Fire at the Track by M.J. Evans

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Fire at the Track

by M.J. Evans

Series: Harness Racing Mystery #1
Series Rating:
Setting: Ashville, Pennsylvania
Genres: Cozy Animal Mystery
Pages: 287
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Twenty-eight horses. One deadly fire. A racetrack hiding secrets.

When a late night blaze destroys Barn 7 at Liberty Racetrack, killing twenty-eight prized Standardbred horses, authorities rule it arson. In a sport driven by money, rivalry, and reputation, suspicion spreads fast.

Insurance investigator Callie Oaks knows the fire wasn’t random. A half-million-dollar policy. Crushing debt. Fractured marriages. Gambling ties. And too many people with something to lose.

Raised in the harness racing world, Callie goes undercover at the track, posing as an exercise driver to investigate the suspicious insurance claims. As she digs into the tight-knit backstretch community, she uncovers secrets worth killing for.

Someone set the fire.Someone profited.And when Callie gets too close to the truth, she becomes the next target.

Perfect for readers who love:
Horse racing mysteries
Arson investigations
Small-town crime fiction
Female amateur sleuth / insurance investigator thrillers
Suspense with authentic equestrian detail

Fire at the Track is a fast-paced mystery thriller packed with insider racing drama, financial deception, and high-stakes suspense.

At Liberty Racetrack, everyone has a secret.

And one of them is a killer.

Fire at the Track by M.J. Evans takes place at a horse racing arena and stables. I adore books with horses in them.

Will Callie uncover who set the fire and why?

Callie Oaks

Callie Oaks works as an insurance investigator who was only picked to handle this case because of her background in this specific racing, which is needed for the case. She is a great investigator, but anyone could tell that her true love is being with horses. I do wonder why she stopped being around them, especially since she grew up around horses. Callie is a fantastic character that I think I would be friends with if I were to ever meet her, but I’m not entirely sure.

The Mystery

Callie Oaks gets called in by her firm to investigate this arson case. Her boss wants to know what happened before they start doling out money to the people who were insured with them for the loss of their horses. I dislike horses or any animal getting hurt, and I think what happened is justified for the loss of innocent creatures. Ms. Evans did keep me guessing on certain things, but I caught on to other things she was hinting at for the mystery.

Four Stars

My rating for Fire at the Track by M.J. Evans is four stars. I like this story, and I figured out what ended up happening before Callie did. Mostly it was guesswork, but I never actually figured out the why until it was all laid out. I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next mystery and if Callie will make a reappearance. Or if we will have a new sleuth.

Giveaway

Prize: 1 – Autographed Print Copy of Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery by M.J. Evans for a Giveaway. U.S. Only.

Giveaway

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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Fire at the Track by M.J. Evans.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning that if you purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. This helps with the cost of the website and a few giveaways.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2026 Cloak and Dagger
• 2026 Craving the Cozies
• 2026 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
• 2026 Goodreads RC
• 2026 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
• 2026 Traveling the World

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