Scorcher

When a serial killer takes PI Fred Carver’s son, the ex-cop goes hunting for vengeance in this “classic page-turner” by the New York Times–bestselling author (The Houston Post).
A year ago, Fred Carver was nothing but a disabled ex-cop whose career, marriage, and family were all little more than fading memories. But then, while working as a private detective, he met Edwina Talbot, and ten months of life together has made him happier than he has been in years. But fate does not let men like Fred Carver stay happy for long. On the eve of a visit from his ex-wife and their two children, tragedy upends his new life. As if Florida in July weren’t hot enough, a madman is on a killing spree with a homemade flamethrower. After Fred’s eight-year-old son becomes the third victim, a man who has spent his life trying to catch murderers now has some killing to do of his own.

Scorcher is the 2nd book in the Fred Carver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.