There Was a Fire

by Nancy Roy

How far was far enough? Julia "Win" Richards had escaped her husband's sadistic abuse only to find herself on the road, adrift and alone. Then after a twist of fate (and tequila), Win makes her way to the Sears Ranch in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Quickly, it becomes more than just a place to hide. Through the friendship of its crew and a ghost with a message, she discovers a home to heal her soul and, with one particular cowboy, a love that would heal her heart. "You are still her," a stranger’s words that still haunted her…. But was she? Would it ever be enough? With the madman now obsessed with vengeance, would her new-found freedom ever allow her to recapture the woman she was before the fire.

318 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2015

Reviews

[Lisa G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Not what I was expecting. The world created in this book had me turning pages. I fell in love with the characters -namely Doc. This book is cinematic.
I hate to say it, but there could be no other ending than what was written.
Kudos! Looking forward to Nancy Roy's 2nd book.

[Kathleen Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I read it in 48 hours. Total stay-up-to the-wee-hours page-turner.

I feel like I know the characters, their quirks, their flaws, their humanity. I wanted to spend more time with them. She also paints a tribute to the beauty of Wyoming.

A mystery, a romance, a thriller. An engaging story.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Synopsis: "How far was far enough? Julia "Win" Richards had escaped her husband's sadistic abuse only to find herself on the road, adrift and alone. Then after a twist of fate (and tequila), Win makes her way to the Sears Ranch in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Quickly, it becomes more than just a place to hide. Through the friendship of its crew and a ghost with a message, she discovers a home to heal her soul and, with one particular cowboy, a love that would heal her heart. "You are still her," a stranger's words that still haunted her.... But was she? Would it ever be enough? With the madman now obsessed with vengeance, would her new-found freedom ever allow her to recapture the woman she was before the fire."

My Review: I picked this book up at the RI Author Expo in 2015. I saw that this book takes place in Wyoming and had to pick it up immediately (I always love little tastes of home in my books). This book packed a huge punch, it took on a very difficult subject (Major Trigger Warnings for spousal abuse), but yet made it a beautiful story of hope and courage. I actually had to put this book down for a couple of days to absorb the intensity of the book. The characters were all fantastic, even the sub-characters, they were fully developed and unique. The imagery was stunning (and of course made me long for a horseback ride on the prairie). Keep in mind though as I gush about this book, that it isn't based on anything happy, there is a beautiful budding romance but this is not a fluffy romance, it is intense, bittersweet and stunningly beautiful.