Great Christian Mystery and Romance from Anne Patrick!

"Preliminary findings of the coroner suggest she died from smoke
inhalation."
"She also had a skull fracture."
"You've seen the body?" he asked.
"Yup."
"Well, she could have received the head injury when she woke
up disoriented. She was found next to the bed. She could have
tripped and struck her head on the corner post."
"That's one possibility..." "I don't give theories, I see facts,
and I develop opinions."
"Opinions based on what? Most of the physical evidence, if
any, is destroyed or drastically altered during a fire?"
"The basics of fire behavior, dynamics and investigative
experience based on what is visually seen, smelled, heard and
touched." She glanced over her shoulder.
"And just so you know,
my opinions are seldom wrong..."

Fire and Ash


By Anne Patrick







When a somewhat chauvinist man and a expert professional woman meet, there might be sparks flying. In the case of Sadie McGregor and Quinn Harrington met, things happened quite professionally, even as the ash moved while they walked through the building that had burned. Quinn, a police officer had been sent because a body had been found and he was also already considering how the fire might have started. But when Sadie turned to introduce herself, she quite calmly proceeded to explain to him why his assumptions were wrong...

I love novels with strong female leads, especially if they are in male-dominated professional fields. Sadie, as she was quick to point out to Quinn, represented the State Fire Marshal's Office--and was seldom wrong in her findings...

Of course I love many male lead characters as well, but, having worked in a male-dominated profession for many years, I must say that the reality is rarely how it's written in books, so I enjoy escaping into a fantasy where the female "rules." LOL And, of course, Sadie and Quinn will begin a relationship, but later in the book!

Larissa Ingram had apparently been house sitting for her parents, Mike and Donna, who were away on vacation. Quinn was upset that arson was suspected, since the Ingrams were such a nice family and well respected in the community. If it was arson, was it someone within the family or a crime against them?

It was after she had left the scene of the fire, with a promise to get her report to him, that Quinn learned from another officer who had known Sadie for years, that her own family had been killed in a fire and that Sadie had been raised as part of her uncle's family, who was fire chief...

As he got to know her and wanted to know more about her, he realized that there was one thing that could prevent the relationship that he soon began to hope for: Quinn was an active Christian and Sadie wanted nothing to do with God. And worse, she could not forgive herself for having started the fire that had killed her family...

I enjoyed watching as the relationship between Quinn and Sadie developed. In her professional life, she had grown confident and self-assured, while Quinn, around her, seemed to be lost for words--even admitting she had him bested from time to time. Sadie's teasing was a natural outgrowth, except when Quinn forced a serious discussion about her past.

Everybody reading the novel will catch the amount and quality of the forensics expertise displayed by Sadie and how it was used to finally solve the case, unfortunately not without her being hurt in the process. Many issues keep readers fully interested, not the least of which is the romance. Well written and thoroughly enjoyable!


GABixlerReviews

Anne Patrick is the author of more than a dozen novels of Romance, Mayhem & Faith, including the award-winning and bestselling Fire and Ash, Lethal Dreams and Sabotage. Her heroines are usually strong willed, witty, and often very opinionated...combinations that usually land them in situations where death seems imminent. When she isn't killing off people or falling in love with dashing heroes you can usually find her surfing the web. Check her out on Facebook.

To learn more about Anne, please visit her website: http://annepatrick.weebly.com/index.html or blog: www.suspensebyanne.blogspot.com. She loves to hear from her readers!