Five Fires by Laura Lippman is a highly recommended short story of suspense being offered as a single.

It's summer and high school student Beth is working at the deli during the day and spending nights alone as her mom works a late shift. The town of Belleville has been experiencing a series of fires that Beth, who is interested in a career in criminal justice, is following. As Beth narrates the story, we quickly deduce that she suspects that Tara, who recently came back to town, is setting the fires. Tara isn't really her friend, so why is she always bothering Beth?

Obviously, there is a lot more to the story than meets the eye in Five Fires. This is a very satisfying short story full of character development and slowly building suspense. Lippman manages to get you right inside her character's thoughts and includes a nice twist at the end.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Byliner via Netgalley for review purposes. ( )