Into the Fire (Troubleshooters, Book 13) (Hardcover)

by Suzanne Brockmann (Author)
Key Phrases: Freedom Network, Tim Ebersole, San Diego (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The 13th exciting, if long-winded, entry in bestseller Brockmann's Troubleshooters series answers a question posed in 2004's Hot Target—what happened to former Troubleshooter op Vinh Murphy? Seven years earlier, the half-Vietnamese, half–African-American agent went MIA after his wife, Angelina, was killed during a conflict with the neo-Nazi Freedom Network. Now back in California, Vinh has been suffering alcoholic blackouts in between e-mailing death threats to FN's leader, Tim Ebersole. After Ebersole's murdered and Vinh becomes the chief suspect, a sober Vinh turns to an old friend of Angelina's, a deaf former cop, for help in remembering if he did kill Ebersole. A romantic subplot involving Izzy Zannella, a navy SEAL with Team Sixteen, and Eden Gillman, the runaway teen sister of a fellow SEAL, sweetens the mix. Readers unfamiliar with the players might need a scorecard, but Brockmann ignites sufficient sparks to keep the blaze going. A jaw-dropping conclusion suggests more fireworks ahead. (July 22)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Stressful love/hate relationships simmer in the ranks of the Troubleshooters and their U.S. Navy SEAL buddies in RITA Award winner Brockmann's 13th series entry (after All Through the Night). But when shots are fired, they all direct their attention instead to the neo-Nazi bad guys picking off their agents. Written in third person and told from multiple points of view, the somewhat confusing and slow-to-unfold story benefits from having two readers. Patrick G. Lawlor and Renée Raudman (co-narrators, Don't Look Down) successfully use accents, pacing, and tone to bring the large cast of characters into focus. Public libraries with a Brockmann following will want to purchase.—Juleigh Muirhead Clark, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Lib., Colonial Williamsburg Fdn., VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345501535
• ISBN-13: 978-0345501530
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #198,736 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 13 in The Troubleshooters Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The action continues, July 24, 2008

By	Katydid (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

I have accepted that the Brockmann who gave us such classics as "Over the Edge" and "Out of Control" is gone, and this trend continues in her latest Troubleshooters book. Once again it's non-stop action, lots of injuries, and thinly drawn romance. It was, however, a very riveting book.

This review contains spoilers.

I've never been a fan of the "secretly in love with this guy but lets him marry her best friend, and wow, he's been in love with her too" story-line, so Hannah and Murphy interested me less than the secondary characters. For me those characters stole the book. Decker, Dave, Sophia, Nash, and Tess finally get a little more screen time. But let me break it to you - Sophia does not end up with Decker. Maybe Brockmann was going to go there several books ago, but she's not going there now. Which is very disappointing.

There is an explanation as to why Nash has always been such a secretive mess, and it satisfied me.

Now on to Izzy Zanella. I fell in love with Izzy in "Into the Storm", because the guy is such a freak and has such great one-liners. Kind of like the Wildcard of old. (Not the Wildcard of his own book.) But then Brockmann decided to pair him with a just-turned 18 year old who is pregnant with another man's child. Did I mention that Eden is Gillman's sister, Gillman, who hates Izzy? Oh, and Eden has the requisite awful childhood baggage, too. In one of Brockmann's favorite plot devices, they have a marriage of convenience which ends about as well as Sam's and Mary Lou's did. This storyline is not concluded in this book, since we are supposed to care about these star-crossed loves and follow their saga to the next few books.

Not for me. Not gonna happen. These two squick me out, for starters. She's 18, he's 29. They saw each other, got attracted, and that was the extent of their great connection. I don't WANT them together, I don't want to read about them so much as brushing elbows. I don't know if she thinks they are the next Gina and Max, but wow, they so are not. Eden is spunky and fiery, sure, but she's 18. And much as I love Izzy, he is not Max. I hate that she took Izzy there, just hate it. It's gross. It wouldn't work.

I'm sure in the next Troubleshooters book - or the one after that - since she loves to drag these things out - Izzy will be at the Ladybug Lounge, moping around, still wearing his wedding ring, waiting for his teeny-bopper wife to grow up. Then she'll get kidnapped by terrorists and they will rush in to save her, where they will argue while bullets fly around their heads, then hook up against a wall and decide they're in love. See, to me, this isn't romance. There's no build-up, no explaining WHY this person, just 1) Attraction 2) Hook up 3) Marriage and HEA. And in this case, I agree with Lopez; it's wrong and it won't work.

So why did Gina and Max work, but not Izzy and Eden? It's not just the age, although just-past 17 is TOO young, for me, but the situation. Max didn't take responsibility for Gina right after meeting her, he didn't marry her instantly and expect it to work. He tried to push her away, and while it got annoying, it made sense. But mostly I got a sense of the inside of their heads, and why they felt the way they did. With Izzy and Eden, I saw no reason why they liked each other beyond physical attraction. None at all. And it all happened SO fast.

It was an entertaining book, it kept my interest, but Brockmann is no longer an auto-buy for me. I loved seeing glimpses of my old favorites, and hope that she gives Lopez his own book. But I really miss the romance.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Into the Fire review, August 5, 2008

By	Duke "Duke" - See all my reviews

I have read all of Ms. Brockmann's books to date and this has to be my least favorite of them ever.

I am used to her multiple storylines and can follow two ongoing stories but in this case there were 4 which was too many to many for me to keep up with in one book.
None of the major characters: Murphy and Hannah, Eden or Izzy captured my attention, the most compeling story line was with Nash and Tess, who has already had a book (liked that one) but still. The Decker, Sophia and Dave storyline nosedived into really dissapointing territory for anyone who has been wanting Decker and Sophia to get a HEA, that no longer looks likely.

A 5 book story arc is too much for me and then yanking your readers back and saying no, not going there anymore. I was highly irritated. This may or may not be my last Brockmann book - I was that disgusted, but for sure this author is no longer an automatic purchase for me.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Everything but the kitchen sink, August 2, 2008

By	A voracious reader (USA) - See all my reviews

I have always loved Suzanne Brockmann's book buts I can't recommend this one. What a mishmash of characters and plots - and those plots sag and drag almost until the bitter end when the action finally picks up. At that point, you barely care who makes it out alive. Wait for it to come out in paperback - better yet save your money and borrow it from the library.