Also by this author: Collateral Damage, Acceptable Risk, Active Defense, Active Defense, Life Flight, Crossfire, Critical Threat, Countdown, Double Take
Series: Lake City Heroes #3
Published by Revell on January 21, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Romance, Suspense
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
When Jesslyn McCormick was just seven years old, a devastating house fire killed her parents and two younger sisters. Now the fire marshal of Lake City, Jesslyn is determined to find the person who started the fire that robbed her of her family. As the 25th anniversary of her family's deaths approaches, a string of fires--including at Jesslyn's church--brings up all those old feelings and offers new evidence.
Because church fires are considered a hate crime, FBI Special Agent Nathan Carlisle is called in to work with local law enforcement. Nathan has his own past--one he'd prefer not to revisit. And focusing on helping Jesslyn track down the arsonist is a great distraction.
As both the case and the chemistry between Jesslyn and Nathan heat up, memories will come flooding in from the past to bump up against hopes for the future. And when Jesslyn comes face-to-face with her worst nightmare, she'll have to confront her fears and rely on Nathan and her community of friends in order to survive.
I’m not sure how I missed Target Acquired, but I’ll need to go back and read it. Please forgive me for skipping to from book one to book three of Lynette Eason’s “Lake City Heroes” series for this review. In Serial Burn by Lynette Eason, twenty years ago, Jesslyn’s immediate family passed away in a housefire. Seeking justice—and answers—becomes her goal in life, sending her down the career path of a fire marshal. When Jesslyn’s church goes up in flames, FBI Special Agent Nathan Carlisle comes with is partner to investigate. He has his own tragic history with fire. When the arsonist continues striking, both Jesslyn and Nathan must face their pasts, while simultaneously trying to keep Jesslyn alive.
Like all of Eason’s previous work, Serial Burn is action-packed and filled life-or-death situations, for both the main characters and minor ones. You think Eason’s taking a break, but a Molotov cocktail shatters the peace. Or gunshots. Or a car accident. Or another fire. The author keeps readers biting their fingernails; I certainly did. Eason pulled me into the story from the prologue, and I had to keep reading. When I couldn’t read, I found myself thinking about the book. Apologies to all the people who might have texted me, or engaged me in conversation, as I didn’t comprehend a word. While I found the amount of action to be…farfetched, it was the appropriate amount for a novel. It didn’t fill every page, but it wasn’t nonexistent, either.
What I appreciate most about Christian romantic suspense, though, is its underlying messages. Serial Burn focuses on acceptance, faith, forgiveness, and redemption. Acceptance and faith because we won’t always understand why things do—or don’t—happen. Redemption because it’s never too late to restructure relationships or to overcome the past. Forgiveness because…well, forgiveness is complicated. You can decide to forgive someone, even if it takes a while for your heart to catch up. Forgiving others is hard; forgiving yourself is harder; accepting God’s forgiveness is the hardest of all in so many ways. It is incredibly difficult to think that God could want to give it to us, after all the times we fail. After all the times we sin. But He does, and He will tomorrow, too. Serial Burn by Lynette Eason portrays this concept so clearly.
I loved Serial Burn. Lynette Eason is one of my “go-to” authors for romantic suspense novels. She never disappoints, and Final Approach needs to arrive sooner, thank you very much.