Hush Little Fire

A Novel

By: Judith Newcomb Stiles

Narrated by: Julia Stiles, Jane Stiles, Preston Cook, EJ Lavery, Linda Jones

Secrets implode and generations of lies boil over into deadly consequences when a suspicious fire breaks out Christmas Night on Cape Cod.

This enthralling and darkly humorous debut novel of abortion, adoption, and long-buried truths will captivate listeners who loved Lessons in Chemistry and Where the Crawdads Sing.

When Mary Newcombe dutifully returns to Cape Cod with her twelve-year-old son to celebrate Christmas with her adoptive mother, Birdie, the only part of the trip she looks forward to is digging beach clay for pottery to stoke her beloved kiln. But while she’s home, a suspicious fire destroys the town health clinic, and Mary becomes a leading suspect.

Mary can’t remember the night of the fire (too much eggnog) and, as always, her mother isn’t talking. Birdie has kept secrets from Mary her entire life, beginning with the truth about Mary’s birth mother. When Mary discovers her adoptive father socked away a small fortune performing pre-Roe v. Wade illegal abortions in the clinic that burned to the ground, she’s done with being kept in the dark. As the days tick by and pressures mount to find the arsonist, Mary digs deeper into Wellfleet’s history, and more secrets start to unfurl.

Meanwhile, Mary’s cousin Jimmy is acting strangely and suddenly, so is her son. As the FBI zeros in on Mary, and another fire burns in the harbor, it's time for Mary and Birdie to face a long brewing reckoning.

A cross-generational mystery told through the perspectives of four women living on the underbelly of Cape Cod, Hush Little Fire is the perfect pick for fans of Bonnie Garmus, Dennis Lehane, and Adrienne Brodeur.

©2025 Judith Newcomb Stiles (P)2025 Spotify Audiobooks

Never a dull moment…

I consider you a friend and will always love your honest and unbridled writing. Please keep entertaining us with your stories. You are such an inspiration to myself and so many others. It’s so relatable and relevant to today’s issues, where sadly we have gone back to medieval times with unscrupulous decisions that have once again removed the women’s right to choose what happens to our precious bodies. Love you to bits!