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litwithleigh's review
4.0
4.5 rounded down
Writing: 5/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: 4/5
SYNOPSIS
A hostage situation + a missing person's case + an exposed undercover cop + a rookie fired on the first day determined to win her job back = Chaos!!!!!!
MY OPINION
OOOOHWEEE Candice Fox back with another winner!!! I gave the three books in her Crimson Lake series 5-stars each (why haven't you read it yet?????) so naturally I was pumped to get into this. And while it wasn't a perfect 5, it was damn near close and I will still be harassing everyone and their mom to read this.
Now usually I'm not a fan of mafia/gang storylines because they're always chucked in halfway through the book to thicken the plot; but in this case the Death Machines are introduced from the outset so you know what you're getting yourself into and can bail early if you'd like. Since I'm a fan of the wild ride Candice Fox takes me on, I bundled up my disbelief and yeeted it out the window.
This is such a bingeable read, which isn't something I say often. I dare you not to blitz through this in an afternoon. There's no way I could put this bad boy down. The pace is nonstop as we toggle between an active hostage situation (very unique as well!) and the unlikely partnership of Charles (exposed undercover copy) and Lamb (rookie who didn't make it past day 1) as they try to solve the missing child case. She definitely pulled a few ankle-breakers as well; had me convinced I knew who was doing what when I didn't have a clue in the end.
Like Crimson Lake, Candice does a great job developing unique and distinct characters. Saskia was the weakest of the main players tbh. But Charles and Lamb gave me Nick and Jess from New Girls vibes. Charles was like a super fit, more bad ass Nick Miller and Lamb was Jess — more gentle and a tad naive, but still can hold her own and has a heart of gold. And Surge... oh Surge. If you're familiar with Amanda from Crimson Lake, Surge was like an NBA-player sized male version. Love the colour he added to the story. I can't wait for more Hoss and Lamb adventures! Hopefully this series is more than three books.
The reason I rounded this down was because of some inconsistencies. I can't get into it without spoilers, but it was the type of inconsistencies that were conjured up to make sure the plot went in a specific direction. Also, I felt that the interspersed phone call transcripts felt... cheap in a way? I'm not sure why she chose this format other than the fact she didn't want to add to the page count by writing out the entire scene. It wasn't like Cara Hunter's use of mixed media, which is more robust and intentional — this was just... the bare minimum to get a point across. Regardless, READ THIS BOOK!!!!
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, loved Hoss and Lamb's characters and dynamic (lowkey shipping them), fast-paced, interesting hostage situation, funny, entertaining, bingeable, great cliffhanger ending
Cons: the scenes involving the Death Machines were a lil OTT tbh — giving me male author but it's minor, phone transcripts were an odd choice, some inconsistencies
____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
Writing: 5/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: 4/5
SYNOPSIS
A hostage situation + a missing person's case + an exposed undercover cop + a rookie fired on the first day determined to win her job back = Chaos!!!!!!
MY OPINION
OOOOHWEEE Candice Fox back with another winner!!! I gave the three books in her Crimson Lake series 5-stars each (why haven't you read it yet?????) so naturally I was pumped to get into this. And while it wasn't a perfect 5, it was damn near close and I will still be harassing everyone and their mom to read this.
Now usually I'm not a fan of mafia/gang storylines because they're always chucked in halfway through the book to thicken the plot; but in this case the Death Machines are introduced from the outset so you know what you're getting yourself into and can bail early if you'd like. Since I'm a fan of the wild ride Candice Fox takes me on, I bundled up my disbelief and yeeted it out the window.
This is such a bingeable read, which isn't something I say often. I dare you not to blitz through this in an afternoon. There's no way I could put this bad boy down. The pace is nonstop as we toggle between an active hostage situation (very unique as well!) and the unlikely partnership of Charles (exposed undercover copy) and Lamb (rookie who didn't make it past day 1) as they try to solve the missing child case. She definitely pulled a few ankle-breakers as well; had me convinced I knew who was doing what when I didn't have a clue in the end.
Like Crimson Lake, Candice does a great job developing unique and distinct characters. Saskia was the weakest of the main players tbh. But Charles and Lamb gave me Nick and Jess from New Girls vibes. Charles was like a super fit, more bad ass Nick Miller and Lamb was Jess — more gentle and a tad naive, but still can hold her own and has a heart of gold. And Surge... oh Surge. If you're familiar with Amanda from Crimson Lake, Surge was like an NBA-player sized male version. Love the colour he added to the story. I can't wait for more Hoss and Lamb adventures! Hopefully this series is more than three books.
The reason I rounded this down was because of some inconsistencies. I can't get into it without spoilers, but it was the type of inconsistencies that were conjured up to make sure the plot went in a specific direction. Also, I felt that the interspersed phone call transcripts felt... cheap in a way? I'm not sure why she chose this format other than the fact she didn't want to add to the page count by writing out the entire scene. It wasn't like Cara Hunter's use of mixed media, which is more robust and intentional — this was just... the bare minimum to get a point across. Regardless, READ THIS BOOK!!!!
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, loved Hoss and Lamb's characters and dynamic (lowkey shipping them), fast-paced, interesting hostage situation, funny, entertaining, bingeable, great cliffhanger ending
Cons: the scenes involving the Death Machines were a lil OTT tbh — giving me male author but it's minor, phone transcripts were an odd choice, some inconsistencies
____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
stephanierachel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tonijanereads's review
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Wow!
What started as a bit confusing ended up an amazing book. It starts with what feels like three or four different events that seem disjointed but come together really, really well.
A great story that left me wanting more.
What started as a bit confusing ended up an amazing book. It starts with what feels like three or four different events that seem disjointed but come together really, really well.
A great story that left me wanting more.
shanbles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Murder, Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
hed_o_'s review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
lizziepagereads's review
5.0
Fire With Fire is Candice Fox’s best book yet (and she’s written some good ones!). It checks all the usual 5-star boxes — strong writing, appropriate pacing, multi-dimensional characters — but where it really shines is the story itself. Fox creates a compelling mystery through clever plotting and meticulous attention to detail. There are clues scattered throughout the book to aid the reader in figuring out what really happened - she makes it difficult to discern between a red herring and a Chekhov’s gun, in the best way. Basically, Fire With Fire adheres to the narrative commandments of defective fiction, and in combination with its compelling plot, becomes a masterpiece. Highly recommend!
judithdcollins's review
5.0
The Aussie Queen of Crime fiction, bestselling author Candice Fox (a favorite author), returns following The Chase with her latest and one of her best, FIRE WITH FIRE —a high adrenaline riveting crime thriller— parents of a missing child take matters into their own hands, issuing an ultimatum to LA law enforcement.
Justice and Revenge. Tick Tock.
A pair of desperate parents.
A man on the run.
A rookie cop.
Four people with everything on the line.
What will be left in the ashes of the next 24 hours?
Ryan and Elsie Delaney, parents of their young daughter, five-year-old Tilly that had disappeared two years ago. Law enforcement suspects she drowned on the Santa Monica beach. However, her body had never been recovered. The parents demand closure. They feel the LAPD had not tried hard enough and are now desperate.
No BODY. No CLOSURE.
Their pleas have not yielded anything from the authorities. Now, desperate, the parents have taken three hostages at the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center and have given LAPD an ultimatum.
The cops think the parents are lunatics for holding them hostage, but they are serious. There are many critical samples with four decades of work in the lab.
With careful planning, they are on the ground floor in the forensic biology and DNA lab. They have secured all doors. They are using CCTV to track movements. They cannot cut the power due to the temperature-controlled sample storage. They have 24 hrs. The clock is ticking.
If Tilly isn't located within the next 24 hours, they will destroy all the unprocessed evidence samples of other cold cases. One sample from the lab every two hours until their daughter is found. Everything is going up in FLAMES.
Was she abducted? A cover-up, or what? She was not a strong swimmer. A swimsuit disappeared from the evidence before being tested. She was afraid of the big waves.
But if the cops said drowning, they could close the case in ten days. But an abduction was a much longer case with task forces, media, and pressure. Soloversas was a month out from retirement. Were they too lazy in the investigation? This is not good.
A lot of blame is being passed around, and they might kill five people in the lab, plus all the LAPD's case evidence.
The parents do not want to accept drowning as a verdict. Now they are blackmailing the LAPD into reopening her case while at the same time seeking vengeance by threatening to destroy key evidence in other critical cold cases. They are now kidnappers and terrorists.
Detective Charlie Hoskins (Hoss-seasoned) and Lynette Lamb (Lamb Chop-rookie) are on the case. Both have baggage and are a blast together! Almost like a father/daughter team.- they are highly motivated!
Ironically, a swimmer is saving a drowning man. That man is an undercover cop, Charlie, and has been left for dead. Meet Lynette, only 21, a newly graduated police recruit responsible for blowing his cover.
Detective Charlie Hoskins has been undercover in a deadly motorcycle gang for five years. With his cover blown, he has no choice but to find Tilly himself or lose everything he's worked for as the lab burns.
Lynette Lamb was a police officer—until yesterday when she was fired before her first beat. Figuring out what happened to Tilly is her only chance at rejoining the career she's prepared her whole life for. Will Charlie help her get back into the LAPD? She has to prove herself.
What if this tactic makes all other victim families try the same hostage situation? They cannot give in to their demands.
However, Hoss and Lamb start their own investigation. They must re-interview the two witnesses and all the sex offenders and pedophiles in the area. But most of the time most child abduction cases, it's not a stranger but a family member of someone the child knows.
Charlie and Lamb's investigation parallels the drama in the crime lab— told through the eyes of one of the lab's directors who's being held hostage and Charlie's boss, Chief of Police Saskia Ferboden.
This is one INTENSE book! Action-packed, Hoss and Lamb are a total riot! As usual, this intricately woven multi-layered complex investigation fully displays Fox's mad skills. There are so many thrilling parts from Charlie's former gang buddies wanting revenge and Lamb trying desperately to keep up with her older cynical partner.
All the while, they are trying to find a girl who went missing two years ago and a ticking time bomb. No pressure, right?
No one does crime thrillers better! Fox's writing and the suspense, riveting. The character development of especially the two leads, Hoss and Lamb, is excellent as the author cleverly unravels their past so readers can get an inside glimpse into these complex personalities. Charlie's past undercover work, his family, and Lynette, young, book smart more than street smart, but she has excellent instincts.
One of my favorites! I hope we see more of Hoskins and Lamb and a new series. Do not miss this one.
If you have read not Candice Fox, US fans, I highly recommend it. I discovered her in 2014 when I started my blog with her Hades: Archer and Bennett series, and I have been an avid fan since. Of course, she also co-writes with James Patterson and all kinds of hit bestsellers.
Trust me, read one Candice Fox book, and you will become a Foxfan!
In the US, if you like Karin Slaughter and Michael Connelly, you will enjoy Candice Fox's crime thrillers and readers who like thoughtful, intelligent written thrillers with strong cop procedurals and forensics.
FIRE WITH FIRE features a stunning cover, reflecting the overall book and a fitting title. Well- done!
A special thanks to #ForgeBooks for a gifted e-ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes. I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Jay Aaseng for a gripping, engaging performance.
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins |#JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
My Rating: 5
Justice and Revenge. Tick Tock.
A pair of desperate parents.
A man on the run.
A rookie cop.
Four people with everything on the line.
What will be left in the ashes of the next 24 hours?
Ryan and Elsie Delaney, parents of their young daughter, five-year-old Tilly that had disappeared two years ago. Law enforcement suspects she drowned on the Santa Monica beach. However, her body had never been recovered. The parents demand closure. They feel the LAPD had not tried hard enough and are now desperate.
No BODY. No CLOSURE.
Their pleas have not yielded anything from the authorities. Now, desperate, the parents have taken three hostages at the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center and have given LAPD an ultimatum.
The cops think the parents are lunatics for holding them hostage, but they are serious. There are many critical samples with four decades of work in the lab.
With careful planning, they are on the ground floor in the forensic biology and DNA lab. They have secured all doors. They are using CCTV to track movements. They cannot cut the power due to the temperature-controlled sample storage. They have 24 hrs. The clock is ticking.
If Tilly isn't located within the next 24 hours, they will destroy all the unprocessed evidence samples of other cold cases. One sample from the lab every two hours until their daughter is found. Everything is going up in FLAMES.
Was she abducted? A cover-up, or what? She was not a strong swimmer. A swimsuit disappeared from the evidence before being tested. She was afraid of the big waves.
But if the cops said drowning, they could close the case in ten days. But an abduction was a much longer case with task forces, media, and pressure. Soloversas was a month out from retirement. Were they too lazy in the investigation? This is not good.
A lot of blame is being passed around, and they might kill five people in the lab, plus all the LAPD's case evidence.
The parents do not want to accept drowning as a verdict. Now they are blackmailing the LAPD into reopening her case while at the same time seeking vengeance by threatening to destroy key evidence in other critical cold cases. They are now kidnappers and terrorists.
Detective Charlie Hoskins (Hoss-seasoned) and Lynette Lamb (Lamb Chop-rookie) are on the case. Both have baggage and are a blast together! Almost like a father/daughter team.- they are highly motivated!
Ironically, a swimmer is saving a drowning man. That man is an undercover cop, Charlie, and has been left for dead. Meet Lynette, only 21, a newly graduated police recruit responsible for blowing his cover.
Detective Charlie Hoskins has been undercover in a deadly motorcycle gang for five years. With his cover blown, he has no choice but to find Tilly himself or lose everything he's worked for as the lab burns.
Lynette Lamb was a police officer—until yesterday when she was fired before her first beat. Figuring out what happened to Tilly is her only chance at rejoining the career she's prepared her whole life for. Will Charlie help her get back into the LAPD? She has to prove herself.
What if this tactic makes all other victim families try the same hostage situation? They cannot give in to their demands.
However, Hoss and Lamb start their own investigation. They must re-interview the two witnesses and all the sex offenders and pedophiles in the area. But most of the time most child abduction cases, it's not a stranger but a family member of someone the child knows.
Charlie and Lamb's investigation parallels the drama in the crime lab— told through the eyes of one of the lab's directors who's being held hostage and Charlie's boss, Chief of Police Saskia Ferboden.
This is one INTENSE book! Action-packed, Hoss and Lamb are a total riot! As usual, this intricately woven multi-layered complex investigation fully displays Fox's mad skills. There are so many thrilling parts from Charlie's former gang buddies wanting revenge and Lamb trying desperately to keep up with her older cynical partner.
All the while, they are trying to find a girl who went missing two years ago and a ticking time bomb. No pressure, right?
No one does crime thrillers better! Fox's writing and the suspense, riveting. The character development of especially the two leads, Hoss and Lamb, is excellent as the author cleverly unravels their past so readers can get an inside glimpse into these complex personalities. Charlie's past undercover work, his family, and Lynette, young, book smart more than street smart, but she has excellent instincts.
One of my favorites! I hope we see more of Hoskins and Lamb and a new series. Do not miss this one.
If you have read not Candice Fox, US fans, I highly recommend it. I discovered her in 2014 when I started my blog with her Hades: Archer and Bennett series, and I have been an avid fan since. Of course, she also co-writes with James Patterson and all kinds of hit bestsellers.
Trust me, read one Candice Fox book, and you will become a Foxfan!
In the US, if you like Karin Slaughter and Michael Connelly, you will enjoy Candice Fox's crime thrillers and readers who like thoughtful, intelligent written thrillers with strong cop procedurals and forensics.
FIRE WITH FIRE features a stunning cover, reflecting the overall book and a fitting title. Well- done!
A special thanks to #ForgeBooks for a gifted e-ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes. I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Jay Aaseng for a gripping, engaging performance.
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins |#JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
My Rating: 5
rachhenderson's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Detective Charlie Hoskins had been undercover for five years when a gang member seduces a young female cop, breaks into her laptop while she's sleeping and finds the information necessary to out Hoskins. Lynette Lamb is that young cop, so she's fired before her career even starts. But then Ryan and Elsie Delaney take an LAPD forensic lab hostage. Their young daughter, Tilly, has been missing for two years, and they don't think the police have done enough to find her. They start destroying evidence from other cases and won't stop until she is found. With the majority of the police force refusing to negotiate with terrorists, Hoskins and Lamb become unlikely partners and take it upon themselves to find Tilly.
In typical Candice Fox style, this book is full of action. Some suspension of disbelief is required but it's a fun ride.
In typical Candice Fox style, this book is full of action. Some suspension of disbelief is required but it's a fun ride.
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
I don't read a lot of crime procedurals these days and this was my first by Candice Fox but I couldn't resist the unique premise. The book starts off really strong with a surfer rescuing a man about to drown in the water. Turns out he was an undercover cop whose cover was blown and only just managed to escape with his life. His story is linked to the the rookie who inadvertantly gave access to police files that were used to expose him and got her fired on the first day. Together these two team up to help solve a cold case involving a missing child. The parent's of the little girl who has been missing for over two years take matters into their own hands, holding a police crime lab hostage and threatening to burn evidence until someone brings their daughter home to them. Phew, that was just the setup! What follows is an edge of your seat ride with really compelling characters and lots of twists. Definitely recommended and good on audio too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!
bridget_h's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5