 Penguin Random House Audio presents Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins-Reed, read for you by Julia Whalen. Malibu catches fire. It is simply what Malibu does from time to time. Tornadoes take the flatlands of the Midwest, floods rise in the American South, hurricanes rage against the Gulf of Mexico, and California burns. The land caught fire time and again when it was inhabited by the Chumash in 500 BCE. It caught fire in the 1800s when Spanish colonizers claimed the area. It caught fire on December 4, 1903, when Frederick and May Ringe owned the stretch of land now called Malibu. The flames seized 30 miles of coast land and consumed their Victorian beach house. Malibu caught fire in 1917 and 1929, well after the first movie stars got there. It caught fire in 1956 and 1958 when the long borders and beach bunnies trickled to its shores. It caught fire in 1970 and 1978 after the hippies settled in its canyons. It caught fire in 1982, 1985, in 1993, 1996, in 2003, 2007, and 2018, and times in between. Because it is Malibu's nature to burn. At the city line of Malibu today stands a sign that reads Malibu 27 miles of scenic beauty. The long thin township, an area that hugs the slim coast for almost 30 miles, is made up of ocean and mountain, split by a two-lane throughway called the Pacific Coast Highway, or PCH. To the west of PCH is a long series of beaches cradling the crystal blue waves of the Pacific Ocean. In many areas along the coast, beach houses are crammed along the side of the highway competing for views narrow and tall. The coastline is jagged and rocky. The waves are brisk and clear. The air smells of fresh brine. Directly to the east of PCH lie the immense arid mountains. They dominate the skyline, sage green and umber, composed of desert shrubs and wild trees, brittle underbrush. This is dry land, a tinderbox, blessed and cursed with a breeze. The local Santa Ana winds speed through the mountains and valleys from the inland to the shore, hot and strong. Myth says they are agents of chaos and disorder, but what they really are is an accelerant.