Hey there, I’m Deb Metzger, Detective Deb Metzger, and I work for the public investigative agency Greater Metro, “G-Met,” in the Twin Cities Mystery Series. G-Met is like the bastard offspring of law enforcement groups in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul region and takes the cases no one in their right mind wants. I’m in my thirties, former shot-put champ at Iowa State (Go Cyclones!), attracted to women, and according to one ex-girlfriend I have a chip on my shoulder the size of a concrete block. My daily schedule consists of disruption ramming into procedure. I investigate crimes against women and children and, with my G-Met Partner Erik Jansson, homicide. Ignore for a minute that Partner Erik is good-looking, tall, and smart. He’d be stuck in his head if I weren’t around to shake him out of it.

In When The House Burns, we investigate the murder of a female real estate agent, and I take the lead because Erik is squeamish around dead women. Can’t say I blame him since the injustice against women is horrific, and I’ve worked more domestic violence cases. The irony is, I could use a live realtor because I’m about to be homeless. My time is up at a sublet, and I’m couch surfing and yanking my spiky hair which makes it hard to focus on the case.

The pit of my day is informing family of the death of a loved one. I have to be sympathetic with the realtor’s husband and view him as a suspect, all while keeping his Golden retriever from licking me to death. I also interview the deceased’s pre-teen children, Tessa and Travis—it can hardly be worse than that. Tessa takes to calling me at all hours of the night. She’s a victim too, so I can’t cut her off, but then I end up feeling like a zombie the next day. Tessa does provide a big clue, but I can’t divulge more here.

When a case like this is hot, and it’s sizzling hot since arson is involved, I’m out ten to twelve days straight. Much of my time and Partner Erik’s is spent chasing down people and interviewing them. Some like the suspected arsonist would as soon spit in my face. I race one informant in a swimming pool—he thinks he won, but I did. Then it’s embarrassing when he overshares about his and the deceased’s sex lives. I also visit an encampment for the homeless in search of a witness and possibly the murderer. The residents don’t take kindly to law enforcement and are about to tear us apart when Partner Erik volunteers that I’m homeless. Then they want to take me in, make me eat a blackened hotdog, and in the end one of them bites me because she can’t help herself. Trips to the emergency room are a regular part of our routine.

Well, it’s not all fun and games at G-Met. Our “Almost Allwise” Chief sticks me on a committee to improve law enforcement by fixing sexism, racism, and excess violence. In theory, it’s all good; in practice, I’m ready to wring the necks of dodo-bird committee members. Don’t get me started on “Social Justice Monopoly.”

Then, as if I’m not busy enough, my mom wants me to go parrot-shopping with her. It’s like being on the set of Hitchcock’s The Birds.

One suspect is a real estate developer. I delegate Partner Erik to track down that “corporate malfeasance” because he has the vocabulary for it. Problem is, Erik gets himself kidnapped along with a sexy realtor, Karma, who was a friend of the dead woman. Someone’s got to figure that out before they go up in flames. Because the evil doers change tactics, I end up at a remote construction site at night where there’s a giant crane that I am not going to climb. Only an armed killer’s waiting and—you’ll have to see.

Maybe you noticed that there’s not much time for good stuff—eating (not counting that burned hotdog), sleeping, and making whoopie. Well, the boss’s wife gives me a cooking lesson, and I almost get a good night’s sleep. As for romance, a love interest is returning but you wouldn’t believe her baggage.

If someone put a gun to my head, which they have, and demanded, what’s the best part of your day, I could say the adrenalin rushes, or getting the better of Partner Erik in a “friendly” competition. Or it’s being able to say, “case closed,” and go home. Provided I find a home.


When the House Burns, A Twin Cities Mystery Book #3
Genre: Traditional, Detective
Release: February 2023
Format: Print and Digital
Purchase Link

When death comes home, is nowhere safe? The quest for love and home becomes deadly when Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger search for the killer of an adulterous real estate agent.

A volatile real estate market, unrest in a homeless encampment, jealousies among would-be lovers, a case of arson—these circumstances thwart G-Met detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger as they investigate the murder of an adulterous woman. The victim’s estranged husband has holes in his alibi. A property developer grieves too much over the death of the woman while his wife shuts him out. The developer’s assistant resents his boss and suspects that the developer was not only involved with the victim but is being scammed by the arsonist. A sexy young widow, friend of the victim, has past traumas triggered by the case and turns to the developer for protection. A homeless man stalked the dead woman and now stalks the young widow. All may hold secrets about the past burning of an apartment complex and the man who died there.

Before the clues come together, Erik Jansson is trapped in an abandoned house as Deb Metzger hunts for a sharpshooter at a remote construction site. The case will burn down around them unless they can scheme their way out of lethal surroundings.


Meet the author
Priscilla Paton writes the award-nominated Twin Cities Mysteries featuring Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger. When the House Burns (2023) follows Where Privacy Dies (2018) and Should Grace Fail (2020). Priscilla grew up in Maine and lives with her husband in Northfield, Minnesota, where she is active in regional advocacy programs. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America—Midwest Chapter, and Sisters in Crime.

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