Lila Hilliard returns home to Chicago for the holidays only to find someone is stalking her. Her father and brother are trapped in a fire, and a man on a motorcycle tries to shoot her. As she desperately tries to figure out who is after her and why, she uncovers information about her father’s past indicating he was part of the volatile movement of young people during the late Sixties. Which means her parents were not the people she thought they were. Part thriller, part historical novel, part love story, Set The Night on Fire tells an extraordinary tale about the stormy late Sixties, and a group of idealists who were sure they would change the world.
A tremendous book—sweeping but intimate, elegiac but urgent, subtle but intense. This story really does set the night on fire. Lee Child
A top-rate thriller that taps into the antiwar protests of the 1960s… A jazzy fusion of past and present, Hellman’s insightful, politically charged whodunit explores a fascinating period in American history. Publishers Weekly
A brilliantly-paced thriller, transitioning seamlessly from modern-day Chicago to the late ’60s. First-rate characterization… Best to start early in the day, as it is easy to stay up all night reading it. Foreword Magazine
Electric… a marvelous novel. RT Book Reviews
Haunting… Rarely have history, mystery, and political philosophy blended so beautifully… could easily end up on the required reading list in college-level American History classes. Betty Webb, Mystery Scene
