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A review by fiction_aficionado
Fire Storm by Nancy Mehl
3.0
As a character-driven reader, it was not really surprising that I found myself thoroughly intrigued by Kaely Quinn after reading the first book in this series. The daughter of a notorious serial killer, she’s carrying a fair amount of emotional baggage, but it’s her mental acumen that has me most intrigued. She has Sherlockian powers of observation and deduction and some rather unusual methods of working through a case, and there’s a question over just how reliable a narrator she is, all of which makes for a fascinating character.
In this story, we get more of a glimpse into Kaely’s family life, and we get to see the tension that’s created when her drive to solve a case conflicts with her family’s needs. I love that Kaely’s faults are very much on display and that she’s beginning to see them in herself. The hope of seeing a satisfying resolution to her character arc makes me keen to read the final book in the series, particularly as there wasn’t a lot of development in her character in this novel.
While I’m invested in Kaely from an intellectual point of view, though, I found it harder to become emotionally invested in this story. The suspense plot started out well, but it was easy to piece things together from about halfway through the novel, and while the climax did provide a few surprises, they were mostly a result of Kaely keeping things hidden from the reader at the last minute, which felt a little underhanded.
Finally, I’m just not feeling the love between Kaely and Noah. We’re told the attachment/attraction is developing, but there’s no chemistry between them; I can’t feel the emotional connection building between them. Still, for readers who are looking for a suspense read that doesn’t involve a strong romantic thread, this won’t be a deterrent.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
In this story, we get more of a glimpse into Kaely’s family life, and we get to see the tension that’s created when her drive to solve a case conflicts with her family’s needs. I love that Kaely’s faults are very much on display and that she’s beginning to see them in herself. The hope of seeing a satisfying resolution to her character arc makes me keen to read the final book in the series, particularly as there wasn’t a lot of development in her character in this novel.
While I’m invested in Kaely from an intellectual point of view, though, I found it harder to become emotionally invested in this story. The suspense plot started out well, but it was easy to piece things together from about halfway through the novel, and while the climax did provide a few surprises, they were mostly a result of Kaely keeping things hidden from the reader at the last minute, which felt a little underhanded.
Finally, I’m just not feeling the love between Kaely and Noah. We’re told the attachment/attraction is developing, but there’s no chemistry between them; I can’t feel the emotional connection building between them. Still, for readers who are looking for a suspense read that doesn’t involve a strong romantic thread, this won’t be a deterrent.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.