Fire Raiser [Hardcover]

Melanie Rawn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2009

Bestseller Melanie Rawn plunges down the back stairs of the old South into a dark world of family secrets and the international flesh trade that lies underneath the surface of small town politics and romance.

Holly McClure and Evan Lachlan have survived the fiery beginning of their romance and left Manhattan for Holly’s ancestral home to raise their children.  Evan’s the county Sheriff; Holly is still a trouble-making Spellbinder trying to manipulate her family as if they were characters in one of her novels.

But something’s not right in Pocahontas County.  Churches are being burned down in mysterious arsons with a taint of magic on them.  Sheriff Lachlan suspects that they have something to do with the new owners of the old Westmoreland plantation, now a very upscale Inn, but even if he could find proof, it’s going to be hard to bring a case of Black Magic before a Judge -- even in Pocahontas County, where witchcraft is the family business of all the oldest clans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Smalltown politics and big-city newcomers mix badly with a family of rural magicians in this dreary modern fantasy. Bestselling author Holly Lachlan has come home to Pocahontas County, Va., with her adoring husband, Evan (a former U.S. marshal, now the county sheriff). Together they attend a fund-raising party at an antebellum mansion turned into an upscale inn by a strange German investor. Herr Weiss's hotel is chock-full of sinister secrets, and the assembled guests—including a charming DA and some of Holly's magically endowed relatives—must combine forces to investigate. The premise has promise, but the mystery elements don't gain much of a foothold until late in the game, and Rawn (Spellbinder) frequently interrupts them with vast swaths of left-wing political pontification, elaborate matchmaking attempts and cutesy fawning between the protagonists. (Apr.)
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Review

"This cauldron bubbles over with spells, rituals, sex and even a vampire or two." -Publishers  Weekly on Spellbinder

 

"This romantic urban fantasy by the author of the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies retains Rawn's talent for character building, her acute eye for the minutiae of daily life, and her storytelling excellence." -Library Journal on Spellbinder

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765315335
• ISBN-13: 978-0765315335
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very little plot, too much lecturing, July 7, 2009

By 

Microgirl (RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Raiser (Hardcover)

This book really seems like just a showcase of the author's opinions with a little plot thrown in to make it into a story. There's a whole character included who has no purpose but to be a backdrop for the author's lectures on trust in a marriage, and how difficult it is to be a Writer (really just a defense of the fact that she doesn't just go ahead and write the third novel in the Exiles series). Lots and lots of discussion to illustrate the fact that she's okay with gay male relationships - but the only sex scenes are totally unnecessary straight ones. I really felt like I was being lectured to for 75% of this book.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars boring, July 16, 2009

By 

E (fort collins, co United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Raiser (Hardcover)

This book was incredibly boring. If you want to read a book about a homosexual romance between two men, then maybe this book is for you. Oh and she wrote about human trafficking. That seems to be the big topic to use this year in television and movies. I'm not sure I would consider this book a fanatasy novel, the magic portion is like the spirnkles on a cupcake.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars political rant, August 1, 2009

By 

Audrey "avid reader" (Westampton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Raiser (Hardcover)

This book is a sequel to Spellbinder. Unlike Spellbinder, however, it just pretends to be a fantasy novel. It is primarily a rant of the author's political opinions on the subjects of abortion, homosexuality, sexual slavery, prostitution, civic duty/participation, prejudice, and religion - the fantasy storyline appears at irregular intervals. If that is what you are looking for, go for it. Otherwise, be warned.