Caring for his traumatized son is widowed FBI agent Luke Tanner's number one priority. But when he becomes temporary fire chief in a small mountain town, a case sparks out of his control. Luke suspects the late former chief of arson and murder—until the man's daughter returns to Pine Lake. Kitty McGuire is determined to prove her father was framed. As they work together, Kitty connects with Luke's troubled family in a way that surprises Luke—and fills him with hope. Maybe they have a chance at happiness after all…until their investigation ignites a firestorm that could engulf them all.
Kitty, a firefighter, returns home after her father dies. She's determined her father was framed for starting a fire. She ends up working with Tanner, a temporary fire chief, trying to uncover clues.
Kitty and Tanner both are recovering. Tanner a widow and Kitty not ready to jump into another relationship. Tanner, his son Michael and his father share a house. They are a troubled family whom Kitty can't imagine being able to fit in or help.
The story was well-written, the characters were well-developed and very relatable. I found myself on the edge of my seat. Lots of action, twists, and surprises that kept me guessing until the end. There were also some humorous parts to the story which made me laugh. It had everything I wanted in a suspense story and an added romantic ending.
It's up to an estranged daughter to clear her father's name. Was he the arsonist who started the forest fires? Why would the district's former fire chief do such a thing? Kitty brings her skills and training as an LA firefighter to clear up the mystery. Her challenge is to convince FBI agent on leave and temporary fire chief, Luke, that appearances are not as they seem. Fires and intrigue escalate as well as lives put in danger before resolution is achieved.
While this was a riveting book and concept, I feel like things happen too quickly. I love that Kitty is able to reach Luke's son Michael because of her past. That said, I would have liked to see the attraction between Kitty and Luke start more slowly.
The story in this book was a good one, but I didn’t particularly care for the characters. The plot was also somewhat predictable. However, it was a good, clean romance, which made it easier to read.
Title: FIRESTORM Author: Kelly Ann Riley Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense July 2010 ISBN: 978-0-373-44403-8 Genre: Inspirational/romantic suspense
Kitty McGuire has returned to her home town of Pine Lake to clear her father’s name. She received a phone call from an unverified source claiming that he can prove that Kitty’s deceased father is an arsonist. Kitty drops everything and returns home, to find that her father’s cabin has been turned over to the city, and that she is being accused of breaking and entering.
Luke Tanner is an FBI agent working as a temporary fire chief in Pine Lake ever since the previous fire chief, Kitty’s father, was killed. Now, all the evidence is pointing to Mr. McGuire starting the fire that burned down the hotel and killed two men—even though Mr. McGuire was several miles away, dead, at the time the blaze started, as Kitty pointed out.
It soon becomes apparent that someone lured Kitty back into town with ulterior motives. A string of arson erupts that could engulf them all—unless they find the real arsonist…
FIRESTORM is the debut novel by Ms. Riley. I heard good things about it, on ACFW and I thought I’d give it a try. I didn’t realize at the time that it was about a string of arsons, for some reason I thought it’d be about smoke jumpers. But that is not important.
The cover of the book is absolutely gorgeous, and Luke Tanner is a strong, capable hero, struggling with a traumatized son, the death of his wife, and a serious lack of trust. Likewise, Kitty is also suffering from a lack of trust, and has a tendency to act without thinking.
Throw these two characters together and you have conflict. And this doesn’t let up through the course of the book. I did grow to care for Luke. Kitty, not so much, though she did have her good points. Some of the events seemed rather contrived and even cliché for this genre. Still a good read, and if you are looking for a good romantic suspense, you might want to consider getting FIRESTORM. Available on www.amazon.com or at www.steeplehill.com. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book. 215 pages. $5.50.
This was such a good book with so many different emotions in it. I was hooked from the first page and absolutely did not want to put it down! apparently this is the only book that Kelly Ann Riley has written, but boy was it a good one!
Luke Tanner and his son Michael have had a pretty rough few years. His son had suffered a horrible ordeal, during which time his wife also passed away. They were now living with Luke's father, the preacher in town. He was ex-FBI, retired after his son's ordeal, but was currently posing as the Fire Chief to solve the case of arsen and the death of the previous chief.
Enter fire fighter, Kitty McGuire, who is back after someone contacted her and told her her late father was being investigated for arsen. The moment she arrives, she runs into Luke. Then she gets involved not only in her own problem, but in the problems of Luke Tanner's household.
I was pleasantly surprised with the surprise at the end of the book (the who-done-it). I was also happy to see how Luke and Kitty got together in the end. My heart went out to Michael and the ordeal he had faced. I like seeing a father/son relationship in which the son screws up and the father punishes him. Sometimes, authors make kids too perfect. I love it when kids get to be kids - problems and all...I also really like how Luke and Michael's problems were discussed "behind the scenes." There were several times Luke had to talk to his son and they were not included in the story. This made it seem private - just between the two of them...
Quite competent writing, on the whole. Characters are earnest and well-meaning, as you might expect in this line of books. The heroine has a couple borderline TSTL moments, but what really keeps this from being a great read (as opposed to reasonably good) is the lack of time spent developing the relationship between the lead characters (including the son). So much is given to the investigation, that everything else feels like it's done in shorthand; we see the very beginning of the relationship between heroine and Michael, but then all we're really given is an assurance that she's been good for him. He's happy. Oh. I'd rather see it, rather than just be told it.
While this was a riveting book and concept, I felt like things happened too quickly. For instance, the attraction between Luke and Kitty comes about too abruptly. The fact that Kitty is in some ways able to reach Luke's son Michael because of her past, does not eliminate the awkwardness of the proposal in the final chapter.