Tested by Fire

Baxter #1

by Kathy Herman

When a bizarre houseboat explosion rocks the close-knit community of Baxter, firefighters, friends, and neighbors stand powerless as the McConnells' blazing hull sinks to the bottom of Heron Lake.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Inspirational

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Best-selling suspense novelist Kathy Herman has written twenty novels—including the Secrets or Roux River Bayou Series, Sophie Trace Series, the Seaport Suspense Series, and the Phantom Hollow Series—since retiring from her family’s Christian bookstore business. She and her late husband Paul have a blended family of three grown children. Kathy lives in the Northwest.

Reviews

[Sarah]

Well, this book kept me turning pages. I read it in three sittings. However, I didn't love this book. While Herman is one of the most talented writers, She tried to follow to many threads in this book. Also, while I have no issue with a supernatural element to some stories, I felt that the allusion to angels detracted from this story.
Overall, a good story, just not my favorite by this author

[Kaitlyn Krispense]

RTC. idk why i put myself through these.😆

[Julia]

3.5⭐

I picked up this book while I was bored one day waiting for my food to cook, and I got surprisingly invested. I enjoyed reading from Jed's perspective. But I didn't love the ending, I feel like everything could have been tied together better.

[Judi]

I loved how all the characters end up connected in some way or by experience by the end. If I had to pick only one character as my favorite it would have to be Jed. I hated him in the begging of the story but I began to fall in love with him when he was travelling with Casey. His devotion to his friend Mike was awesome!!! I loved the way the author wraps up all the loose ends of the story with the call from Jed to Casey. Truly remarkable!!

[ML Couch]

Very good Christian fiction.

First book I’ve read by this author but won’t we the last. Good Christian fiction. The storyline and characters were interesting and very human. Nice mystery twist too.

[Jackie]

the base story was pretty good--fairly predictable, but fine..HOWEVER, the Christian mumbo jumbo was ANNOYING and distracting..I just skipped and skipped and skipped it.

[Meagan Abigail]

This book definitely sucked me in with the mystery of wanting to figure out what happened and who did it. I enjoyed the characters’ redemption, struggles of faith, and honest dealings with God. However, the book did feel pretty hokey at times especially in dialogue. Felt like a cheesy Christian movie that you’re rooting for but ultimately makes you cringe. Of course I’ll be reading the entire series…

[Denise]

Loved this book.
The characters were great.
The suspense made me not want to put the book down.
There was references to salvation that are critical when trying to tell someone about Jesus Christ!!

[Nancee]

The character of Casey upped this from a 3 star rating :)
The short chapters shifting between people’s lives didn’t work for me as well in this book...
But loved the angels at work and the preaching of God’s wonderful salvation available to all who believe.

[Heather]

This book did a great job in keeping the mystery going. While some things were expected others were not. I also read the note from the author at the end and love how she invites you to use the book as a way to break the ice about Jesus to someone else.

[Elivia Kanatiquelli]

I couldn't finish it, actually. To be honest, I did not like the writing style. But that comes from the perspective of a person used to the pace of writers like Ted Dekker and Colleen Coble. :) I'm sure Kathy is a wonderful author and has lots of fans!

[Sheila Myers]

Great Christian fiction. The characters are amazing and seem real. The plot is well-developed.

[Abbie W]

Excellent book! Written very well and kept my attention throughout the entire book! Definitely cannot wait to start the second book in the series!

[Amy]

I have been seeking many different authors in the CF arena and am loving each one I find. What a story showing that what something appears to be, may very well not be.

[Jacqueline]

This was a quick read.....Not much character development but a pretty good read nonetheless.....

[Andrew]

An interesting story with a strong Christian message

[Kristy-Lyn]

The storyline kept me reading, but as a person that is not particularly religious, it felt a bit preachy. Overall not bad really, just not my cup of tea.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I was sucked into this book and I loved it. 😍

[Danny McSpadden]

If you really miss Frank perretti

You will love this book. Sweet but blunt. No punches pulled but mixed with a wonderfully realistic cast of characters, and a brilliant story line. Bought book two before I even finished this one. Now that it's done am glad I did

[Tamara Tilley]

TESTED BY FIRE is the first in the Baxter Series released in 2001. Yes, I know this is older but that's what happens when you have over 200 books in your library that you've yet to have time to read. In the next few weeks, I will be reviewing the entire Baxter Series.

After a devastating explosion takes the life of a local family and rocks the small town of Baxter, the police hunt down their only suspect, Mike McConnell, husband and father to the victims. Jed Wilson, Mike’s best friend refuses to believe his friend could’ve done something so heinous. He sets out in search of his friend who is evading the police. Along the way, Jed finds some answers to his own emptiness.

TESTED BY FIRE is an intriguing story. As a reader, you find yourself feeling compassion for Mike McConnell even though he might be a calculated murderer. Kathy does a good job of creating characters you want to pull for, and slap up the side of the head when their stubbornness gets the better of them. But as the characters grow, you feel an attachment to them.

I won’t give away the ending, other to say it was both satisfying and bittersweet.

[Nike Chillemi]

An explosion rattles the windows in thelakeside town of Baxter, GA and Jed Wilson's life falls apart. Best friend, Mike McConnell's houseboat has sunk into the lake killing Mike's neglected wife and his children. Mike is the prime suspect and when he runs, a manhunt for him begins. With Mike on the run Jed sinks into an alcoholic haze. Then Jed sobers up and is determined to find Mike and clear him, but he's got to outwit the FBI.

My husband has been in the field of substance abuse for 25 years and Jed going cold turkey wasn't convincing. I also didn't think that a newly sober guy could out smart the FBI who are using satelites to track him. And in fact he couldn't, it took a supernatural act of God to do that.

[Lisa Rathbun]

Why do I keep reading books I don't like? I guess so I can give them an accurate review. While the original idea really captured the reader's attention, I found much too repetitive, filled with pointless conversations (like someone calling another person, saying "hello", and asking if they can come over - just show the scene with them together; don't give me all the blah-blah-blah). Also, a character will discover something, and in the next scene you'll see them describing their discovery to someone else! Such repetition keeps the story moving slowly. As a mystery, I felt this story had little intrigue with no sustaining build-up of suspense. However, I did love the message - that God loves, forgives, and seeks us, always desiring us to come to Him. Great salvation message!

[Sherry Carter]

When an explosion destroys the McConnell's houseboat, the family of five is presumed dead. But, when the remains are recovered, one person is missing. Could the missing family member be a murderer?

Jed, who is struggling with alcoholism and a crumbling marriage, refuses to turn his back on the suspected murder and is convinced to this person's innocence. He finds himself in a race with the FBI to discover the truth.

In Tested by Fire, Kathy Herman writes a suspenseful book with strong threads of tenderness, faith, redemption, and the depth of friendship woven through its pages. The ending felt a bit contrived. The strength of the story fell a bit flat.

I did enjoy it and world recommend it.

[Kathy]

If you like a good clean book with action and suspense, you will find “Tested by Fire” a real ‘can’t put the book down’ page turner! This faith-filled story begins with a devastating fire that changes the lives of many in the close-knit community of Baxter. As the story begins to unfold, it settles on two best friends who’d hurt their families and then became drunks because of their guilt. Author, Kathy Herman unveiled an insightful understanding of human interaction and deep spiritual wisdom in this well written story of God’s amazing grace.

[Laura]

A family dead and a fugitive on the run, or so it seems....

This book is a mystery-suspense set in a small town. I had a very hard time following the beginning of this book as the author introduced a ton of characters, but once it got started it flowed really well.

I enjoyed the story of the characters and how they came to a have a relationship with Christ through all of their difficulties. I think that the story moved a little slow and that it could have moved a bit faster.

I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

[Angela Suzanne]

I only read the first chapter, but I already knew I wasn't going to like this book. Scenes were so short that I couldn't get into them at all. There were also too many point of view characters within the first few pages. Within the prologue and the first chapter alone, there were 9 little scenes with 6 different POV characters. I felt like the author was trying to do too much within the first few chapters and I knew that it was going to continue for the rest of the book.

[Karol]

An OK book . . . not a lot of suspense. The story is more about God's forgiveness than anything else. I didn't find the main characters to be very likable, but I did like several of the people they came in contact with, including the small-town reputable news woman -- a very unusual kind of person in today's media world.

[Judy Wise]

This is the first book in the Baxter Series. I loved it. We start reading about the two friends always stopping for a beer after work, really just bored with their lives. Jed must find his friend Mike and learn the truth about the death of Mikes family. This is the discovery of his friend and how they both find the bubbles in their heart. I really could not put it down.

[Becky]

Christian suspense...that wasn't so suspenseful for the last third of the book. I was hooked and engaged for quite a chunk of this book, but then it was too predictable for me. Key themes include redemption & forgiveness, but once I knew what happened that fateful night of the explosion, the rest was what I expected.

[Mary]

This first book in a series of three is a page turner. A fugitive on the run. Was it murder or an accident? The author is good a both plot and character development. My one criticism: I knew the book was written by a Christian author. Sometimes her frequent sermonettes tend to interrupt the flow of the story. I'm looking forward to getting the next book.