The burn

The Burn is the second Betty Rhyzyk novel, following The Dime. The Dallas detective has been through a harrowing encounter with an apocalyptic cult, and afterward she has been made to attend therapy, sit at a desk and settle into home life. Little rattles her, but she is finding it hard to adjust to the way things used to be.

At home she struggles to connect with her loving wife, Jackie. At work, someone is killing confidential informants. Her partner, hurt while narrowly rescuing her, is leaning more and more on the painkillers prescribed for his injuries.

Pushed to her limit, Betty goes rogue. Her pursuit leads to the center of a drug cartel that is terrorizing Dallas, and to the corrupt cops who intend to profit from it.

The novel was a 2021 Edgar Award nominee in the G.P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award category.