you root for, admire, she stirs your emotions. Clever, believable story, with twists and turns, all at a brisk pace. The dialogue is sharp, characters vividly drawn. Excellent first novel, let's see more." - Wayne Avrashow, Esq., author of award-winning novel, Roll the Dice.




To obtain an acquittal for a client charged with a heinous murder, Maddie Devlin, a public defender, must produce the killer.

Boston, MA, April, 1981. Tensions between its religious, racial, and ethnic communities are high because of court-ordered school busing. The mayor's son is murdered. At the crime scene is the skull cap of a rabbinic student. After his arrest, anti-Semitism explodes.

Devlin thinks the killer is the leader of Boston's most notorious street gang. She has no evidence. The D. A. and police won't investigate. To seek evidence, she must enter the gang's turf without knowing whether she will live to present whatever evidence she finds. Never has defending a client zealously been so dangerous.

Every criminal defense attorney wants justice for his or her client especially if that client did not commit the heinous crime for which he will stand trial. Maddie Devlin, a public defender, is no different. To obtain justice for her client, she must overcome the 'Perry Mason Curse.' Poking holes in the prosecution's case will not result in an acquittal. Only producing the killer will. To do this, she must put her life on the line without knowing if her gambit will succeed. Even if she survives, she may not be able to produce the killer. This is the dilemma Devlin confronts in defending her client.




S. Frederic Liss earned a BA from Amherst College, Amherst, MA; a JD from Columbia University School of Law, New York, NY; and an MFA from Emerson College, Boston, MA. He was the recipient of a Grant-in-Aid in Literature from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, Boston, MA where he leads a workshop in writing fiction.