Sandy M’s review of Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
Contemporary Romance published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons 12 Apr 11
I picked up this hardcover at my local Friends of the Library book sale, and I’m so very happy I did. I knew i wouldn’t be disappointed because, hey, it’s Nora Roberts. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed her romantic suspense over the last several years, and while I had no doubt this story from 2011 would be good, I held judgment because her works eight years later are her best ever. But my doubts were waylaid with the very first page.
Rowan Tripp is a second-generation smoke jumper, following in her father’s gigantic footsteps in Zulies history, and the Montana wild land is her home away from home. It’s been just her and her dad against the world for most of her life, after her mom took off years before. She’s a strong and independent woman, has her own sense of right from wrong, and would give everything for her fellow jumpers. Her latest season is just starting, training the new recruits first up.
Hotshot Gulliver Curry is out for a new adventure, going from firefighter to smoke jumper. He’s also very good at what he does, and even jumping out of a plane doesn’t slow him down. He’s drawn to Rowan right out of the gate during his training, and from the beginning their rapport and repartee is fun and sexy and follows throughout the book – even when evil has entered their midst. Gully is the perfect man for Rowan – patient and calm to her just-under-the-surface anger, though she’s an A-number-one jumper and line boss.
That evil I mentioned begins early with the return of a cook who disappeared after the father of her child, another jumper, died during a run the season before. She blames everyone for his death, especially Rowan because the man was her partner that day. But after a couple of off-the-wall attempts at scaring Rowan, following scary events become elevated and more twisted, thus leading you along a path that is not what it seems. I had a bit of an inkling as to the true villain pretty early on, something I usually never do, so was surprised when my guess turned out correct. Very sad it turns out the way it does.
I always enjoy Nora’s research on whatever topic she uses as a backdrop for her books. This time around, going through the actual jumps into fires by these characters, then being surrounded by fire as they fight for all they’re worth every time out, is terrifically done – you can hear the snap and roar of the flames and feel the heat leap off the page as it advances or unexpectedly shifts on them.
Another great story from Ms. Roberts. I’m going to be hunting up some of her older books like this one, just because I know I won’t be disappointed and will have an out-and-out enjoyable read. Especially after the bit of disappointment I’ve had from other authors over the last year. Nora Roberts can definitely heal the disappointment that ails me from time to time.
Grade: A
Summary:
There’s little as thrilling as firefighting–at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are in Rowan’s blood: her father is a legend. She’s been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home–even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering.
Fortunately, this year’s rookie crop is one of the strongest ever–and Gulliver Curry’s one of the best. He’s also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kids’ arcade.
Everything is thrown off balance when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year’s tragedy. Rowan knows she can’t complicate things with Gull–any distractions in the air or on the ground could mean the end–but if she doesn’t find someone she can lean on, she may not make it through the summer. . . .
No excerpt available.
