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Heaven's Fury
New York Times bestselling author Stephen Frey thrills readers with the mesmerizing tale of a small-town sheriff who must confront the worst violence that man and nature possess. Bruner, Wisconsin, is really two different towns. On one side are the magnificent summer estates of wealthy families who value their privacy and privilege above all else. A few miles away, but a world apart, are the homes of the working men and women who cook, clean, and tend to the needs of the summer visitors. It’s a place of staggering natural beauty, but where death can come unexpectedly and with no regard for a person’s bank account or family tree. A place of steadfast loyalties and friendships, but where the long and brutal winter can make even the most intimate friends turn on each other with frightening intensity.
This is the place where Sheriff Paul Summers finds himself grasping for answers when the wild, unpredictable woman who captured his heart years ago is discovered brutally and spectacularly murdered inside her family’s snowbound estate. As the last person to see her alive, and given his complicated history with the victim, Paul is not only lead investigator on the case but, in the eyes of many in Bruner, the prime suspect in her killing. Battling rumors of an evil cult’s being formed just outside of town, the disappearance of another citizen, and a wife whose grasp of reality is quickly slipping away, Paul must race to find the true guilty party before a massive winter storm leaves them all cut off from the outside world and at the mercy of a remorseless killer.
As the approaching storm gathers in intensity, so do the twists and turns that bring Paul ever closer to unraveling the big secrets that haunt this small town. In a stunning conclusion, Paul witnesses firsthand the startling power and beauty of heaven’s fury.
This is the place where Sheriff Paul Summers finds himself grasping for answers when the wild, unpredictable woman who captured his heart years ago is discovered brutally and spectacularly murdered inside her family’s snowbound estate. As the last person to see her alive, and given his complicated history with the victim, Paul is not only lead investigator on the case but, in the eyes of many in Bruner, the prime suspect in her killing. Battling rumors of an evil cult’s being formed just outside of town, the disappearance of another citizen, and a wife whose grasp of reality is quickly slipping away, Paul must race to find the true guilty party before a massive winter storm leaves them all cut off from the outside world and at the mercy of a remorseless killer.
As the approaching storm gathers in intensity, so do the twists and turns that bring Paul ever closer to unraveling the big secrets that haunt this small town. In a stunning conclusion, Paul witnesses firsthand the startling power and beauty of heaven’s fury.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 21, 2010
20 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Stephen W. Frey
28 books281 followersFor the last 15 years I’ve been lucky enough to be a novelist. Until recently the books were set in the worlds of Wall Street and Washington. In addition to writing, I’ve also had a career in finance with specialties including merger & acquisition advisory and private equity at firms like J.P. Morgan in New York City and Winston Partners just outside D.C. in northern Virginia.
So, it seemed natural to write about those two worlds and, fortunately, the publishing industry agreed. My first book was published in 1995, The Takeover; about a secret group of men who were trying to destroy the U.S. monetary system by engineering a massive corporate takeover. I have followed The Takeover with 13 more novels all set in high-level finance and national politics.
Recently, I decided to alter the theme. The novels will still have a financial focus, but Wall Street won’t be the backdrop. We’ll get out into the world more. And there will be a man versus nature element for the hero in every novel. Hell’s Gate, available August 2009, is set in Montana and involves forest fires and why many of them start.
I live in southwest Florida with my wife, Diana, and we have since 2004 after moving down here from northern Virginia. Given the new direction of my books, it seems like a hurricane ought to make an appearance in a novel sometime soon.
So, it seemed natural to write about those two worlds and, fortunately, the publishing industry agreed. My first book was published in 1995, The Takeover; about a secret group of men who were trying to destroy the U.S. monetary system by engineering a massive corporate takeover. I have followed The Takeover with 13 more novels all set in high-level finance and national politics.
Recently, I decided to alter the theme. The novels will still have a financial focus, but Wall Street won’t be the backdrop. We’ll get out into the world more. And there will be a man versus nature element for the hero in every novel. Hell’s Gate, available August 2009, is set in Montana and involves forest fires and why many of them start.
I live in southwest Florida with my wife, Diana, and we have since 2004 after moving down here from northern Virginia. Given the new direction of my books, it seems like a hurricane ought to make an appearance in a novel sometime soon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
December 20, 2012
Everything in this story depends on the ending. The author is going for a noir feel, and does okay at it, but that means we need a powerful ending to make many of the details feel less silly. Unfortunately, the book ends with the Wayne's World "Scooby Doo" ending and a logic hole so big you can fly a 747 through it. Really makes the whole thing kind of laughable. I've read worse, but I won't be looking to read this again.
November 6, 2011
This book bounced back and forth between interesting and annoying, making me wish it would end but still have enough of a spark of hope left that I wouldn't just quit listening. OK mystery, but the characters all left me wanting for development and feeling they were all a little schizophrenic with how much they flip flopped around.
March 6, 2015
This was a decent story with a really good narration. The story was rather predictable however, something about the author's writing style kept my interest. Although I liked the main character well enough, I found myself getting irritated with him time and time again. He contradicted himself quite frequently especially where his best friend and trust issues were a concern. All in all it was decent...3 1/2 stars...the narration gave it a boost. It was read by Michael McConnohie.I'd be willing to delve into another Frey story.
October 5, 2015
It takes a lot for me to put down a book I start. It REALLY takes a lot for me to put down a book after 200 pages. However, this book got to a point where I couldn’t take any more.
There are 3 things that I look for in a novel: 1) plot twists and turns. 2) Likeable or unlikable characters and 3) good writing. “Heaven’s Fury” had NONE of these.
The book started out…okay. Decent. Mediocre. But after reading 200 pages of 308, I had had enough. The story went nowhere, I could care less what happened and I pretty much hated every character in the book.
PLOT TWISTS: With the exception of one surprise somewhat early on, there was nothing unexpected, no ‘oh wow’ moments. Just very boring.
CHARACTERS: This is a big one for me. I like books that have
identifying with the characters. I want to like the good guy and despise the bad guy. I want to be able to relate to people, to feel for them on some level and to feel like I have a vested interest in the outcome.
The characters were all so annoying, especially the protagonist, Paul Summers. I cant recall ever reading a novel where our hero was such a worthless despicable human being. He is very snippy and curt with townspeople. He’s not a very bright detective. He seems to have anger management problems. He has no personality. Worst of all is the fact he comes off—to me anyway—as an abusive husband.
Granted, his wife is a real pain in the a**. However, early on, they get into an argument and our “hero” responds by pulling his gun, pointing it at her head and threatening to kill her. Later, they get into another argument and this time he responds by throwing her to the floor and tying her up. Ahh, yes, who doesn’t love a mentally unstable protagonist who abuses his wife.
Oh, and not to sound all holier-than-thou, but he also cheated on his wife. Class act.
There is no consistency at all to the characters in this book or to the relationship they have. Paul’s best friend is some dude named Bear. Bear and Paul have been friends for 25 years. Bear has saved Paul’s life on two separate occasions. Bear, Paul mentions, is like a brother to him. Yet, Paul is pretty sure Bear is sleeping with his wife. HUH??? If your best friend was boinking your wife, would you still feel he is like a brother?
The wife—cant even recall her name—is mentally unstable or so it seems. There is no rhyme or reason to her personality which changes on a dime. At first, she is insecure in her marriage and hates her husband. They never have sex. Suddenly, she is loving, caring, cooking his favorite meals and strutting around naked or in revealing lingerie. In one scene, wearing lingerie, she cooks him a meal and then sits on his lap and starts feeding him. Suddenly, for no reason, as she is feeding him, she shoves the fork deep into his mouth, nearly choking him. Out of the blue and for no reason. What doe sour hero do? He throws her off his lap, then has sex with her.
Our hero has no problem being rude to people and even physically
violent. When a lawyer calls his wife a whore, he reacts by throwing the guy across his desk, and then throws him against the wall and begins choking him. (Wow, I’d sure love a small town sheriff like this, wouldn’t you?) So, our hero throws lawyers around, tosses his wife around, in two other scenes puts his life at risk in shootouts.
However, he is too afraid to stand up to Mrs. Ericksen, his secretary who is the town gossip and consistently hindering his investigation.
Add to this the usual cast of stereotypical characters: the shady politician with his eyes on the White House, the friendly gas station attendant, the smug, pompous wealthy guy, the Native American woman who is one of the best trackers in the state, and so on and so on.
STYLE: Granted, this is subjective. I’m not sure if Mr. Frey’s other novels—which appear to be a different genre—are written like this. But this is one of the worst written books I’ve ever read. Again, this is just my opinion.
Never have I read a novel with so much time and so many words devoted to the weather. Even ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, in which weather plays an important role, didn’t dedicate as many pages to the weather as this book. It’s Wisconsin. It’s winter. It’s cold. It snows a lot. We get that. But Mr. Frey spent roughly at least 2-3 paragraphs every 4-5 pages explaining the weather, the cold temperatures, etc…
I also never read a book where so much time is devoted to physical location. It’s not really necessary to repeatedly explain over and over and over which highway goes where, why this highway is a better road than the other highway even though the other highway is less congested but the first highway takes a more circuitous route while offering prettier scenery. UGH!
At times this felt like a novel turned into the Weather Channel turned into written word of Google Maps.
I also was shocked at how this small town sheriff repeatedly went into
residences and homes illegally wthout probably cause or a search warrant.
Also, it gets old when seemingly every woman in town tries to seduce him and every man worships the ground he walks on. In the case of James Bond in the 60’s, ok. In the case of Paul Summers? No
***Spoiler***
Cindy is Paul’s former girlfriend who now shows up back in town. He immediately realizes he has always loved her, that he’s never stopped loving her, that he should have married her instead of his wife and that she is ‘the one that got away.’ (We’re really not sure why. The ‘love’ seems to be only physical since Paul only tells us how sexy and beautiful she is, nothing about a connection or anything they have in common. Perhaps it’s the fact she keeps trying to seduce him but okay.) As a matter of fact, on one hand Paul tells us this while also realizing Cindy is a habitual liar and plays with people. At one point, Paul, after cheating on his wife and sleeping with Cindy, claims that he will leave his wife if she agrees to leave her husband. He obviously loves her (for some reason.) Then, Cindy is found brutally murdered.
And Paul? Does he cry? Is he sad? Is he remorseful? Does he miss her? Is he hellbent on avenging her death and moving heaven and hell to find her killer? Nope, not really. Cindy’s dead and Paul never thinks of her again.
***end spoiler***
This was the first Frey book I’ve ever read. It will definitely be the last. This book—the characters, the storyline and the writing—were all awful. This was one of the worst books I’ve read in a very long time.
One star is one star too many
There are 3 things that I look for in a novel: 1) plot twists and turns. 2) Likeable or unlikable characters and 3) good writing. “Heaven’s Fury” had NONE of these.
The book started out…okay. Decent. Mediocre. But after reading 200 pages of 308, I had had enough. The story went nowhere, I could care less what happened and I pretty much hated every character in the book.
PLOT TWISTS: With the exception of one surprise somewhat early on, there was nothing unexpected, no ‘oh wow’ moments. Just very boring.
CHARACTERS: This is a big one for me. I like books that have
identifying with the characters. I want to like the good guy and despise the bad guy. I want to be able to relate to people, to feel for them on some level and to feel like I have a vested interest in the outcome.
The characters were all so annoying, especially the protagonist, Paul Summers. I cant recall ever reading a novel where our hero was such a worthless despicable human being. He is very snippy and curt with townspeople. He’s not a very bright detective. He seems to have anger management problems. He has no personality. Worst of all is the fact he comes off—to me anyway—as an abusive husband.
Granted, his wife is a real pain in the a**. However, early on, they get into an argument and our “hero” responds by pulling his gun, pointing it at her head and threatening to kill her. Later, they get into another argument and this time he responds by throwing her to the floor and tying her up. Ahh, yes, who doesn’t love a mentally unstable protagonist who abuses his wife.
Oh, and not to sound all holier-than-thou, but he also cheated on his wife. Class act.
There is no consistency at all to the characters in this book or to the relationship they have. Paul’s best friend is some dude named Bear. Bear and Paul have been friends for 25 years. Bear has saved Paul’s life on two separate occasions. Bear, Paul mentions, is like a brother to him. Yet, Paul is pretty sure Bear is sleeping with his wife. HUH??? If your best friend was boinking your wife, would you still feel he is like a brother?
The wife—cant even recall her name—is mentally unstable or so it seems. There is no rhyme or reason to her personality which changes on a dime. At first, she is insecure in her marriage and hates her husband. They never have sex. Suddenly, she is loving, caring, cooking his favorite meals and strutting around naked or in revealing lingerie. In one scene, wearing lingerie, she cooks him a meal and then sits on his lap and starts feeding him. Suddenly, for no reason, as she is feeding him, she shoves the fork deep into his mouth, nearly choking him. Out of the blue and for no reason. What doe sour hero do? He throws her off his lap, then has sex with her.
Our hero has no problem being rude to people and even physically
violent. When a lawyer calls his wife a whore, he reacts by throwing the guy across his desk, and then throws him against the wall and begins choking him. (Wow, I’d sure love a small town sheriff like this, wouldn’t you?) So, our hero throws lawyers around, tosses his wife around, in two other scenes puts his life at risk in shootouts.
However, he is too afraid to stand up to Mrs. Ericksen, his secretary who is the town gossip and consistently hindering his investigation.
Add to this the usual cast of stereotypical characters: the shady politician with his eyes on the White House, the friendly gas station attendant, the smug, pompous wealthy guy, the Native American woman who is one of the best trackers in the state, and so on and so on.
STYLE: Granted, this is subjective. I’m not sure if Mr. Frey’s other novels—which appear to be a different genre—are written like this. But this is one of the worst written books I’ve ever read. Again, this is just my opinion.
Never have I read a novel with so much time and so many words devoted to the weather. Even ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, in which weather plays an important role, didn’t dedicate as many pages to the weather as this book. It’s Wisconsin. It’s winter. It’s cold. It snows a lot. We get that. But Mr. Frey spent roughly at least 2-3 paragraphs every 4-5 pages explaining the weather, the cold temperatures, etc…
I also never read a book where so much time is devoted to physical location. It’s not really necessary to repeatedly explain over and over and over which highway goes where, why this highway is a better road than the other highway even though the other highway is less congested but the first highway takes a more circuitous route while offering prettier scenery. UGH!
At times this felt like a novel turned into the Weather Channel turned into written word of Google Maps.
I also was shocked at how this small town sheriff repeatedly went into
residences and homes illegally wthout probably cause or a search warrant.
Also, it gets old when seemingly every woman in town tries to seduce him and every man worships the ground he walks on. In the case of James Bond in the 60’s, ok. In the case of Paul Summers? No
***Spoiler***
Cindy is Paul’s former girlfriend who now shows up back in town. He immediately realizes he has always loved her, that he’s never stopped loving her, that he should have married her instead of his wife and that she is ‘the one that got away.’ (We’re really not sure why. The ‘love’ seems to be only physical since Paul only tells us how sexy and beautiful she is, nothing about a connection or anything they have in common. Perhaps it’s the fact she keeps trying to seduce him but okay.) As a matter of fact, on one hand Paul tells us this while also realizing Cindy is a habitual liar and plays with people. At one point, Paul, after cheating on his wife and sleeping with Cindy, claims that he will leave his wife if she agrees to leave her husband. He obviously loves her (for some reason.) Then, Cindy is found brutally murdered.
And Paul? Does he cry? Is he sad? Is he remorseful? Does he miss her? Is he hellbent on avenging her death and moving heaven and hell to find her killer? Nope, not really. Cindy’s dead and Paul never thinks of her again.
***end spoiler***
This was the first Frey book I’ve ever read. It will definitely be the last. This book—the characters, the storyline and the writing—were all awful. This was one of the worst books I’ve read in a very long time.
One star is one star too many
August 5, 2014
I have so many conflicting emotions about this book. Overall, I liked it. However, and it's a BIG however, I'm so glad this guy isn't a real police officer. I'm glad he's just a made-up imaginary character. While I'm sure there is some police officer who resembles this guy, which is a scary thought, I'm glad in regards to this story that he's fictional. I'm not sure if it's just me, but did anyone else who read this think that this guy shouldn't be a cop? He just made mistake after mistake after mistake. I'm glad it turned out well for him, but it just seemed like he was just a bad cop. The story was interesting and it did hold my interest. There were so many people they set you up to think it could have been. It was interesting to find out the real bad guy at the end. I had my suspicions, and I was hoping it wasn't true. I think that makes for a good story teller. I'll try to check out more books by Stephen Frey and hope that the main character isn't as dumb as this one.
June 6, 2011
I like Frey's novels, but this one is a departure from the finance/political intrigues I've read earlier...here a sheriff in small northern Wisconsin rural county is dealing with either killings or something more sinister...interesting take on the some of the character of the people of the North Woods...as a "Cheesehead", I had difficulty with the "cultist" aspects, but there are some true facets...I had difficulty getting past a rudimentary error of; how a county sheriff, an elected position in WI, is appointed and under the thumb of a town council!!!OK read
September 1, 2012
In northern Wisconsin, a sheriff who has come to the end of his professional line gets caught in a love triangle and a series of murders that threaten his life. Its a good enough drama but the writing is pretty pedantic and overly dramatic. I have read other Stephen Frey novels and this is not his best
July 19, 2013
Such a manly man book. Is this really how men think, emote and view the world? Sheesh. As someone from Minnesota, there were quite a few laughable moments as Frey seemed to not understand the basic underpinnings of regional economies and knowledge, such as when our protagonist has to learn about the Iron Range and taconite from an expert engineer.
October 1, 2014
This is a Frey story that does not involve high finance. This story follows a Sheriff in a small town in Wisconsin who is investigating the murder of his lover. As he investigates her father believes that he may be behind it and he wonders if it involves a cult that is rumored to be in town. Okay read.
November 29, 2010
This is a departure from Frey's usual novel about murder, mystery and mayhem in the financial world. It was okay but I didn't care for the main character. I would have rated it lower but I really did like the last part of the book.
January 31, 2015
Book on tape. I liked the 1st person story from Sheriff Paul Summers. The author did well giving the reader almost enough to see the who-done-it ending. I didn't care for the reasoning for the cult's existence though... muddied the water and wasn't that plausible.
October 16, 2011
Liked his financial books better. The main character didn't attract my interest and suspension of dis-believe was difficult about both the cult and the relationships.
June 22, 2013
This would be a 2½ if we could give ½. The story was okay, but I wasn't crazy about the writing style. I felt like certain things were repeated a lot and other things were skipped over.
August 13, 2014
Uneven effort. Solid suspense, but could have been wrapped up earlier. Also got some of the Minneapolis-area geography details wrong, which annoyed me as a Twin Cities resident!
August 15, 2014
an okay story. Reminds me of the Longmire series
August 27, 2024
Stephen Frey made his name writing “corporate thrillers,” which is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. Yes, kids – the ‘90’s kinda sucked, as yuppies settled into middle age and decided the rest of us might want to read fiction based around their white-collar careers. Which the public did, as it turned out. So Frey wrote a bunch of books with very Grisham-y titles like “The Insider,” ‘The Takeover,” “Silent Partner,” etc. – none of which I plan to read. Cut to 2010, and the world of high finance is no longer glamorous and thrilling, so Frey decides to switch gears and try his hand at a rural murder mystery. Whether he was motivated by changes in the marketplace or just wanted to try something new, I can't say. My guess is the former - Frey is a businessman first. The resulting novel, "Heaven's Fury," is not impressive to say the least.
Our hero is Paul Summers, the sheriff of a remote outpost in northern Wisconsin. As a first-person narrator, Paul is constantly interrupting the story to tell us what a shrewd lawman he is, yet it’s apparent from the beginning that he’s a terrible judge of character. For example, he’s been infatuated for half his life with the daughter of a tycoon from one of the “River Families’ who treat the north country as their personal playground,” and it’s clear from the first time we meet Cindy that she’s a manipulative bitch, but Mr. I-Can-See-Inside-People’s-Heads is oblivious. Cindy winds up murdered in a stereotypically ritualistic fashion, and this forms the main plot of the book, moved along at a breathless pace by a small-town gossip network, Paul’s own marital problems, the dynamics of his relationship with his best friend and deputy Bear, and rumors of a cult of devil-worshipers sneaking around in the woods. Paul’s emotions careen from paranoia to serenity. Pretty early on, he finds some highly incriminating evidence that his wife Vivian is involved in Cindy’s murder, but when Vivian suddenly starts acting extra nice to him, he becomes less suspicious, not more. He’s forever telling us how he can’t trust anybody, then Vivian cooks him a decent meal for once and he’s saying how much he loves her and how glad he is that things are better between them. He can’t trust Bear, but after they have a hard talk that doesn’t actually resolve anything, he remembers that Bear saved his life twice. But of course, he’s been putting the pieces together all this time. And when he does – surprise! – the whole thing is really about a feud between two super-rich assholes, and everyone else is just a pawn in their game. When the end comes, it’s not exactly what you were expecting, but it’s not different enough to call it a “shocking climax” or a "stunning conclusion." It should be, but it's not.
There’s nothing really wrong with the writing. Frey can string a sentence together and describe the natural beauty and fierce weather of the Upper Midwest with proficiency. The actual plot is where “Heaven’s Fury” falls apart, despite his attempts to keep it moving along as fast as possible. He seems to know as much about police work as the average TV viewer, which he attempts to disguise by setting the story in a tiny, isolated town where the rules apply only loosely. His depiction of the cult sounds like something half-remembered from a Satanic Panic-era prime-time special, and its members are backwoods dirtballs from central casting circa 1984 – one of them even wears a jean jacket with a Whitesnake patch, or “White Snake” as Frey calls them. Paul himself is undercooked: we’re told of his trauma at witnessing his father’s suicide as a teenager, his anger-management issues, his troubled adulthood as failed-athlete-turned-cop, and the conflicts between the people barely scraping by in a rural area dominated by mostly absentee multimillionaires. Any or all of these themes could have added weight to the story, but none of them is developed very much at all. The story is littered with loose ends that get tossed aside, even including the cult itself; it's almost like Frey meant to follow them but just forgot in his rush to finish and get paid. And you know there’s a scene at the end where somebody holds a gun on Paul and says, “Before I kill you, Sheriff, I want to tell you something.” The most thought-out aspect of the story by far is the complex web of Cindy’s dad’s business dealings – not surprising when you remember the type of books Frey normally writes. "Heaven's Fury" is the definition of a cheap thriller: superficial, implausible crap.
Our hero is Paul Summers, the sheriff of a remote outpost in northern Wisconsin. As a first-person narrator, Paul is constantly interrupting the story to tell us what a shrewd lawman he is, yet it’s apparent from the beginning that he’s a terrible judge of character. For example, he’s been infatuated for half his life with the daughter of a tycoon from one of the “River Families’ who treat the north country as their personal playground,” and it’s clear from the first time we meet Cindy that she’s a manipulative bitch, but Mr. I-Can-See-Inside-People’s-Heads is oblivious. Cindy winds up murdered in a stereotypically ritualistic fashion, and this forms the main plot of the book, moved along at a breathless pace by a small-town gossip network, Paul’s own marital problems, the dynamics of his relationship with his best friend and deputy Bear, and rumors of a cult of devil-worshipers sneaking around in the woods. Paul’s emotions careen from paranoia to serenity. Pretty early on, he finds some highly incriminating evidence that his wife Vivian is involved in Cindy’s murder, but when Vivian suddenly starts acting extra nice to him, he becomes less suspicious, not more. He’s forever telling us how he can’t trust anybody, then Vivian cooks him a decent meal for once and he’s saying how much he loves her and how glad he is that things are better between them. He can’t trust Bear, but after they have a hard talk that doesn’t actually resolve anything, he remembers that Bear saved his life twice. But of course, he’s been putting the pieces together all this time. And when he does – surprise! – the whole thing is really about a feud between two super-rich assholes, and everyone else is just a pawn in their game. When the end comes, it’s not exactly what you were expecting, but it’s not different enough to call it a “shocking climax” or a "stunning conclusion." It should be, but it's not.
There’s nothing really wrong with the writing. Frey can string a sentence together and describe the natural beauty and fierce weather of the Upper Midwest with proficiency. The actual plot is where “Heaven’s Fury” falls apart, despite his attempts to keep it moving along as fast as possible. He seems to know as much about police work as the average TV viewer, which he attempts to disguise by setting the story in a tiny, isolated town where the rules apply only loosely. His depiction of the cult sounds like something half-remembered from a Satanic Panic-era prime-time special, and its members are backwoods dirtballs from central casting circa 1984 – one of them even wears a jean jacket with a Whitesnake patch, or “White Snake” as Frey calls them. Paul himself is undercooked: we’re told of his trauma at witnessing his father’s suicide as a teenager, his anger-management issues, his troubled adulthood as failed-athlete-turned-cop, and the conflicts between the people barely scraping by in a rural area dominated by mostly absentee multimillionaires. Any or all of these themes could have added weight to the story, but none of them is developed very much at all. The story is littered with loose ends that get tossed aside, even including the cult itself; it's almost like Frey meant to follow them but just forgot in his rush to finish and get paid. And you know there’s a scene at the end where somebody holds a gun on Paul and says, “Before I kill you, Sheriff, I want to tell you something.” The most thought-out aspect of the story by far is the complex web of Cindy’s dad’s business dealings – not surprising when you remember the type of books Frey normally writes. "Heaven's Fury" is the definition of a cheap thriller: superficial, implausible crap.
January 17, 2019
Very enjoyable and fast paced, excellent plot, and living not too far from where the story takes place, I had a good sense of the what the area looks like.
My only real issues with the story are the inconsistencies of the author when it comes to describing some locations. For example:
* he speaks of leaving Duluth, heading northeast back to Wisconsin, however, Wisconsin is southeast of Duluth. Anywhere northeast of Duluth is in Minnesota.
* he talks about Edina, an upscale suburb of Minneapolis having a small downtown, which it certainly does not. It's a city of about 50,000 people with several blocks of stores and restaurants, plus a movie theater in the middle of downtown. It's not a major city, true, but it's far from small.
* the author says that Edina has two lakes with large mansions surrounding it, and says that they are Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. These two lakes are absolutely stunning and are surrounded with scores of homes worth millions of dollars. But, they are in the city of Minneapolis, not Edina, which is to the west of the area. These lakes are a major draw for the region year-round, with trails for walkers, bikers, runners, and all kinds of water sports including windsurfing, canoeing, etc. Description is good, but location is off.
Otherwise, a very enjoyable read.
My only real issues with the story are the inconsistencies of the author when it comes to describing some locations. For example:
* he speaks of leaving Duluth, heading northeast back to Wisconsin, however, Wisconsin is southeast of Duluth. Anywhere northeast of Duluth is in Minnesota.
* he talks about Edina, an upscale suburb of Minneapolis having a small downtown, which it certainly does not. It's a city of about 50,000 people with several blocks of stores and restaurants, plus a movie theater in the middle of downtown. It's not a major city, true, but it's far from small.
* the author says that Edina has two lakes with large mansions surrounding it, and says that they are Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. These two lakes are absolutely stunning and are surrounded with scores of homes worth millions of dollars. But, they are in the city of Minneapolis, not Edina, which is to the west of the area. These lakes are a major draw for the region year-round, with trails for walkers, bikers, runners, and all kinds of water sports including windsurfing, canoeing, etc. Description is good, but location is off.
Otherwise, a very enjoyable read.
August 12, 2025
It was a quick read, and it did keep me pretty engaged. I appreciated the effort the author made to set up every character with weaknesses and suspicious details that could suggest they were involved in the crime.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand any of the characters. There wasn’t a single one I sympathized with. Cindy was a bit of a caricature of a wealthy entitled rich girl, the MMC did so many questionable things, and the side characters were all crazy. Except the gas station guy; I guess he was okay.
The ending felt rushed. I had guessed who the perpetrator was way earlier in the story, though I admit I didn’t guess the person who had ordered the crime. The happy ending for the main character was very trite and unbelievable, and I won’t give away what happened, but a tree branch? Really?
Also, it never answered the question of who had sent the fake email from Cindy to his wife a few days before the murder; that loose end bothered me.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand any of the characters. There wasn’t a single one I sympathized with. Cindy was a bit of a caricature of a wealthy entitled rich girl, the MMC did so many questionable things, and the side characters were all crazy. Except the gas station guy; I guess he was okay.
The ending felt rushed. I had guessed who the perpetrator was way earlier in the story, though I admit I didn’t guess the person who had ordered the crime. The happy ending for the main character was very trite and unbelievable, and I won’t give away what happened, but a tree branch? Really?
Also, it never answered the question of who had sent the fake email from Cindy to his wife a few days before the murder; that loose end bothered me.
December 2, 2017
I had a hard time with this one. I couldn't find a single character that I liked. I couldn't find one redeeming quality among them. The reason I stuck with it until the end was because I did enjoy the storyline and wanted to see how it all ended. Let's just say I was disappointed and leave it at that. I don't want to spoil it for anyone.
March 20, 2022
Excellent story and Mr. Frey really developed his characters in this one. Frey continued to pull me in and story development was excellent. The scenery description really enhanced the story. I would have given it 5 Stars except the ending/epilogue was too quickly closed. Maybe explain what happened to some of the characters that survived at the end.
November 24, 2018
I hate 1st person novels generally, and this 1st person is not a good one in general. When he tells us early on about his 6-pack abs I know the ride will be long. The plot didn't improve my opinion either.
May 28, 2020
Cheesy, over reaction by the characters. No surprises to speak of, figured out the ending before the ending.
However, it was very entertaining. That is what I read for, distraction, enjoyment and entertainment.
However, it was very entertaining. That is what I read for, distraction, enjoyment and entertainment.
March 13, 2022
This book has potential, but never quite reached it. Too much sex, for one thing. The characters never felt real - and I did not like either the sheriff or his wife…or, come to think of it, anybody else!
August 19, 2017
I liked the overall story line, but the relationship between the main character, Sheriff Paul Summers, and his wife Vivian is too weird for words. I listened to this on CD.
February 20, 2019
I really liked it, but maybe I'm just dumb, but the ending confused me.
May 20, 2019
2.5 stars
February 7, 2023
Loved this book!
March 10, 2023
I couldn't remember if I like this author. Started the book and I don't. Harlequin romance.... Probably appeals to somebody as he has written loads of books
September 11, 2023
I like the setting. The plot was good. The protagonist is a bit stiff, I could not connect to him. The dialogue did not feel real.
September 4, 2024
First time I’ve read one of his books. Kind of liked it. I’ll probably read another one of his books in the future.
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