Customer Reviews

Burn (Center Point Christian Mystery (Large Print))

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Janeal Mikkado has lived her life among her Gypsy family and friends, but has always longed for a way out. One fateful day an answer to her dilemma arrives in the form of a mysterious man named Salazar Sanso. It seems Janeal's father is working with the DEA to bring down Salazar, and if Janeal will do just one favor Sanso promises not to take her father's life. He also offers Janeal the opportunity to leave once and for all to chase her dreams. Janeal seizes the opportunity, but things go horribly wrong and a fire destroys the Gypsy community and everyone she loves.

Fifteen years later, Janeal has made quite a life for herself, but nevertheless feels empty and broken because of her past. Out of the blue she discovers that her two best friends survived the fire and have recently reconnected. She fears they will discover the truth behind what happened that day and Janeal's connection to it all. To make matters worse, Sanso once again has her in his crosshairs and will do anything to get her, even if it means destroying the lives of her friends. Now Janeal enters into a deadly game where the past and truth come face to face and her life hangs in the balance.

Ted Dekker and Erin Healy once again display their collaborative prowess and even outdo their previous novel, Kiss, in the process. Going into this story I honestly wasn't expecting much. For some reason the premise didn't grab my attention, but it only took a few chapters to discover how wrong I was. The plot is masterfully executed, giving us just the right amount of suspense at the right times to keep the narrative flowing along. As in Kiss, we are treated to another strong female lead in Janeal Mikkado. Her journey is a captivating one, often times dizzying and unsettling, but always engrossing as we delve into her hurts and secrets.

In true Dekker fashion we are treated to a nice little twist that will no doubt drive some readers crazy. Nevertheless, I found this plot device worked nicely with the overall theme that is interwoven throughout. At its heart, this is a story about the darkness and light that abides in us all and the battle that rages within. I'm excited about what this writing team has accomplished and I'm especially looking forward to Erin Healy's upcoming solo debut, Never Let You Go.

I really wanted to like BURN. The cover looks super-cool, the blurb on the dust jacket sounded interesting, and it's Ted Dekker; you just can't go wrong...right? A couple of years ago I would have given this book a 5-star rating simply because it had Ted Dekker's name on it. And let's face it, there were really only two good Christian-suspense-thriller-type of authors at the time; Ted, and Frank Peretti. With authors like Robert Liparulo, and Eric Wilson entering the scene, Ted's material has lost some of its luster. I can't exactly pinpoint the moment it happened, but I fear Ted has gone the way of Stephen King; high demand, thus cranking out less-than-stellar stories, thus quality of story begins to suffer. Throw in a relative "unknown" like Erin Healy, in the hopes of igniting her career (or breathing fresh life into his), and it had the potential of being an interesting story. But here's where BURN fails to deliver:

The story starts out well enough. Janeal is the 'misfit' gypsy among her gypsy peers and family members. She's a strong character - as far as female characters go - but lacks social maturity. She's rebellious, jealous, and a bit of a mean girl. I found it interesting that Janeal is motherless. It's not something that gets a lot of "press" in the book, and yet, I feel that it is the central reason that Janeal turns out the way she does. She never really has a soft place to land. She is an outcast among gypsies due to circumstances beyond her control. And as a result, she's had to live a life behind the walls of her heart. Sad.

She lives her life surrounded by her gypsy boyfriend, Robert, and her gypsy BFF, Katie. The three of them do everything together...or so we're led to believe. Unfortunately, this relationship isn't really fleshed out, and we just have to rely on the authors' words.

Enter the BAD GUY; Salazar Sanso. I won't get too much into the plot, but suffice to say that Sanso had all the makings of being a really bad dude. Unfortunately, I feel like the Dekker/Healy duo fell flat. Instead of loathing Sanso, I was apathetic. I only knew he was the BAD GUY because they told me he was the BAD GUY. He definitely wasn't a "Marsuvees Black" BAD GUY. Marsuvees was the real deal. Sanso...not so much.

Salazar offers Janeal a deal she can't refuse - involving an insane amount of money and double-crossing her father and the DEA. Janeal, of course, tries to figure out a way to double-cross Salazar, make off with the money, and have her father live. And predictably, it all goes wrong.

So this is where it loses me.

Salazar and his thugs shoot down innocents, and set the camp on fire. Janeal is trapped in the fire, along with her BFF Katie. She can save herself and make off with the money, or she can save her friend and lose it all. That's all I can say without giving away crucial plot twists.

By the time some things are revealed, I was so irritated and disappointed that I wanted to just throw the book across the room.

Really, Ted? Really, Erin? THAT is the best you two could come up with?

I think what annoys me the most is that this particular story had the potential to be something really intense. The basic plot was believable, but the characters were not. It's a shame too, because I actually enjoyed KISS (the first Dekker/Healy collaboration). I had higher expectations for their sophomore novel. Unfortunately, BURN just left me cold.

Recue her best friend, Katie, and possibly die, or flee with one million dollars? That was the question facing Janeal Mikkado as she stood in the midst of a consuming fire. Half wanted to help, but the half jealous of Katie and greedy for money resisted. When the fire investigation ended, the total body count was over 130 and Janeal's boyfriend, Robert Lukin, was the only known survivor of the Mikkado massacre. Fifteen years later, with the arrest of the man responsible for the fire, Robert would learn he was not the only one to survive. In fact, there are two more. In a supernatural thriller, that explores the depth of selfishness and the extent of grace, Burn is a great improvement over the first Dekker/Healy collaboration.

Kiss was one of the more boring, predictable books I read in 2009. If I had not read every other book Dekker has written, the odds are very high I would not have picked up Burn. However, I'm a completionist, and therefore had to at least give it a try.

For the most part, Burn is a thriller. It has a few surprising parts, but generally follows a predictable story line, that relies on action. It would have been nice to have a few more surprises and for the suspense to be stronger, but it was able to progress quickly enough to remain an entertaining story. The characters were a great improvement over those in Kiss. Janeal was expertly written to invoke strong emotions at just the right time. The supporting cast was also created in a way that kept the story interesting. Though not all the characters were well balanced, for the most part, they were not a distraction to the story and managed to keep the slow parts from dragging.

While Burn has a lot of detail, too much in some areas, particularly internal thoughts, it glossed over some story elements that would have been nice to have fleshed out. For example, we never find out exactly how Janeal's father became involved with Sanso. It would have been nice to read a little bit more about the mysterious Mrs. Markovic. Exactly what happened to Janeal's immediate family prior to the fire was alluded to, but no details were given. I would have liked less time spent on the minute details of what a person was thinking and more spent filling in details of a character's past.

I would like to say I absolutely loved this book, but while it was much better than I was prepared for, I still wanted more. I realize this is not a book written by Dekker, but a book written by both Dekker and Healy. However, I see very little Dekker in this book. With the exception of characters changing locations rapidly, it doesn't feel like his writing style or his storyline development. Things are predictable and unfortunately follow too closely to standard Christian fiction. There are certain expectations that have when I pick up a book with Dekker's name on it and most of those elements are missing from this book. The results were a story that's good, but still lacking in many areas.

The story did have a great point. While there is a need to do some serious suspension of disbelief and accept a rather implausible story line, the point made was a very good one. The symbolism was well constructed with the division of our hearts and who will ultimately reign depicted with startling clarity. This is the highlight of Burn and makes it worth reading.

This book was a lot of fun. It takes you through a sad story of a couple of likable characters, and a complicated, hard-to-understand-his-motives villain who fits the classic Dekker mold for "bad" characters. The story continues on as a pretty normal life after tragedy, even if the main character seems determined to not make godly choices in her life. Then the big twist hits about 40 chapters in. I guess with the number of Dekker's books that I've read, I should have seen it coming, as there are hints dropped along the way, but it gets pretty strange for a little while. The ending suited it, and provided a good conclusion that didn't feel like it was left hanging open for a sequel like so many other books and movies these days. I will probably buy it eventually, I just got a copy from the library because of the reason below (and the title of the review).

The following is a review of the Kindle edition of this book, and not of the storyline.

I bought this on Jan. 11, 2010, and started reading it right away as I found time. I immediately noticed some very strange editing errors, including both inserted or removed words which rendered several sentences (one or two per chapter) meaningless.

The only specific example I have is that on page 19, the actual book reads: "And perhaps if she was forced to tell the truth..." while the corresponding Kindle sentence is: "And perhaps if you had she was forced to tell the truth..." Other errors included the wording "than an" instead of "than", and the rearranging of one sentence with a list of items so that "and" was between items 1 and 2 instead of 2 and 3.

I was planning on posting more examples of this, but I contacted Amazon, and their solution was to give me a refund, and the book has been removed from my Kindle.

This was a very frustrating error when I was trying to read the Kindle, and now I'm about a third of the way through the book and need to get an actual copy. This is the first book I'd bought for my Kindle, and if this is representative of the kind of sloppy editing that goes into creating a Kindle edition, then I see no point in buying another e-book.

As a final note, I've enjoyed the story thus far, but would not recommend buying the Kindle edition.

*Burn*, which was co-written by Erin Healy, is the first Ted Dekker novel I have read, and I must admit to being a bit disappointed after hearing many glowing accounts of Dekker's works. Without offering spoilers, I will just note that I had a hard time getting a handle on the characters in the early chapters. For example, whom was I to root for in the competition for Robert's eye--Katie or Janeal? Why was Janeal attracted to bad-boy Sanso? Why did Janeal want to leave the kumpania? I did find Part Two to be more of a page-turner than Part One, but I felt that the authors were telling me more than showing me about the characters and their unique situation. There has been some sort of conversion experience, but the reader is not told how that came about.

I generally like alter-ego stories, but this one did not seem to grab me. I was not entirely able to "willingly suspend disbelief." In the "Q&A with Erin" at the end of the book, the author explains the Irish concept of "thin places" where "the veil between physical and spiritual realities is so thin that a person can see through it." I'm guessing this concept was at the root of the spiritual device in this story, but I did not feel as transported into the Other world in this novel as I am with, say, Charles Williams' novels. I do very much like the "Reading Group Guide" which the authors have provided as the questions there do get to the ideas that underlie the story. Perhaps this book is a better one to discuss than simply to enjoy.

Janeal Mikkado lives in a Gypsy camp, the kumpania, with her father, Jason, who is the leader. Her best friend, Katie, and boyfriend, Robert, also live in the same community. Janeal lost her mother and other siblings fifteen years earlier when a tornado came through their camp. The colony supports themselves through businesses such as fortune telling, performing magic tricks, and selling them food.

Janeal is conflicted because she is the only one in the Gypsy camp that is considered an "Americanized Gypsy." It was due to her mother being a gaji, a non-Gypsy women, and her father a Gypsy. Janeal does not feel accepted in either the Gypsy colony or outside the community. She desperately desires to leave the kumpania, but at the same time, she does not want to leave her father, who is the only family she has left. She hates the outsiders but loves the outside world, the freedoms, the choices, and the opportunities.

One day a man named Salazar Sanso approaches Janeal while she is outside the camp and offers her an opportunity to leave the kumpania. As much as she desires to leave, her choice comes with a price. She makes the choice and agrees to the offer. She quickly realizes the magnitude of her decision and is filled with regret but cannot change what has already been set in motion.

Fifteen years later, the consequences of Janeal's decision continue to haunt her. She was sure she had buried away past by starting a new life. Remnants of her past begin to unravel setting in motion a chain of events fifteen years in the making.

Burn is the second collaboration between Ted Dekker and Erin Healy. Their partnership brings more of a feminine touch with strong female lead characters in combination with high levels of suspense. The characterization of Janeal is realistic where one can easily identify with the struggles within her. The excellent pacing is compelling leading to have a difficult time putting down the book.

One thing that stands out in Dekker/Healy collaborations is an underlying virtue that runs through-out the novel. In Kiss, it was "remember when you were slaves in Egypt." In Burn, it is the struggle between good and evil that lies within us all. As one character says in the book, "There are two chambers in the heart. One for John and one for Judas."

I look forward to seeing what else the partnership of Ted Dekker and Erin Healy bring forth in the future. The writing of Burn was strong and I expect great things from both going forward, together and in their separate writings.

I'm a long time Ted Dekker fan, but I'm not gonna lie, it's been a little while since one of his books shocked the socks off of me. Burn did. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy, so I opened the front cover with absolutely no idea what to expect. What I found was a thrilling story about a young woman running from her past and trying to build a new life...until her deepest regret rises from the ashes to face her again. The twist in the climax is something I never saw coming at all and definitely made my jaw drop.

And in true Ted style, the story left me mulling long after the final page. The struggle between good and evil does not just lie in the world around us, or even the spiritual world. The most dramatic battle takes place inside each person. I have it in me to be the very thing that I hate most. The choice is mine.

Ted and Erin make a stellar writing team. They each bring something unique to the table to produce a heart-stopping tale of epic proportions. Kiss was good, but in my opinion Burn is even better.

Compared to other Christian fiction, this book easily deserves 5 stars, so I rated it as such. However, in comparison to other Ted Dekker+ books, I would rate this a little lower. But that is because Ted Dekker+ has set such a high standard with his collection of books. I am a hard-core fan, I even got a tattoo on my arm from his Circle trilogy, so take that into consideration when reading this.

If I were to write a top five list of Ted Dekker books, Burn wouldn't be on it, but it is still an excellent book that I would highly recommend. I tend to like his more intense, high octane books, this book delves more into the character personalities, which many would prefer. It is also moderately paced compared to many of his fast paced books.

Some people have told me that they read a Ted Dekker book, and found it to be too gory. Those people will like this book, as it doesn't contain gorier elements.

Recognize that Ted Dekker writes Christian fiction; however, he is set apart from most other Christian Fiction authors, because he presents his message without stuffing Bible verses down your throat, nor does he ensure that every chapter has to mention Jesus. Instead, he writes good fiction that portrays an overall message that is aligned with God's Word. I lend my books to my Father, who is a devout atheist and humanist. He enjoys Ted Dekker+ books, because he isn't put off by them like he is with other Christian Fiction. He just thinks of them as good fiction.

So, overall, this is a good book that anyone would like, Christian or not.

A book this size typically would take me no more than a day to read. I have been reading this book for 16 months and still can't finish it. It just doesn't hold my interest, and I am not invested enough in the storyline to care what happens. I had put it away for a long time, in the hopes that a break might make it easier to delve back in, but even after months on the shelf, I don't want to know how it ends. That being said, I have read about 3/4 of it so except for the ending, I feel I've read enough to render a basic opinion of the book.

The characters are, at this point, completely undeveloped. I have no idea WHO they are (not their names and descriptions, we are certainly offered those often enough). I have developed a severe DIS-like for some of them, but don't really LIKE any of them. The bad guy? Not really intimidating or threatening at all. In order for this book to work, it needed strong characters, and it just doesn't. As I said, I'm 3/4 of the way through this book and it feels utterly direction-less. I have no idea where the authors are going with this, nor do I care. And while we're on the subject of authors, why did it take 2 people to write this boring, under-developed book?

Like many, I chose this book because I was a fan of Dekker's work. In the future, I guess I'll have to utilize Amazon's "Look Inside" feature before reading his new books as apparently his work is no longer consistent.

I read Burn back in 2009, when I received an ARC at an author sponsored program, and gave it a second read a few days ago.

Burn is a fast-paced story of two girls in a kumpania-a traveling gypsy group in the Southwestern United States, and what became of them when money and corruption came to their sheltered community. The two girls couldn't be more different. Katie, a full blooded gypsy, is a dark haired beauty with curly hair, dark skin and eyes, and a peaceful, mild manner. Janeal is half Roma, half gaji (a term the kumpania use for outsiders). She has beautiful chestnut hair and lighter features, but she has always felt "less than", as compared to Katie. Janeal has a wild and free spirit and very much resents Katie, despite the fact that they are best friends. Janeal's boyfriend, Robert, is also full gypsy, and is friends with Katie-a constant source of jealousy for Janeal.

Janeal has lost pretty much everyone in her life who loves her. Her father, the leader of the kumpania, is the only one she has left besides Robert, and these days, she's not even sure of him. To make things even more unbearable, she believes, perhaps accurately, that the only reason people in the kumpania even tolerate her is because her father is the leader. Lately, though, she's been hearing things about her beloved father, things she's sure are lies about drug deals and millions of dollars hidden in their camp.

In her desire to be accepted, Janeal is drawn to evil, at first in the form of a man named Salazar Sanseo, a man willing to capitalize on Janeal's interest in money and protecting her father. Quickly, she discovers, there is no way to strike a deal with the devil and win. As Janeal watches her life go up in flames, she runs for her life, and keeps on running. Which part of her is to rise up from the ashes of her broken world? Where will she go, and what will she do? Will she find the redemption and love she seeks deep within her heart, or will she become the ruthless demon whom she bargained with ? Or are we all two vessels in one heart, as a wise woman in the kumpania had pointed out to her?

This is Dekker's second novel with Erin Healy. Their styles were woven together to the point that it was pretty much impossible to determine who contributed what. When I'm reading something that is co-authored, it is very tedious if I can say, "ok, author A wrote this chapter", and then "ok, author B wrote this chapter". In my opinion, it is only effective and worth reading if they complement each other and flow rather than look like a jigsaw puzzle. Also, the chapters vary in length and flow with the action, rather than are of the same length, which seems to sometimes go along with the co-author thing. Regardless, it works well. We get the best of both.

I found the fast pace and the releationship between the main characters to be intriguing and unique; I have certainly never read anything like this before. This is one that will keep you guessing until the very end. Burn is an intense novel that will rip at your soul. One thing is for certain. You will not forget Katie and Janeal soon. They will leave you with a lingering desire to look within and ponder just how much room there is in one person's soul.