"Some offenses are so askew of humanity, so devoid of rationality, that is it difficult to imagine what could possibly have motivated them." Most people who followed the 1992 murder trial of a Swiss au pair in New York state--an adolescent who used lighter fluid to set a small baby on fire--agreed with these words from the prosecuting attorney. Yet the most remarkable feat of this overall excellent book is that Joyce Egginton does give a compelling argument for a motive. She acquaints us with the bereaved family, the naive young Swiss girl, the layout of the house, and the details of how the fire started and spread. She shows us why so many people wanted desperately to believe in the au pair"s innocence. And at the end of the book, she reveals her own research showing that this baby"s death was more predictable than anyone could have guessed. As the Washington Post writes, "Joyce Egginton does a simply wonderful job of weaving all the different life stories into this terrible sad tapestry ... Circle of Fire could serve as the model for the writing of true crime books." --Fiona Webster