I must have been attracted by the word "fire" in the title, as the historical novel I'm now writing begins with a fire. But, this book confused me at times. There were so many characters and so many locations, it took me three to four chapters to figure out who was who. I paid for the book, so I kept reading.
A violent houseboat explosion rocks the sleepy lakeside community of Baxter. Friends and neighbor's watch in horror as an entire family is lost, or so it seems. But have all the McConnells perished? Is head of household Mike McConnell still alive and hiding in an empty house on the lake? A manhunt ensues with the FBI called in as Mike runs from state-to-state.
Nobody wants to know the truth more than Jed Wilson, Mike's best friend. Jed leaves the wife he was forced to marry many years ago when she got pregnant and trys to out run the FBI, looking for Mike. Through a series of very unlikely circumstances, Jed does find Mike who's now got a menial job in a church in the state of Washington. The plot twists border on unbelievable, so much so, that the author relies heavily on divine intervention, but then two of her characters are actually angels sent from heaven.
The end of the book was far better than its beginning. The story of redemption that finally played out was touching. Mike is saved. Jed becomes close to his estranged wife through phone calls while on the road in search of Mike, as they realize they've both found the Lord.
