What The Fire Didn't Take: The Ada Jane Johnston Story

On a dark Alabama road in 1977, Ada Jane Johnston's body was found in the front seat of a burned-out car-lungs full of smoke, meaning she was still alive when the fire started. Her death was ruled a homicide. Her husband was arrested. But the truth? That got buried deeper than the ashes.

In this powerful blend of Southern memoir, investigative true crime, and lyrical storytelling, Tiffany Jones-Ada Jane's granddaughter-digs into the haunting legacy of her family's silence. With raw honesty, she retraces the lives of those left behind, the shadows cast by poverty and domestic violence, and the twisted pursuit of justice through two trials, one conviction, and a verdict that was ultimately overturned.

Part cold case, part personal reckoning, What the Fire Didn't Take is a story of what survives when everything else burns. It's about the women who keep going, the questions that never stop, and the fire passed from one generation to the next.

If you've ever searched for your roots only to uncover smoke, this book is for you.