From Amazon ~ When detective Rick Montoya returns to the city to try to clear his name after being accused of taking a bribe, he discovers someone is living in his apartment. Before he can find out who it is, the apartment house goes up in flames. Rick watches covertly as the police remove two bodies. Was the firebombing meant for him? Who exactly was killed in the fire? And why? What was his landlady Cheryl doing at home in the middle of the afternoon? And why is her daughter Susanna acting strangely? Then his estranged wife arrives at the scene of the fire. The questions mount up, along with the suspects. This was a very quick read ... it's about 130 pages.
It sounded like a good story. But because it is such a short book, nothing gets fleshed out very well. It's very high level, quick and, before you know it, the murders have been solved. And I wasn't buying any of it.
And that's why I don't like short stories and novellas. Had I known it was a novella, I wouldn't have borrowed it.