 Dame Polara Mysteries: Book 1
Publication Date: April 20, 2024
Haunted by a childhood spent picking locks, tailing suspects, and helping her hard-boiled PI father solve cases, Dame Polara has spent most of her adult life running from his shady profession and the memories she associates with it. What Dame wants now is simple — her safe job preserving heritage buildings, adequate care for her father’s mounting health complications, and to raise a family of her own. But life doesn’t seem to be going her way.
After serving her an eviction notice, Dame’s landlord offers her an alternative: she can keep her apartment if she investigates his mysterious wife, whom he suspects of cheating. When the investigation uncovers a serial arsonist burning down the very buildings Dame fights to preserve, she finds herself pulled right back into the seedy underworld of her father’s old profession. Now, she must rely on the skills he taught her if she’s to protect herself and the people she cares about most.
Dame Polara, still recovering from a divorce and failed IVF treatments, finds an unexpected path to recovery.
As the daughter of a seasoned private investigator, she agrees to investigate her landlord’s wife in lieu of being evicted. What she thought was a simple case of infidelity turns into a much bigger mystery that threatens to drag her deeper into the private eye world.
Author Greg Rhyno combines a witty main character with a complex mystery in Who By Fire. As her case deepens, she discovers a connection to a series of arson events related to her regular job preserving city buildings.
It turns out the culprit is hiding in plain sight, much closer than Dame ever imagined. She must race against time to put the pieces together.
Who By Fire highlights an amateur sleuth who uses skills learned from her father to solve an intricate mystery.
Greg Rhyno’s debut novel, To Me You Seem Giant, was nominated for a ReLit Award and an
Alberta Book Publishing Award. His writing has appeared in a number of journals, including Hobart, Riddle Fence, The Quarantine Review, and PRISM International. He completed an MFA at the University of Guelph and lives with his family in Guelph, Ontario.
