Customer Reviews

Fire Dancer

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4 star:		(1)
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Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a huge fan of Colleen Coble--have been since the Rock Harbor series. But her latest, FIRE DANCER is my absolute favorite. Her characters, Tess and Chase, leap off the page and come to life. I felt like I was in Arizona, personally deep into the plot. An arsonist takes things to a personal level for Tess, and her family's ranch. Tess and her longtime rival, Chase, must work together to unsmoke the villain, and save not only the ranch, but the forests from the Fire Dancer. Get the book....you'll be in for quite the ride. I give it my highest rating!

In 1991 a young Tess Masterson watched with horror as her parents were both eaten alive by fire in their barn. Tess was horrified as she stood by and knew there was nothing she could do to save them. The fire pointed Tess's life towards fire fighting as a Smoke Jumper, those that jump from airplanes into the fire to attempt to stop its forward progress in any way they can. Tess relives that day every time she jumps into a fire and wonders many times what she could have done to save her parents from that barn inferno.

During one of the jumps Tess and a good friend, Allie, jumped as a pair into one of the fires. Allie's parachute did not open. Tess did all she could to assist Allie as they both floated towards the fire, reaching her and holding on to slow her fall. In the end, Allie was slowed but not enough to keep her from getting badly hurt when she hit earth. When Tess learned that the parachute Allie used was actually Tess's chute she began to think that she must have been a target by someone sabotaging her chute. Some of the lines were cut showing the murderous intent by someone. But who? Anyone on the fire team could have done this as well as anyone near their base camp. Allie was in the hospital and there she would stay for some time so her broken bones and the rest of her body could heal.

Chase Huston was a foster child the Masterson's had taken in. He was a handsome but bothersome ranch hand that Tess skirted when she could. Tess also owned a gorgeous horse, Wildfire who was a one-person horse, and Tess was that person. She hated leaving him when she had to go back on duty and couldn't wait until that smoke jumpers duty was over to see Wildfire back at the family owned ranch.

Fires continued to start in suspicious ways and places with a note and evidence found at most of the arson related fires. Signed "The Smoke Dancer" this person stopped at nothing to kill or maim animals or humans. The Masterson family seemed to be one of the main subjects The Fire Dancer was out to hurt.

Stevie was Tess's sister who Tess knew was not feeling good by just looking at her. Stevie had Lupus that left her feeling very run down and poorly. This devastated Tess. Tess helped her in any possible way. As time went on, Tess and Chase became closer but bitterness still was in the back of each other's mind, bitterness from earlier years. Eventually feelings between the two did change.

Tess's Smoke Jumper friends were the same or better than her family since she was with them so much and each ones life was so valuable to the others. It was hard to think that one of them could be the one that has been trying to hurt or kill Tess but the possibility of that existed as it did with various ranch hands.

I have always been fascinated by stories about fire, the fighting of them and the tracking down of arsonists. "Fire Dancer" is a great story with so many Christian values explored throughout; values that would help all involved when they take those values into their lives. Colleen Coble has spun an excellent story combining love, adventure, fire, mystery, murder, and that Christian value. An excellent book and a great read. Colleen writes in a way that makes this book easy and interesting to read, and hard to put down.

A decade ago Tess's parents died in a barn fire; now she's one of the best smoke jumpers in the business - but has yet to face her loss. When the serial arsonist known as Fire Dancer strikes her home town, Tess can no longer run from her past and must face not only past truths, but their impact on her safety and future. FIRE DANCER is an intriguing novel of psychological cat-and-mouse games and intrigue and is a top pick for advanced teen readers.

As a child Tess Masterson could not save her parents and her uncle from a terrible fire.

As an adult and working as a smoke jumper putting out fires and chasing arsonists, she must return to the place she left behind to help her sister save the family ranch. Before she can, there's a blantant attempt on her life. With no time to figure that mystery out Tess heads to Arizona and the nightmares that haunt her sleep. Can she really go back to the place where much of her family was lost?

When she arrives sparks soon fly as she's reaquainted with Chase Huston. Meanwhile the local lawman has come to believe a series of fires over the years are the work of a serial arsonist. Tess and her band of smokejumpers begin to help in the investigation and putting out fire that pop up all over town, some getting very close to the family ranch.

Does this arsonist called the Fire Dancer have something against the Masterson family? Can Tess stop this serial arsonist? Can she put out the fire that begun to blaze in her own heart for Chase?

These questions and more will fill your mind and heart reading this novel, as will a long list of possibilities for the identity of the Fire Dancer.

When I first began to seriously pursue a writing career one name kept coming up. Colleen Coble. It seemed she had a million novels and billions of adoring fans. As I got to know some writers Colleen was one I was always pointed to as an example of what was right about this novel writing thing I wanted to do.

Finally I got to know her a bit and she was one of the first to encourage, and eventually convince me, that if I was serious about this writing goal I had to join American Christian Fiction Writers. I finally did and it's the single best thing I've done to date to help me advance to the place where I'll have my own name on the binding of a book.

Some who've never cracked open a novel of Colleen's, especially men, may discount her books as romantic fluff. I admit I did. I knew nothing of the romantic suspense. It was her books that convinced me I needed to pay attention to genre. Yes, there's romance. But there's always these intricate plots. In this story alone. You have Tess dealing with the lost of much of her family, an arsonist, attempts on her life, the lost of her family ranch and her horse. Her sister's illness and troubled marriage. Feelings for Chase, a man she shouldn't give a care for. Chase dealing with his own issues of family and love. Stevie and Paul's marriage. And so much more. And Colleen weaves it all together in a way that the reader keeps it straight in their head and never gets lost.

Some of the most interesting passages in the story were the first person accounts from of the fire dancer. Colleen slowly drips out just enough information about this person that she get a real feel for them without ever revealing who they are until the last possible second.

I could go on and on about this book and about Colleen's writing but I must stop. If you've never read a Colleen Coble novel, this is a good place to start since it's the beginning of a new series. She has another new one just released, Midnight Sea, that's unrelated and yet another coming out later this year called Abomination. I can't wait to get my hands and eyes on both of these and more of Colleen's work.

I hope you'll pick up Fire Dancer and loose yourself in the world of Tess Masterson for a few hours. You won't be disappointed.

Care to dance?

Fire Dancer kept my attention from the first page and didn't let go until the last! The book centers around Tess Masterson, a fire jumper, who gets called home because her sister wants to see her. Tess doesn't want to go back to the ranch because of the memories of her parents and uncles death. She does go because she loves her sister. She finds her sister's health is failing and things are not as they appear. Then there is Chase, her long time rival. When her dad took him, she felt jealous. Chase had always blamed her for running away instead of sticking it out.

There are a couple more fires in the area and when Eric, the sheriff, looks at the evidence he feels that the fires were related to the fire that killed her parents. Tess and Chase, for the good of the ranch, decide to bury the hatchet and work together to find out what is really going on and investigate further the fire that killed her parents and uncle.

Who is behind the fires? What kind of a man was Uncle Giles? Why don't people want to talk about him? And what about Tess and Chases feeling for each other?

These questions are all answered if you read the book. The way Colleen weaves the story just sucks you in and keeps you there. She allows you to see into the mind of the arsonist how he thinks, his reasoning.

Fire Dancer is a great story you won't want to miss! It's a keeper. Great job Colleen!

Colleen Coble has a way of getting you so involved in the opening 17 pages that you will not put "Fire Dancer" down. The Prologue and one chapter, and you're hooked. That's quite common in Indiana author, Colleen Coble, books. Her skills of writing/braiding together the suspense, murder mystery, romance, action, and location details are evident in every book. Few words are wasted, all have significance, all keep you riveted till the end. Always a surprise ending.

This book, "Fire Dancer", while not recently published at the time of this review (a reader advantage for cost), is timeless. A female smoke jumper takes time off from forest fire fighting to return to the Phoenix area ranch where she grew up, and where her parents died in a barn fire. She finds her sister ill, the arson case reopened after 12 years, murder now suspected, and other personal nightmares and relationships she'd like to forget in favor of a calmer life of skydiving into forest fires.

Having read another smoke jumper book recently, a non-fiction, I can inform you that this author knows her stuff. Or she does careful research. Or both. The details of smoke jumping and fighting forest fires, and the dangers and suspense, especially when the fires get beyond the control of the firemen (oops, fire-persons), are authentically presented in "Fire Dancer."

HORSE LOVERS will enjoy the Arizona ranch flavor and horse involvement.

ARIZONIANS will love the description and mention of many locations.

ROMANCE FANS, as always in Coble's books, will get that eventually.

NATIVE AMERICAN studiers will enjoy the Navajo connection to the story, and learning about a Navajo skinwalker, werewolf animal/man witch.

CHRISTIANS will discover a God-fearing family of sinners, but saved.

MURDER MYSTERY readers will...well, honestly, that's Colleen Coble every time, every book.

SUSPENSE & ACTION? Big time. Coble write a book like it's a blockbuster movie. One of these days Hollywood will discover her, mark my words.

Between the lines, but woven throughout every chapter, is a story of struggle, acceptance, and forgiveness. Some people burn adrenaline getting to forgiveness. Like fictional Tess Masterson, "smoke-jumper Miss America" some call "Queenie" and others call "the ice princess."

Health warning: This book produces excessive adrenaline through its reading.
Want more? Read my other Colleen Coble reviews. Several of her books I've given 5-stars. There will be more, once another is released.

I found this story to be an outstanding read! One of my absolute favorite books by Colleen Coble. I love the fact she isn't afraid to "dance" around topics many others seem to avoid. The characters in this book are well-developed and believable. The story itself is entertaining and full of twists and turns. Highly recommend it!

I have been hooked on Colleen Coble's books since I started the Rock Harbour Series. Those made you feel a part of the character's families and I for one wish those would go on and on. Now the Fire Dancer series is starting and looks to be another that will hook you and drag you in for more, and more.

The book begins with a young girl, Tess, getting a horse as a present from her loving parents. Within a few pages, though, her parents are gone, victims of a barn fire that eventually catapults grieving Tess into the world of smokejumpers, a dangerous profession requiring people to parachute from planes to fight wildfires.

Tess, now at the top of her game, becomes embroiled in another mystery: who cut the suspension lines of her chute, causing her friend Allie to suffer a serious accident (obviously meant for Tess)? A serial arsonist is thought to be at work, but he seems to be only targeting Tess's family.

Coble writes a good mystery, and she throws in a few plot twists (such as Stevie's loving husband having an affair) and shows how people can hide behind a facade of goodness while leaving a messy trail of distrust and hatred in their wake. There are revelations of incest and child molestation, but Coble (to her credit) doesn't dwell on these unsavory topics. There's also a bit of romance for Tess in the form of her foster brother, Chase Huston.

Fire Dancer is a good day's read for Coble fans. According to Amazon, this is the first in a series, so I'll be looking for others as they're published.

I met Colleen Coble last September at the ACFW Conference in Texas, and I've been reading her books ever since.

As always, when I read a book I was impressed how Tess's past experiences influenced her job choice, and her relationship problems. Colleen is a masterful story teller and the story gripped me from beginning to end.

I highly recommend this book as a story with take away value.