Description

I Paco Ezra is a substitute chemistry teacher with mild autism, a pregnant girlfriend twenty years older than him, and a past he would rather keep sealed. When the Dutch government bans fireworks, Paco spots an opportunity: using his chemistry skills to manufacture illegal explosives with Miguel, a former student.

What begins as a side project quickly spirals out of control. Miguel’s father is a major player in the fireworks underworld. Paco’s uncle is a police officer investigating the illegal trade. And Paco discovers that Miguel is not just his student, his partner, his friend—?

Over the course of six days, secrets surface, loyalties collapse, and every chemical reaction seems ready to detonate. SHORT FUSE is a fast, darkly funny thriller about family ties, criminal ambition, and the chemistry of self-destruction.

Written with unnerving precision and a sharp sense of irony.