Lynne Connolly’s review of Into the Fire (Troubleshooters, Book 13) by Suzanne Brockmann
Contemporary Romance hardcover released by Random House 22 Jul 08

‘Into the Fire’ is Suzanne Brockmann’s latest Troubleshooters/Team 16 book and as it’s a great read. I wrote this review before I saw the one by Laura D, and it’s really interesting to see the differences between our views of the book.

Vinh Murphy disappeared after a sniper took his beloved wife down, years before. Now he’s back, newly sober and ready to discover what’s left after that devastation. Best friend Hannah, now deaf after an infection in her leg went badly wrong, is waiting to help. She’s been in love with Murphy for years, only he doesn’t quite realise it. For that matter, he doesn’t believe in himself.

Also in the mix is Izzy Zanella of the SEALs, and the daughter of one of his colleagues, Danny Gillman, who Izzy calls “fishboy.” Although Izzy didn’t get Danny’s eighteen year old sister pregnant, he wants to look after her and make sure she gets the care she needs in her pregnancy. But Izzy and Eden might just have a shot at a relationship, not just a way to get Eden the health benefits she needs.

Add to that an explosive plot. Tim Ebersole, leader of the Freedom Network, who were behind the hit on Murphy and his wife, is dead and the Network, a Waco style extremist group, is about to appoint a new leader. But they want to tidy up some loose ends, a move that slowly escalates through the book to an explosive ending and one that leaves a fascinating thread at the end that I for one am gagging for. If her next book isn’t about it, I might just take a trip to ask her why not.

I wouldn’t advise anyone new to the Teams to start here, as it contains characters you’ve already met and may have an investment in. Having said that, I’d say ‘ read this.’ Suz Brockmann shows people how to write grown up romances. Characters with names like Tom, Dave, Danny and Jimmy people her books. No vampires, no Dantes or Gabriels, no deus ex machina to appear in the final act, wave a wand and make everything all right.

These people live hard and occasionally suffer hard. You feel they are real. Murphy doesn’t bounce back after his wife’s death. One couple in the book, paired up in a previous novel, don’t have their happy ending, and another are still working their way towards theirs. You see, there is a cast of characters and you do have to work a bit to remember, but it’s so worth it.

Brockmann is superb at delineating character. You know who she is talking about and you can visualise them. You get a multitude of pov’s, all of whom are there because they need to be there, not because she wants to put them in.

I loved it and I can’t wait for the next one. If you want a book with explosive action, some really heartbreaking scenes and some heartwarming ones too, you can’t go far wrong with Brockmann.

Grade: B

Summary:

Vinh Murphy-ex-Marine and onetime operative for the elite security firm Troubleshooters Incorporated-has been MIA ever since his wife, Angelina, was caught in a crossfire and killed during what should have been a routine bodyguard assignment. Overcome with grief, Murphy blames the neo-Nazi group known as the Freedom Network for her death. Now, years later, Freedom Network leader Tim Ebersole has been murdered-and the FBI suspects Murphy may have pulled the trigger. To prevent further bloodshed, Murphy’s friends at Troubleshooters scramble to find him and convince him to surrender peacefully.

Murphy himself can’t be sure what he did or didn’t do during the years he spent mourning and lost in an alcohol-induced fog. He does know he occasionally sought solace from Hannah Whitfield, a former police officer and the very friend who’d introduced him to his beloved late wife.

But Hannah, still grappling with the deafness that resulted from an injury sustained while on duty, was fighting her own battles. For years Hannah had feelings for Murphy, and one painful night their suffering brought them together in a way neither expected-and both regretted.

Murphy is ready to rejoin the living. As always, he finds himself knocking on Hannah’s door, and as always, his longtime friend welcomes him back into her home. Yet even as Murphy slowly rebuilds his splintered life, hecontinues to fight his growing feelings for Hannah.

Then he learns of Ebersole’s murder and comes to believe that the Freedom Network has targeted him-and Hannah-to avenge their leader’s death to violence. Now Murphy must face the terrifying prospect of losing another woman he loves.

As the Troubleshooters desperately search for him, Murphy races toward a deadly confrontation with the Freedom Network and ultimate choice: surrender his life in hopes that Hannah will be spared, or risk everything to salvage whatever future they may have together.

Read an excerpt.