{"product_id":"cockloft-gary-ludwig-9798177782379","title":"Cockloft: The Jack Mercer Files","description":"\u003cp\u003eA fatal fire. A staged accident. A killer hiding somewhere in the smoke.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen flames tear through an aging two-family flat near St. Louis's Tower Grove Park, firefighters discover the body of longtime resident Evelyn \"Evie\" Marino in her upstairs bedroom. At first, the explanation seems tragically ordinary: an unattended skillet, a sleeping victim, and a fast-moving fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut veteran St. Louis Fire Department investigator Jack Mercer knows the building is telling a different story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe deepest damage is nowhere near the stove. A sealed access panel leading into the cockloft has been opened. Smoke-alarm batteries are missing. And someone carefully arranged the scene to make murder look like a cooking accident.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHours before her death, Evie had confronted someone over forged documents intended to force her from the apartment she had called home for nearly four decades. With the property worth more than ever, developers circling, illegal tenants hiding in the basement, and several people desperate to see the building emptied, the list of suspects grows quickly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorking alongside St. Louis homicide detectives, Jack must reconstruct the fire one detail at a time-from the path of the smoke to the movement of a heavy kitchen cart. Every clue exposes another lie, but each answer raises a more troubling question.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWho needed Evie gone badly enough to turn her home into a death trap?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs financial secrets, broken promises, and carefully concealed evidence come to light, Jack realizes the fire was more than an attempt to destroy a building. It was designed to erase the truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut fire leaves a record-and Jack Mercer knows how to read it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCockloft\u003c\/i\u003e is Book 8 in \u003ci\u003eThe Jack Mercer Files\u003c\/i\u003e, a gripping series of fire investigation mysteries filled with authentic detail, relentless suspense, and crimes that refuse to remain buried beneath the ashes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gary Ludwig\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798177782379\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/29\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 406\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.19lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.83d","brand":"Gary Ludwig","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50780294185215,"sku":"9798177782379","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/cockloft-gary-ludwig-9798177782379","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}