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Firestorm
#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen turns up the heat in this explosive new psychological thriller. This time a gifted arson investigator teams up with a mysterious operative to stop a killer raging completely out of control...
For Kerry Murphy, the inferno is never far away. The flames of that long-ago night still burn in her nightmares: the heat, the choking smoke, the helplessness. She can never run fast enough...
Now Kerry works as an arson investigator with her evidence-sniffing dog, Sam. Together they're a great team, but her life is about to change in the time it takes to strike a match. The deadly flames of her past are back, and from out of the ashes a stranger appears. Who is Silver? And why has he chosen her in the desparate race to find a killer determined to ignite hell on earth? Kerry and Silver may not have a chance against a psychopath as coldhearted as his method is red-hot. To save themselves and the innocent lives at stake, Kerry will have to do what she hoped she'd never have to do: fight fire with fire.
For Kerry Murphy, the inferno is never far away. The flames of that long-ago night still burn in her nightmares: the heat, the choking smoke, the helplessness. She can never run fast enough...
Now Kerry works as an arson investigator with her evidence-sniffing dog, Sam. Together they're a great team, but her life is about to change in the time it takes to strike a match. The deadly flames of her past are back, and from out of the ashes a stranger appears. Who is Silver? And why has he chosen her in the desparate race to find a killer determined to ignite hell on earth? Kerry and Silver may not have a chance against a psychopath as coldhearted as his method is red-hot. To save themselves and the innocent lives at stake, Kerry will have to do what she hoped she'd never have to do: fight fire with fire.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 16, 2003
152 people are currently reading
3397 people want to read
About the author
Iris Johansen
226 books7,327 followersIris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success.
She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.
IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.
http://www.irisjohansen.com
She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.
IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.
http://www.irisjohansen.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 285 reviews
July 7, 2017
Enjoyable read! a roller coaster ride of intense action,an exciting and maybe an unpredictable outcome at the end..no one knows (paperback!)
May 6, 2024
Wow! A sure winner - two thumbs up!
What do you get when you cross a vintage Stephen King psychological horror tale with Thomas Harris' HANNIBAL and toss in a frightening, destructive weapon right out of a Tom Clancy techno-thriller? You bet - FIRESTORM! And this one succeeds from first to last.
As a child, Kerry Murphy spends two years in a coma after barely surviving the inferno that killed her mother and when she awakes she discovers that she has the psychic ability to sense fires. Brad Silver, a psychic "controller" knows that these abilities are the real reason for her success working as an arson investigator with her partner and dog, Sam. He needs Murphy's help in tracking down James Trask, a rogue scientist about to pass on his Firestorm technology, remote controlled high temperature accelerated arson, to the North Korean government.
Johansen's descriptions of Murphy's psychic forays into Trask's mind as a young man are creepy, frightening, yet truly compelling reading. Witnessing Trask as a young man and a brilliant student evolving into a psychotic serial arsonist and ruthless killer is eerie and will have you turning the pages well into the wee hours. At the same time as the story rolls towards its exciting climax and Murphy's final conflict with Trask, we are party to her falling in love with Silver and witnessing the endearing "adoption" of Carmela Ruiz and her sister, Rosa, near victims of Trask's plots. Far from detracting from the story, these heartwarming sub-plots are integral to its development and are meshed into it absolutely seamlessly.
Two thumbs up and an unequivocal recommendation to any reader that enjoys suspense thrillers!
Paul Weiss
What do you get when you cross a vintage Stephen King psychological horror tale with Thomas Harris' HANNIBAL and toss in a frightening, destructive weapon right out of a Tom Clancy techno-thriller? You bet - FIRESTORM! And this one succeeds from first to last.
As a child, Kerry Murphy spends two years in a coma after barely surviving the inferno that killed her mother and when she awakes she discovers that she has the psychic ability to sense fires. Brad Silver, a psychic "controller" knows that these abilities are the real reason for her success working as an arson investigator with her partner and dog, Sam. He needs Murphy's help in tracking down James Trask, a rogue scientist about to pass on his Firestorm technology, remote controlled high temperature accelerated arson, to the North Korean government.
Johansen's descriptions of Murphy's psychic forays into Trask's mind as a young man are creepy, frightening, yet truly compelling reading. Witnessing Trask as a young man and a brilliant student evolving into a psychotic serial arsonist and ruthless killer is eerie and will have you turning the pages well into the wee hours. At the same time as the story rolls towards its exciting climax and Murphy's final conflict with Trask, we are party to her falling in love with Silver and witnessing the endearing "adoption" of Carmela Ruiz and her sister, Rosa, near victims of Trask's plots. Far from detracting from the story, these heartwarming sub-plots are integral to its development and are meshed into it absolutely seamlessly.
Two thumbs up and an unequivocal recommendation to any reader that enjoys suspense thrillers!
Paul Weiss
October 14, 2018
Well, it wasn't Iris Johansen's worst book I've ever read.
Kerry is an arson investigator who survived a horrible fire in her childhood. Unlike most of Johansen's heroines, Kerry actually has a family and didn't "grow up on the streets." She has a father and a brother (her mother died in the fire). She adores her brother, but she's distant from her father because he had her involuntarily committed after she started having "delusions." (As per the usual Johansen fare, these are real visions of fires actually happening.)
Like most Johansen books, Kerry has a close friend whose only purpose is to be killed off. While she's grieving, a guy named Brad Silver enters her mind to calm her down. Why? Because he needs her powers to help him track down and kill the bad guy, Trask, who's obsessed with his "child," a secret government weapon called "Firestorm." This weapon can torch any place in a matter of minutes, and could incinerate an entire city within a few hours.
Kerry is an arson investigator who survived a horrible fire in her childhood. Unlike most of Johansen's heroines, Kerry actually has a family and didn't "grow up on the streets." She has a father and a brother (her mother died in the fire). She adores her brother, but she's distant from her father because he had her involuntarily committed after she started having "delusions." (As per the usual Johansen fare, these are real visions of fires actually happening.)
Like most Johansen books, Kerry has a close friend whose only purpose is to be killed off. While she's grieving, a guy named Brad Silver enters her mind to calm her down. Why? Because he needs her powers to help him track down and kill the bad guy, Trask, who's obsessed with his "child," a secret government weapon called "Firestorm." This weapon can torch any place in a matter of minutes, and could incinerate an entire city within a few hours.
June 6, 2016
2.5 Stars
So here's the problem with rereads: Sometimes they just don't stand up to what seemed like an enjoyable read from the first time around. Not all rereads are disappointing, but this one certainly was.
I've read other Iris Johansen books before and remember finding them good, riveting, intriguing. And if memory serves, I remember liking Firestorm enough to call it enjoyable when I read it for the first time years ago, sometime during the first few years of college. At least I remembered liking it enough to consider buying and owning the book.
Now I'm wondering what happened. Was it the romantic suspense and the psychic angle that seemed to entice me? I certainly didn't have as many of those books under my belt (and I don't really today, either) when I first read Firestorm. Though I have read a lot of romantic suspense novels and a lot of books in general to form opinions about how I like my stories, my mysteries, and especially my characters and my heroine.
For purposes of entertainment, the book itself was enjoyable enough. But then you get into little details that seem to fail to make sense or that just don't entice me like I had expected. But for the most part, this isn't a bad book, and as a romantic suspense with a paranormal spin, it's decent enough.
I'm going to say that it was the characters that didn't do it for me. At the beginning, I liked Kerry enough, and I thought that Silver was a bit too harsh and a bit too much of an asshole--a manipulative asshole. This was typical, standard hero/heroine dynamics in a romantic suspense and I figured that things would get better as we got to know Silver.
After the second half of the book, however, it was like the two switched places. Silver became more endearing, more relatable... and Kerry turned into a much more irrational, untrusting, bitchy, and hypocritical person. I couldn't help getting angry with this, because typically, I like to like both characters by the end of the book; I don't like to start liking one character only to start getting annoyed with the other. The characters usually start growing on you even if they were annoying to begin with; Kerry just got annoying, period.
And while I understand that Kerry is wary of trust because of what Silver can do, I think she took it too extreme because of her cowardice. She knew what needed to be done to find answers, but she kept being too stubborn about it, refusing to actually acknowledge what she had to do. Then she kept complaining about not making any progress and blaming Silver for anything that went wrong.
She wanted to know who the arsonist who killed her mother was, but she wouldn't admit it to being able to find her answer. When Silver tired to help her remember, she got angry at him and told him to quit interfering; except that this was on of the caveats of her helping him find the big baddie in the first place: that he would help her remember the arsonist from her past. She wanted Silver to help her with her psychic abilities, but she wouldn't let her help him in his way. He never lied to her and told her honestly what would happen and how best he could help her, but she made it seem like a betrayal when his way of helping her wasn't what she wanted. And then she complained about lack of progress.
She didn't like the idea of people thinking her a "freak" because of her abilities, but she treated Silver like he was a dishonest monster just because of his abilities. She didn't want to have to use her abilities, but knew she had to learn in order to find the arsonist, but she refused to make it easy for Silver to teach her what she needed to know. At the same time, she's been using her abilities regularly anyway.
She disliked it whenever Silver tried to jump into her mind to help her hurting go away, but when Silver was in his own agony, she did the exact same thing. And apparently that was alright because she couldn't stand feeling his hurt. When Silver tries to help her, she calls it an "intrusion" or him interfering with her own ability to cope.
She keeps saying that Silver is someone who can be trusted, but she keeps questioning whether or not he's leaving posthypnotic suggestions or continuing to manipulate her. You either trust him or you don't. You don't say that you trust him and then continue to not trust him. You can't have it both ways.
There's being a strong, independent person who can take care of himself or herself, then there's paranoid and untrusting and a martyr who feels like she needs to do everything herself. It can either come off as a survival instinct as someone who's always been alone and done everything by herself, which is fine if it makes her seem stronger; but with Kerry, it came off kind of condescending. She questioned everyone else's ability to do their jobs with equal parts scorn and distrust. She went out on a limb to do someone else's job because she didn't trust them to do it right; she tried to play bodyguard when she probably doesn't even have the proper training for it. She keeps saying that, "of course she knows they can be trusted", but she continues to question their integrity and their motive.
Sometimes you need to learn to lean on others for help and trust that some people have their own skills to do what needs to be done. I got tired of her sharp questions that usually came across sounding like, "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Because I know what needs to be done. But do you know what needs to be done?"
It got tiring.
I had a hard time caring for Kerry by the time the ending came into view; although it sure also doesn't excuse the way her own father treated her.
Silver came off looking better than Kerry did, but that doesn't mean he was fun to follow with either. It got tiring trying to skirt around his secrets (even if he was usually honest about what he said or did, omission of the truth is close enough). That was the first half of the book. At the second half of the book, Silver lost his personality and became Kerry's whipping boy, so I felt sorry for him, but I lost interest.
George wasn't bad. That's all I have to say about him because he wasn't really all that memorable either. Nor were any of the other characters; not even Sam, the arson dog.
The book stands alone well as a romantic suspense with standard plot and characters, and if not for the characters in this book, I might have enjoyed it a bit more.
So here's the problem with rereads: Sometimes they just don't stand up to what seemed like an enjoyable read from the first time around. Not all rereads are disappointing, but this one certainly was.
I've read other Iris Johansen books before and remember finding them good, riveting, intriguing. And if memory serves, I remember liking Firestorm enough to call it enjoyable when I read it for the first time years ago, sometime during the first few years of college. At least I remembered liking it enough to consider buying and owning the book.
Now I'm wondering what happened. Was it the romantic suspense and the psychic angle that seemed to entice me? I certainly didn't have as many of those books under my belt (and I don't really today, either) when I first read Firestorm. Though I have read a lot of romantic suspense novels and a lot of books in general to form opinions about how I like my stories, my mysteries, and especially my characters and my heroine.
For purposes of entertainment, the book itself was enjoyable enough. But then you get into little details that seem to fail to make sense or that just don't entice me like I had expected. But for the most part, this isn't a bad book, and as a romantic suspense with a paranormal spin, it's decent enough.
I'm going to say that it was the characters that didn't do it for me. At the beginning, I liked Kerry enough, and I thought that Silver was a bit too harsh and a bit too much of an asshole--a manipulative asshole. This was typical, standard hero/heroine dynamics in a romantic suspense and I figured that things would get better as we got to know Silver.
After the second half of the book, however, it was like the two switched places. Silver became more endearing, more relatable... and Kerry turned into a much more irrational, untrusting, bitchy, and hypocritical person. I couldn't help getting angry with this, because typically, I like to like both characters by the end of the book; I don't like to start liking one character only to start getting annoyed with the other. The characters usually start growing on you even if they were annoying to begin with; Kerry just got annoying, period.
And while I understand that Kerry is wary of trust because of what Silver can do, I think she took it too extreme because of her cowardice. She knew what needed to be done to find answers, but she kept being too stubborn about it, refusing to actually acknowledge what she had to do. Then she kept complaining about not making any progress and blaming Silver for anything that went wrong.
She wanted to know who the arsonist who killed her mother was, but she wouldn't admit it to being able to find her answer. When Silver tired to help her remember, she got angry at him and told him to quit interfering; except that this was on of the caveats of her helping him find the big baddie in the first place: that he would help her remember the arsonist from her past. She wanted Silver to help her with her psychic abilities, but she wouldn't let her help him in his way. He never lied to her and told her honestly what would happen and how best he could help her, but she made it seem like a betrayal when his way of helping her wasn't what she wanted. And then she complained about lack of progress.
She didn't like the idea of people thinking her a "freak" because of her abilities, but she treated Silver like he was a dishonest monster just because of his abilities. She didn't want to have to use her abilities, but knew she had to learn in order to find the arsonist, but she refused to make it easy for Silver to teach her what she needed to know. At the same time, she's been using her abilities regularly anyway.
She disliked it whenever Silver tried to jump into her mind to help her hurting go away, but when Silver was in his own agony, she did the exact same thing. And apparently that was alright because she couldn't stand feeling his hurt. When Silver tries to help her, she calls it an "intrusion" or him interfering with her own ability to cope.
She keeps saying that Silver is someone who can be trusted, but she keeps questioning whether or not he's leaving posthypnotic suggestions or continuing to manipulate her. You either trust him or you don't. You don't say that you trust him and then continue to not trust him. You can't have it both ways.
There's being a strong, independent person who can take care of himself or herself, then there's paranoid and untrusting and a martyr who feels like she needs to do everything herself. It can either come off as a survival instinct as someone who's always been alone and done everything by herself, which is fine if it makes her seem stronger; but with Kerry, it came off kind of condescending. She questioned everyone else's ability to do their jobs with equal parts scorn and distrust. She went out on a limb to do someone else's job because she didn't trust them to do it right; she tried to play bodyguard when she probably doesn't even have the proper training for it. She keeps saying that, "of course she knows they can be trusted", but she continues to question their integrity and their motive.
Sometimes you need to learn to lean on others for help and trust that some people have their own skills to do what needs to be done. I got tired of her sharp questions that usually came across sounding like, "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Because I know what needs to be done. But do you know what needs to be done?"
It got tiring.
I had a hard time caring for Kerry by the time the ending came into view; although it sure also doesn't excuse the way her own father treated her.
Silver came off looking better than Kerry did, but that doesn't mean he was fun to follow with either. It got tiring trying to skirt around his secrets (even if he was usually honest about what he said or did, omission of the truth is close enough). That was the first half of the book. At the second half of the book, Silver lost his personality and became Kerry's whipping boy, so I felt sorry for him, but I lost interest.
George wasn't bad. That's all I have to say about him because he wasn't really all that memorable either. Nor were any of the other characters; not even Sam, the arson dog.
The book stands alone well as a romantic suspense with standard plot and characters, and if not for the characters in this book, I might have enjoyed it a bit more.
January 25, 2023
I started this from a Firefighter's list for a reading challenge, and not only was it my first Iris Johansen book, but I had NO idea it was about to get paranormal.
As you can imagine, I was in for a fun surprise. I loved the paranormal and superpower slant that ended up taking over the story.
I loved Kerry's affinity for the rescue dog.
There were a few issues in the actual chase of the villain and a few holes in the plot. Overall it was a good time, though. The romance could have been WAAAAY hotter with the combined powers, so that was a slight disappointment.
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
As you can imagine, I was in for a fun surprise. I loved the paranormal and superpower slant that ended up taking over the story.
I loved Kerry's affinity for the rescue dog.
There were a few issues in the actual chase of the villain and a few holes in the plot. Overall it was a good time, though. The romance could have been WAAAAY hotter with the combined powers, so that was a slight disappointment.
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
July 21, 2017
Meh...
I was hoping that this would be a forensics thriller. That's what I get for judging a book by its cover. The plot was forced, the prose was trite, the characters (especially the so called heroine) unlikable. In fact, character development was practically nil. The "suspense" that the cover promised was nonexistent. The whole book was like some lame TV movie. And don't even get me started with the poor attempt of incorporating a paranormal element to the story. I love you, Iris, but this one was just flat out not good.
I was hoping that this would be a forensics thriller. That's what I get for judging a book by its cover. The plot was forced, the prose was trite, the characters (especially the so called heroine) unlikable. In fact, character development was practically nil. The "suspense" that the cover promised was nonexistent. The whole book was like some lame TV movie. And don't even get me started with the poor attempt of incorporating a paranormal element to the story. I love you, Iris, but this one was just flat out not good.
June 10, 2016
I do not have the ability to write and I do not like criticizing someone with the talent to put pen to paper and create a novel. However, I am a reader and I know what captures my attention. Sorry to say that I couldn't make it past page 33 of this book. Everything was flat and confusing to me.............the characters, the plot, even the dog.
January 11, 2010
This one didn't suck me in right away, but after about a chapter, I started really enjoying it. It's part government, part psychic, part serial killer and thriller. Kerry is someone who is currently working as an arson investigator. She's very good at her job; she can pick up impressions from the remains of an arson scene. However, this gift also proves difficult for her as she can not control it if she is personally linked to the crime in any way, and refuses to let anyone teach her. Enter our hero, Silver, who has a unique gift as well, although he can control it, almost too well. I won't go into the details of this as it may spoil part of the story. He maneuvers Kerry into joining in a government investigation into a secret project involving a mad serial killer who with fire.
It's an interesting plot with great action and a nice twist at the end. I half guessed the twist, but there was enough mystery to still make it thrilling and interesting, wondering just how it would actually play out. The characters are well defined.
The reason this didn't get 5 stars is because at times, I felt the urge to roll my eyes at some of the dialog. Also, Kerry was a frustrating character. Strong and purposeful yes, but continually second guessing the obvious things she needed to do to achieve her goals. While I can't really relate to some of the "intrusions" she feels are not acceptable, I still found myself wanting to shake her, she was so dense. The reader was good, and I didn't have much trouble differentiating the characters for the most part. I think the voice of Silver could have been done a little better, and Kerry almost always sounded a little too dramatic, which worked in the actions parts of the story. I would recommend the book over the audio on this one.
It's an interesting plot with great action and a nice twist at the end. I half guessed the twist, but there was enough mystery to still make it thrilling and interesting, wondering just how it would actually play out. The characters are well defined.
The reason this didn't get 5 stars is because at times, I felt the urge to roll my eyes at some of the dialog. Also, Kerry was a frustrating character. Strong and purposeful yes, but continually second guessing the obvious things she needed to do to achieve her goals. While I can't really relate to some of the "intrusions" she feels are not acceptable, I still found myself wanting to shake her, she was so dense. The reader was good, and I didn't have much trouble differentiating the characters for the most part. I think the voice of Silver could have been done a little better, and Kerry almost always sounded a little too dramatic, which worked in the actions parts of the story. I would recommend the book over the audio on this one.
January 19, 2017
This started out a little slow, but progressed nicely. I know some didn't like it because of the portrayal of the main characters. I understood why they acted the way they did. The who dunnit part was a surprise to me!
September 1, 2009
I fell fast into involvements between Kerry and Silver who was clearly two nutcases, who are really normal people. In contrast they have their differences but Silver has always a way to manipulate others. Until Kerry. Then both their lives begin quickly to change. Before their meeting, Kerry had been a good fire fighter, now she has turned arsonist investigator with her newly arson trained pup, Sam. Sam is quickly becoming well known in the community as a tough arson dog. Together they try to fight fire by cracking suspected arson cases. Which gets Silvers attention. He then begins by trying to get Kerry’s. Other stories with similar themes are given to pique with interest their readers, but weren’t nearly as modern as this one is by other writer’s standards.
August 12, 2018
This was a good read but when one gets near the end the author's plot weakens. Kerry, the heroine, and Silver, the hero, begin doing things they wouldn't do earlier in the novel. I was disappointed because they focused on what had happened and thus miss the signs of trouble developing closer to Kerry. They should have forseen that Trask would turn attention to Kerry's brother, Jason, and their father. Instead they failed to recognize that the bond between Jason the their father that would put Jason at risk. Until that point the book was a four star read. Why does an author have the characters act contrary to their developed personas?
August 16, 2018
Johansen writes a great book - Loved it
December 6, 2019
This was a very interesting read, and in looking back at books read years ago I had read it before. Good story line and good characters. Fast reading.
Read
July 5, 2018Different for Johansen. I enjoyed it, but not as much as her other books. Scary concept, people starting fires. On to the next novel
December 4, 2022
A little different kind of book. Fire kills a mom and the girl needs to fond out who did it.
August 26, 2011
There is a proverb...proverb 21: 9 to be exact, that says, it is better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a home with a quarrelsome woman...older versions say contentious woman. And let me tell after reading this book, I realize that is completely true!!
At the beginning with Charlie she seemed to be a nice, reasonable, wily gal. Then enters silver...and I get that he didn't have the most suave entrance...and he did prance around in her mind...I get the whole "I feel violated" bit, but man give it a rest!! He wasn't even as much a hard ass as most leading men, and definitely not as cryptic, but this gal could not be pleased for shit!!
She bitched about any and everything! Bossing Silver around, George too! What the author probably tried to make strength of character , became the making of a world class shrew!!! It ground my gears to read Kerry's crap for the entire book! She just couldn't SHUT UP and admit she needed a lil help!
I actually liked the idea of the book. I have never read anything like it before...that is the telepathy part. I even liked Trask. He was perfectly creepy. I see Johansen has a thing for hannibal lecter*(sp?), because these bad guys like making personal phone calls and chatting amiably with their prey, even doling out clues!
However this is the second book I've read from her, Reap the Wind being the first and that heroine was a complete washout to the other females in the book, and now this one is an uncooperative bitch and three quarters ! So I guess it would take a third book to be the deal breaker, on whether I give up on Iris Johansen altogether!! I don't know if I can go through it again though!.....
At the beginning with Charlie she seemed to be a nice, reasonable, wily gal. Then enters silver...and I get that he didn't have the most suave entrance...and he did prance around in her mind...I get the whole "I feel violated" bit, but man give it a rest!! He wasn't even as much a hard ass as most leading men, and definitely not as cryptic, but this gal could not be pleased for shit!!
She bitched about any and everything! Bossing Silver around, George too! What the author probably tried to make strength of character , became the making of a world class shrew!!! It ground my gears to read Kerry's crap for the entire book! She just couldn't SHUT UP and admit she needed a lil help!
I actually liked the idea of the book. I have never read anything like it before...that is the telepathy part. I even liked Trask. He was perfectly creepy. I see Johansen has a thing for hannibal lecter*(sp?), because these bad guys like making personal phone calls and chatting amiably with their prey, even doling out clues!
However this is the second book I've read from her, Reap the Wind being the first and that heroine was a complete washout to the other females in the book, and now this one is an uncooperative bitch and three quarters ! So I guess it would take a third book to be the deal breaker, on whether I give up on Iris Johansen altogether!! I don't know if I can go through it again though!.....
July 17, 2009
This book started out good, and I was interested in where the book was going.
However, as soon as Silver came onto the scene Kerry changed. It's not often that I dislike a heroine. I've read numerous different types, and I like them all. I can admire a strong female who likes her independence. But at some point you need to give in to help, and accept that you can't do everything yourself. Kerry bugged me throughout this book. She could get so upset and angry over the littlest thing.
So while I spent most of the book being annoyed at Kerry, I wanted to finish to see how they caught the arsonist. I also wanted to see how the relationship between Kerry and Silver ended up.
While it ends well I'm not sure I'll read more by this author if other heroines are like Kerry.
However, as soon as Silver came onto the scene Kerry changed. It's not often that I dislike a heroine. I've read numerous different types, and I like them all. I can admire a strong female who likes her independence. But at some point you need to give in to help, and accept that you can't do everything yourself. Kerry bugged me throughout this book. She could get so upset and angry over the littlest thing.
So while I spent most of the book being annoyed at Kerry, I wanted to finish to see how they caught the arsonist. I also wanted to see how the relationship between Kerry and Silver ended up.
While it ends well I'm not sure I'll read more by this author if other heroines are like Kerry.
October 9, 2020
Honestly this was a frustrating book to read. The two main characters just constantly rehash the same conversation, in the same way, with the same dialogue over and over and over again. Occasionally the groundhog effect is broken up by the fact they are trying to catch a bad guy who can light fires with a dish.
The lack of detail where detail is needed coupled with the dead horse beat down of the conflict between the two main characters make this book almost not worth finishing.
The lack of detail where detail is needed coupled with the dead horse beat down of the conflict between the two main characters make this book almost not worth finishing.
December 13, 2010
Iris Johansen continues to one of my favorite authors. Firestorm did not disappoint. This was a thriller about a murderer that uses his new invention as a weapon of terror. The protagonist, Kerry, has the ability to sense how a fire was started and the absolute terror that people including her fellow firefighters feel when encountering a blazing inferno. 4 star book.
April 25, 2010
A wonderfully non-smutty romantic suspense!!! I like mysteries and suspense with a touch of the extra-sensory or psychological thrill! Iris Johansen did a good job with this one.
February 1, 2017
Interesting psycho-novel. Enoyed jumping into their minds as the mystery is being solved solved.
January 5, 2021
good book lots of twists
April 6, 2018
Firestorm, but Iris Johansen. A Book Review
For years, my closest friends, also mystery fiends have urged me to read Johansen. After a windfall of books that included one of her novels came my way, I eagerly picked up the book.
The first chapter reminded me of the opening scene of Legal Eagles, which is one of my favorite movies. A young girl awakes to fire, a horrible fire, and loses her mother. Fast forward and years later, she is an arson investigator, who is a little psychic. Shades of Medium, another favorite, albeit on TV.
We meet the murderer/rogue govt. agent/arsonist from the beginning. So, we don’t wonder about “Who done it?” Yet, as the novel progresses, it is the violence and the fiery murders that become the real characters and runaway with the action.
The murder’s motives are not convincing; he isn’t the kind of pyromaniac I met up with in my days of working in law offices. In fact, some of them are pretty unassuming. I sat in a locked conference room facing one down, and I asked point blank, “did you do it?” Oh, no, of course not!” he insisted, all innocent and doe-eyed. We ended up not taking the case; a few months later, he was arrested and guess what!!?? He did it and then some. Other than the evidence that buried him, there was no initial clue that he was a fire bug. Just a nice, average guy that liked to set fires and leave.
The story is masterful, and she is one of the most successful authors in her genre, but the characters are cardboard, they go up in flames in more ways than one. If you forgive the pun that dies and is resurrected into analogy, the characters are just fuel for the flames. They go up like Birdie, the hapless celluloid doll set on fire and murdered by the evil, but gorgeous Marchpane in Godden’s The Dolls’ House, or like the little paper ballerina who immolates herself on the remains of Hans Christian Anderson’s “Brave Tin Soldiers.”
For years, my closest friends, also mystery fiends have urged me to read Johansen. After a windfall of books that included one of her novels came my way, I eagerly picked up the book.
The first chapter reminded me of the opening scene of Legal Eagles, which is one of my favorite movies. A young girl awakes to fire, a horrible fire, and loses her mother. Fast forward and years later, she is an arson investigator, who is a little psychic. Shades of Medium, another favorite, albeit on TV.
We meet the murderer/rogue govt. agent/arsonist from the beginning. So, we don’t wonder about “Who done it?” Yet, as the novel progresses, it is the violence and the fiery murders that become the real characters and runaway with the action.
The murder’s motives are not convincing; he isn’t the kind of pyromaniac I met up with in my days of working in law offices. In fact, some of them are pretty unassuming. I sat in a locked conference room facing one down, and I asked point blank, “did you do it?” Oh, no, of course not!” he insisted, all innocent and doe-eyed. We ended up not taking the case; a few months later, he was arrested and guess what!!?? He did it and then some. Other than the evidence that buried him, there was no initial clue that he was a fire bug. Just a nice, average guy that liked to set fires and leave.
The story is masterful, and she is one of the most successful authors in her genre, but the characters are cardboard, they go up in flames in more ways than one. If you forgive the pun that dies and is resurrected into analogy, the characters are just fuel for the flames. They go up like Birdie, the hapless celluloid doll set on fire and murdered by the evil, but gorgeous Marchpane in Godden’s The Dolls’ House, or like the little paper ballerina who immolates herself on the remains of Hans Christian Anderson’s “Brave Tin Soldiers.”
December 6, 2018
I was intrigued by this book by its description of featuring arson investigator, Kerry, and her dog, Sam, on the hunt for a ruthless killer, and I'm a sucker for working dog books. Turns out Sam is a sham and it's Kerry who has the ability to figure out what's going on with these fires. Don't worry, that's not a spoiler of the whole book, Johansen makes it clear in the first few pages that Sam is an ordinary shelter rescue who Kerry uses as a cover to hide her special talent. Overall though, Sam doesn't really have much of a role in the book beyond the first couple fires they go to investigate because the plot turns to tracking down the killer, and mystery man Brad Silver enters the picture.
Silver's talents are similar to Kerry's, and Silver knows exactly who the killer is and why he's setting the fires but needs Kerry's help in predicting where he'll strike next.
While I enjoyed the hunt for the killer, I felt the book bordered too much on the supernatural and the explanation for why Kerry and Silver share so much in common and how they got that way seemed vague. Plus, too much of the book focused on Silver trying to help Kerry harness her talent and Kerry resisting his help at every turn that I felt the underlying issue of stopping people from dying in fires was getting pushed aside. I do like some of Johansen's books, but I'm not sure I'd choose another featuring Kerry and Silver because I expect it would follow along the same lines.
Silver's talents are similar to Kerry's, and Silver knows exactly who the killer is and why he's setting the fires but needs Kerry's help in predicting where he'll strike next.
While I enjoyed the hunt for the killer, I felt the book bordered too much on the supernatural and the explanation for why Kerry and Silver share so much in common and how they got that way seemed vague. Plus, too much of the book focused on Silver trying to help Kerry harness her talent and Kerry resisting his help at every turn that I felt the underlying issue of stopping people from dying in fires was getting pushed aside. I do like some of Johansen's books, but I'm not sure I'd choose another featuring Kerry and Silver because I expect it would follow along the same lines.
June 19, 2020
Another book I read months ago and am just now reviewing, and given my goldfish memory of course some of the details blur.. but I recall liking this one a surprising amount. It could be a bit clearer on a few points (spoilers)- exactly how the fire starting thing works and Kelly’s psychic stuff- but those are reallly minor points. The bigger issue is the back and forth between Kerry and Silver- it’s well done at first, but eventually becomes tiring. At a certain point I get it, there are very realistic fears in regards to Silver’s powers- but the plot has moved ahead to a point where the action should take precedence and you still have these same back and forth arguments. The psychology of it makes sense, but from a pacing perspective- I’d rather see one or two big blowups that get resolved so the plot can progress, and instead it’s like the plot progresses despite these two being gridlocked in argument and indecision.
..and that’s my only major complaint, the only thing keeping this from being a 5 star thriller. Some of the characterization was a bit cloying, didn’t stop this from being a very enjoyable read overall. If the psychic thing throws you off- it’s not overdone, you don’t have to suspend disbelief too much. For me the standard is just “did it work for this story” and in this case, yes, 100% imo. Fun book, a bit different from the norm- like a cop thriller for Stephen king fans or something, idk, but I know I liked the end result.
..and that’s my only major complaint, the only thing keeping this from being a 5 star thriller. Some of the characterization was a bit cloying, didn’t stop this from being a very enjoyable read overall. If the psychic thing throws you off- it’s not overdone, you don’t have to suspend disbelief too much. For me the standard is just “did it work for this story” and in this case, yes, 100% imo. Fun book, a bit different from the norm- like a cop thriller for Stephen king fans or something, idk, but I know I liked the end result.
March 19, 2023
I found this tropey and sexist. It was more romance than anything else and I found the romance yikes.
Woman has traumatic past and magic powers she is partially accessing. So of course she needs a mentor. A domineering, emotionally abusive pile of red flags wihout any emotional energy...."Yes, power was the key word to describe him....authority....confidence...dominant...less than handsome...frowning..." (28)
At first I thought maybe I could enjoy the plot if I just ignored Silver as much as possible. He irritated and triggered me. But the other male characters were yikes too. There are female characters. Like the two Hispanic little girls who are victims to be protected and saved so that...."I owed you. I don't want a free ride. I'm good at cleaning and cooking..." (p320)
Gah!
Kerry could be cool but she is constantly described as "high value" to Silver and "maternal" and that ends up all she is. She is loyal to men in her familyy even though...there's a spoiler there which made me enjoy this even less. Silver constantly invades her and then gaslights her "Hush" (p 242)...."Shh, think about it later" (p 242)
But of course she has to fall in love with him because "He was everything that was prickly and rude and dominating and life with him would never be the normalcy she'd craved all these years" ( p318) Oh yeah perfectly understandable.
Eyes rolling so badly I better schedule a visit to my optometrist.
Woman has traumatic past and magic powers she is partially accessing. So of course she needs a mentor. A domineering, emotionally abusive pile of red flags wihout any emotional energy...."Yes, power was the key word to describe him....authority....confidence...dominant...less than handsome...frowning..." (28)
At first I thought maybe I could enjoy the plot if I just ignored Silver as much as possible. He irritated and triggered me. But the other male characters were yikes too. There are female characters. Like the two Hispanic little girls who are victims to be protected and saved so that...."I owed you. I don't want a free ride. I'm good at cleaning and cooking..." (p320)
Gah!
Kerry could be cool but she is constantly described as "high value" to Silver and "maternal" and that ends up all she is. She is loyal to men in her familyy even though...there's a spoiler there which made me enjoy this even less. Silver constantly invades her and then gaslights her "Hush" (p 242)...."Shh, think about it later" (p 242)
But of course she has to fall in love with him because "He was everything that was prickly and rude and dominating and life with him would never be the normalcy she'd craved all these years" ( p318) Oh yeah perfectly understandable.
Eyes rolling so badly I better schedule a visit to my optometrist.
January 31, 2025
Kerry Murphy & Brad Silver
Okay, to say I wasn't expecting the supernatural element is an understatement. I didn't see that coming at all. I just thought she had a good fire dog (is that they right way to say it?) and Silver was going to be some mysterious dude that knew who was causing the fires or possibly the arson.
Come to find out after Kerry was in a coma as a child, she ends up with these abilities that her father basically writes off as her being delusional. The dog, although a great dog, is a beard. When Brad comes on the scene it is kind of creepily, so he was definitely suspect. His thoughts at first didn't make it seem like he had Kerry's best interest in mind.
Something happens that persuades Kerry to work with him and they try to figure out the crazy man's next moves.
It was not a dull moment, and we even got into the crazy man's mind. I probably should just say killer, because he did kill people with his fire. Not only was the plot with the killer filled with ongoing suspense, but there was a gap in Kerry's memory from when her mother was killed years ago, and that memory is going to reveal a devastating secret.
Okay, to say I wasn't expecting the supernatural element is an understatement. I didn't see that coming at all. I just thought she had a good fire dog (is that they right way to say it?) and Silver was going to be some mysterious dude that knew who was causing the fires or possibly the arson.
Come to find out after Kerry was in a coma as a child, she ends up with these abilities that her father basically writes off as her being delusional. The dog, although a great dog, is a beard. When Brad comes on the scene it is kind of creepily, so he was definitely suspect. His thoughts at first didn't make it seem like he had Kerry's best interest in mind.
Something happens that persuades Kerry to work with him and they try to figure out the crazy man's next moves.
It was not a dull moment, and we even got into the crazy man's mind. I probably should just say killer, because he did kill people with his fire. Not only was the plot with the killer filled with ongoing suspense, but there was a gap in Kerry's memory from when her mother was killed years ago, and that memory is going to reveal a devastating secret.
May 24, 2025
So Firestorm, yes, now that I have moved the first review which was about the wrong book, I can write a bit about this one. It was an interesting book but I sure hope to heck it can't become reality. And the antagonist is a real piece of work. I liked the protagonist characters. It was good to get to know them because they were sane people with problematic psychic attributes. But the killer was a whole different story. I also have to say that it seems to me that this book is actually more science fiction than mystery or adventure. I think this falls into the category of science unlikely but not fun like fantasy. or maybe evil science fictional fantasy. Unless there have been advances in psy power that I am unaware of. Now that I am thinking about it I am reminded a bit of the people with the psy powers on Babylon 5. In any case I enjoyed reading it but was glad when it was done.
However since I like science fiction I may check out more of Johansen's books to see if the other titles that appear to be of the same nature deal with science fictional topics like this one.
However since I like science fiction I may check out more of Johansen's books to see if the other titles that appear to be of the same nature deal with science fictional topics like this one.
October 15, 2019
Ok this is an intense but good book..in this one u know who did it..along with why he was killing people but u never knew where or how so to speak he was getting past the secret service people etc..so Kerry(who has physic abilities but doesn't believe in them) and Brad Silver have to work together to stop a madman named Trask who created a highly dangerous weapon called Fires Storm which is a very scary thing he can kill people and wipe out areas with a flick of his little remote and it will set fires that are so hot there is no time for fire department to get there and stop it..Silver loses his brother to this mad man and it was horrifiying to him so he want him bad and also Silver is what they call a controllar in the physic world so he helps Kerry with her physic ablites when she finds she can link her mind to Traks and find out stuff also he help her discover who killed her mother when she was a kid..was sad anyways good book
August 13, 2018
Overview: Kerry Murphy has had a connection to fire since she was a young child, that’s about to become her biggest asset. It turns out that there’s someone else who has not only a strong connection to fire, but also connections to some hostile governments. You know, Kerry really wanted nothing to do with this jerk, nor the man hunting him. It doesn’t appear like she has much of a choice.
Dislikes: Kerry’s family life leaves much to be desired, to say the very least. And the romantic angle of the story bugs me a little. This is mostly caused by what Kerry and Silver’ abilities pertain to.
Likes: I appreciate how the sexual tension was handled in the novel. Also George was one of the best parts of the story.
Conclusion: This is a good story, just as long as you don’t take it too seriously. Such is the beauty of the so-called beach reads.
Dislikes: Kerry’s family life leaves much to be desired, to say the very least. And the romantic angle of the story bugs me a little. This is mostly caused by what Kerry and Silver’ abilities pertain to.
Likes: I appreciate how the sexual tension was handled in the novel. Also George was one of the best parts of the story.
Conclusion: This is a good story, just as long as you don’t take it too seriously. Such is the beauty of the so-called beach reads.
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