Another CFBA Weekend Tour starts today with Shawn Grady’s first novel Through the Fire. I had only a couple days to read the novel, but it was well worth the hustle.
Aidan O’Neill, known to fellow firefighters as A-O, is carrying a grudge, some guilt, a suspicion, and an attitude to every fire where he’s assigned. Tempted to be a cowboy and a hero in his methods at fire scenes, he often succumbs to that temptation. He maintains a grudge against God for allowing his father to die in a fire while secretly blaming himself for the event which caused his death. His suspicion continues to reason that certain occurrences in that fire don’t add up, and that just maybe his father was murdered. His attitude screams I can do it all, and the fire can’t get me.
His friend, Blake Williams, is a fire inspector who’s been passed over for promotion more than once which doesn’t come into play until later in the story, but Blake has been collaborating with Aidan in his spare time to attempt to discover who might’ve tried to kill Aidan’s father.
When Aidan’s cowboy efforts cause the serious injury of a young probie, he is suspended for two weeks without pay. Instead of hanging around and feeling the tremendous burden of having a fellow firefighter in the hospital because of his actions added to the untimely breakup with his longtime fiancée Christine, he takes off for Baja to accept an invitation from his dad’s brother who was once a fireman, Uncle Cormac, to spend some time at his “estate”. Once there he nearly dies after rescuing a child from the ocean but then receives a call to return to his Station because of the magnitude of chaos with an arsonist.
Since Shawn himself is a veteran firefighter, Through the Fire is authentic, suspenseful, and written with a distinct voice I fully enjoyed. As is the case with Tom Morrisey, Shawn Grady doesn't talk down to the reader. He uses the language of his profession and sends us down the pole and duck walking into the smoke. He put in several stratagems to keep us guessing who the perpetrator of such heinous destruction might actually be, and he added romantic tension to keep it interesting but never let the brief relationship encounters overshadow or overcome the meat of the story.
Well done for a first effort. Great voice and clever methods used in telling the tale. Every author has his quirks. If I had to point out one thing I thought was overdone, it would be the use of many instances of multi-colorful description. I'm sure the author had his reasons, and if that's the only point I can find to slightly bug me, it's totally insignificant.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764205951
Father, I pray for Shawn’s safety every time he faces the flames of the beast. Bless him with your divine protection and let the fire speak to him. Continue to give him stories to tell and bless all endeavors done in obedience and service to you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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