From the internationally bestselling author Catherine McKenzie comes an evocative tale of two women navigating the secrets and lies at the heart of a wildfire threatening their town.After a decadelong career combating wildfires, Elizabeth has traded in her former life for a quieter one with her husband. Now she works as the local arson investigator in a beautiful, quaint town in the Rockies. But … Rockies. But that tranquil life vanishes when she and her husband agree to divorce and a fire in nearby Cooper Basin begins to spread rapidly. For Elizabeth, containing a raging wildfire is easier than accepting that her marriage has failed.
For Elizabeth’s ex-friend Mindy, who feels disconnected from her husband and teenage children, the fire represents a chance to find a new purpose: helping a man who has lost his home to the blaze. But her faith is shattered by a shocking accusation.
As the encroaching inferno threatens the town’s residents, Elizabeth and Mindy must discover what will be lost in the fire, and what will be saved.
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I’ve been really enjoying Catherine McKenzie’s books this summer and this one was no exception! I absolutely love the characters in her books.
I love books that give me a view in to a world that I do not know. “Smoke” did this in spades. The author gave me an insight in to firefighting, which was the backbone to a book about a troubled marriage, a broken friendship, and a town where everyone is blaming one another for starting the flames.
The relationships were especially well written. The marriage was flawed, real. Neither perfect nor disastrous. The friendship fell apart over something that was said, but again – the author handled it in an authentic way. It can be so tempting, I’m sure, to squeeze maximum drama out of those types of moments.
I look forward to reading other books by Catherine McKenzie.
½
Smoke is a standalone, women’s fiction novel written by Catherine McKenzie. It follows the individual struggles of two women at a time when a wildfire is threatening their small town. For Elizabeth, it’s her marriage. For Mindy, it’s her family and community. But the approaching fire is not just thrown in for a bit of suspense. It sets the tone, develops the characters, and draws parallels like nobody’s business. Passion, teamwork, support, respect, hard work, dedication, integrity, sacrifice… all qualities necessary for fighting fires. No coincidence they are also all the qualities needed for relationships.
In addition to the family drama aspects of this novel, Ms. McKenzie integrated elements of detective fiction and mystery as Elizabeth, an arson investigator, is narrowing down the possibilities of how the current blaze began. Personally, I enjoyed the various relationship/social drama components more than the actual investigation (which was probably intentional), but I think they all married together well in this story and created a well-rounded reading experience. In my opinion, there were equal amounts of surprises and predictability (and a few unanswered questions), but overall I enjoyed Smoke and would recommend it. Check it out.
My favorite quote:
“Life works on easy, smooths it down and wears it away until there’s only the grit left between you.”
After a decade long career combating wildfires, Elizabeth has traded in her former life for a quieter one with her husband. Now she works as the local arson investigator. But that tranquil life vanishes when she and her husband agree to divorce and a fire in nearby Cooper Basin begins to spread rapidly, perhaps destroying their home.
The other main character is Mindy, who was once Elizabeth’s best friend. Mindy wants to have a fundraiser for the man whose house started the fire. The story is engrossing as Elizabeth sets out to find out who started the fire. investigating the fire, will Elizabeth discover what she really wants out of life?
I like this author a lot. After I read “The Good Liar”, I wanted to read more of her work.
I chose this book because I live in Colorado and fire is a constant threat and fiear. The story was well written with an interesting premise but I don’t think it lived up to its full potential. Many of the characters seemed undeveloped and flat, especially the men. The motives driving Elizabeth seemed unequal to her actions. I felt Mindy was a more complex and sympathetic character.
While I did enjoy the book, at the end I felt that the author had never lived in an area close to a wildfire. Despite the title there was little verisimilitude about the effects of smoke on the town. She left out any mention of the burning in the throat, the eyes watering, although she interspersed frequent mentions of seeing and smelling smoke.
In summary, the author has definite promise but I don’t think this story will stand the test of time.