Man, I picked up 'White Fire' after seeing it was a Pendergast book, and honestly? It's a wild ride, mostly remembered for this insane opening with an 1876 silver mine massacre. The present-day plot ties that into a modern-day arsonist in a ritzy ski resort who leaves cryptic quotes from Oscar Wilde at crime scenes. Corrie Swanson, Pendergast's sort-of protégé, is investigating the old bones from the mine for her thesis and stumbles into the whole mess. It’s one of those books where the historical mystery ends up being way more compelling than the modern thriller bits, at least for me.
I got kinda bogged down in the middle with all the forensic details about the bones—felt like a textbook detour. But when Pendergast finally shows up, the pace snaps back. The link between the two timelines is... tenuous, relying on a secret about Wilde himself. The ending in that burning library was cinematic, sure, but I finished it thinking the parts were greater than the whole. Still, a solid entry if you're into the series' blend of creepy history and forensic puzzles.