Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Blaze cover art

The Blaze

Written by: Chad Dundas
Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $35.09

Buy Now for $35.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

"In Dundas' assured hands, one man's search for answers makes for a lyrical, riveting meditation on memory." (EW)

One man knows the connection between two extraordinary acts of arson, 15 years apart, in his Montana hometown - if only he could remember it.

Having lost much of his memory from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Iraq, army veteran Matthew Rose is called back to Montana after his father's death to settle his affairs, and hopefully to settle the past as well. It's not only a blank to him, but a mystery. Why as a teen did he suddenly become sullen and vacant, abandoning the activities and people that had meant most to him? How did he, the son of hippy activists, wind up enlisting in the first place?

Then, on his first night back, Matthew sees a house go up in flames, and it turns out a local college student has died inside. And this event sparks a memory of a different fire, an unsolved crime from long ago, a part of Matthew's past that might lead to all the answers he's been searching for. What he finds will connect the old fire and the new, a series of long-unsolved mysteries, and a ruthless act of murder.

©2020 Chad Dundas (P)2020 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"[The Blaze] is both a cleverly plotted mystery and a touching account of a wounded veteran trying to rebuild his life…With these two beautifully realized protagonists driving the action, Dundas delivers a fast-paced plot filled with unexpected twists. Their small town is vividly portrayed, and the writing is superb throughout, occasionally verging on poetry.” (Associated Press)

“It delivers the goods.” (Washington Independent Review of Books)

“There’s more than enough here to like that readers will enjoy this one and will certainly want to come back for whatever’s next.” (New York Journal of Books)

What listeners say about The Blaze

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Mystery

The Blaze was a great mystety/thriller that had me guessing right up to the end. The story simmers with a slow boil as each character, over time, becomes fully formed and through their insight and perspective Dundas gives the reader a gritty, intelligent, and inspiring, story of community, love, loss, and the fallibility of memory and the stories we use to construct what we think is our identity.

This is the author's second novel (Champion of the World was also quite excellent) and Dundas is well on his way to creating an impressive body of work.

And the narrator was very good. His voice was an excellent match for the novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!