Title: Fire Storm
Author: Nancy Mehl
Genre: Suspense
Series: #2 Kaely Quinn Profiler
Publisher: Bethany House
Release date: 6 August 2019
Pages: 336
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About the Book
When FBI profiler Kaely Quinn’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, Kaely takes time off work to go to Dark Water, Nebraska, to help her brother care for their mother. Upon her arrival, she learns of a series of fires in the small town, attributed by the fire chief to misuse of space heaters in the frigid winter. But Kaely is skeptical, and a search for a pattern in the locations of the fires bolsters her suspicions.
After yet another blaze devastates a local family, Kaely is certain a serial arsonist is on the loose. Calling upon her partner from St. Louis, Noah Hunter, and her brother’s firefighter neighbor who backs Kaely’s suspicions, Kaely and her team begin an investigation that swiftly leads them down a twisted path. When the truth is finally revealed, Kaely finds herself confronting a madman who is determined his last heinous act will be her death.
Excerpt
As she munched on her candy bar, she decided to check out the Digest. Maybe she could learn something about the town her mother had chosen to fade into. On the front page, the big story seemed to involve several house fires. The fire chief was railing against the use of space heaters during cold weather. “Many of them are cheaply made,” he’d said to the Digest’s reporter. “People think they can save money by turning down the heat at night and using a space heater. But losing your house, your belongings, and maybe even your life is much more costly.”
“Boy, this guy really hates space heaters,” Kaely muttered.
He went on to say that the fire department would be repeating a safety class about the use of space heaters and encouraged residents to attend.
Kaely had to admit she was impressed. He seemed dedicated to keeping his community protected. She took another bite of her candy bar and squinted at the grainy photo of the chief. Nice looking but intense.
There was also a quote from the local sheriff. This picture was a little clearer. A good-looking man with blond hair who also encouraged residents to take safety precautions during cold weather. The end of the article mentioned that Sheriff Brotton had lost an election in November. It seemed he was filling in for the new chief who couldn’t take office until March due to illness in his family.
She turned the page and found a list of recent fires in Darkwater. In the past two months, there had been three. One death. An older woman living with her family had died of smoke inhalation. Three fires in two months for a town this size is usual, Kaely thought. A rather crudely drawn map showed the various locations where the fires had started. A note under the map indicated where the lone death had occurred.
As she looked at the map, Kaely took a deep breath. She carefullly studied it again to make certain her initial impression was right. A second look only confirmed her suspicion. She didn’t like the locations of the fires. Her training told her that the fires in Darkwater might not be random accidents. Was it possible Darkwater was being targeted by a serial arsonist?
Review
As a character-driven reader, it was not really surprising that I found myself thoroughly intrigued by Kaely Quinn after reading the first book in this series. The daughter of a notorious serial killer, she’s carrying a fair amount of emotional baggage, but it’s her mental acumen that has me most intrigued. She has Sherlockian powers of observation and deduction and some rather unusual methods of working through a case, and there’s a question over just how reliable a narrator she is, all of which makes for a fascinating character.
In this story, we get more of a glimpse into Kaely’s family life, and we get to see the tension that’s created when her drive to solve a case conflicts with her family’s needs. I love that Kaely’s faults are very much on display and that she’s beginning to see them in herself. The hope of seeing a satisfying resolution to her character arc makes me keen to read the final book in the series, particularly as there wasn’t a lot of development in her character in this novel.
While I’m invested in Kaely from an intellectual point of view, though, I found it harder to become emotionally invested in this story. The suspense plot started out well, but it was easy to piece things together from about halfway through the novel, and while the climax did provide a few surprises, they were mostly a result of Kaely keeping things hidden from the reader at the last minute, which felt a little underhanded.
Finally, I’m just not feeling the love between Kaely and Noah. We’re told the attachment/attraction is developing, but there’s no chemistry between them; I can’t feel the emotional connection building between them. Still, for readers who are looking for a suspense read that doesn’t involve a strong romantic thread, this won’t be a deterrent.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
About the Author
Nancy Mehl lives in Missouri, with her husband Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. She’s authored thirty books and is currently at work on a new FBI suspense series for Bethany House Publishing.
All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”
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