Over
the holidays I came across When The Smoke Clears in my
bookstore – it looked pretty interesting, so I decided to give Lynette Eason another shot. Good thing I did!
Growing
up in a home with an abusive father caused Alexia Allen to have trouble
believing that a Heavenly Father can be loving.
Kicked out of her childhood home right after completing High-School, she
has just as much trouble believing her mother ever loved her at all. Abandoned by her older brother as soon as he
was old enough to leave, and losing her beloved sister through suicide, Alexia finds herself truly alone in the world; except for her best
friend Serena Hopkins.
Having
been accused and believed to be guilty of the arson that left her father and
sister disfigured, Alexia aims to heal from the horror of the fire that lead to
her sister’s eventual suicide by becoming a smokejumper. Knowing better than most that fire can ruin a
life in an instant, Alexia always takes excellent care
of the equipment that keeps her safe; so when she nearly dies in a fire due to
equipment failure, she knows that something sinister is going on. When Alexia
learns through Serena that her mother is seriously ill, and she finds herself
suspended pending an investigation, she decides to face all of her demons by
going home for her High-School Reunion, and recuperating in her mother's home. Yet trouble seems to be following her, and
within hours of arriving back in town Alexia finds herself in the centre of a murder
investigation.
When Alexia also realises her mother’s friends and neighbours deeply
resent her unforgiving nature, for not staying in contact with her mother, she
must furthermore face the possibility that her mother is indeed the changed
woman Serena claims she is, and that Alexia may carry some blame herself. Suddenly surrounded by people who encourage
Alexia to turn to God, Alexia further embarks on a tentative relationship with
a God she doesn’t understand; a God she truly believes is punishing her through
the events wreaking havoc with her life.
Could she be wrong about this too?
More than anything Alexia has always yearned for a loving father; could
God possibly be the answer?
Attempts on Alexia’s life complicate matters even further as it
seems current events are linked to the mysterious disappearance of her and
Serena’s friend, Jillian Carter, and Alexia furthermore becomes the centre of
attention of two brothers each intent on protecting her life and vying for her
heart. But the conflicts ahead are
nothing compared to the ghosts of the past. As Alexia strives to finally accept and
forgive her family history, she must also decide if the secret she's been
guarding for the last ten years must finally come to light.
Lynette
Eason totally redeems herself with this one!
Truthfully, comparing it to A Killer Among Us and Too
Close To Home, it doesn’t even feel like the same author wrote these
books. The detail this time around is
accurate and consistent, and the characters are strong and interesting. Eason
has a talent for convincingly portraying troubled relationships with God, and
its eventual healing. I thoroughly
enjoyed every single page. When The Smoke Clears is the first book in the Deadly Reunions series, and I sincerely look forward to reading the next two books, When A Heart Stops and When A Secret Kills.
I am
very pleased I tried a new Lynette Eason book.
Practice makes perfect, and her writing is becoming stronger and more
gripping.
Product Information:
Title: When The Smoke Clears
Author: Lynette Eason
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Revell
Year: 2012
ISBN-10: 0800720075
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