Tuesday, June 17, 2014

The Spark / John Kenny



Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Thriller

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

A longtime firefighter in Canada, John Kenny says his career choice was karma, the logical outcome of starting his parent’s home on fire while making French fries as a teenager. This is Kenny’s first book.

For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

“Searching for the truth is the most dangerous thing firefighter Donny Robertson will ever do.

Everyone believes the blaze that killed Donny’s Captain was just a terrible accident. Donny’s search for the truth will cost him his home, his relationship and his job. As the puzzle starts to come together, Donny discovers he’s out of his depth in a world of corporate intrigue and murder for hire. No longer the hunter, he becomes the target of a skilled and merciless contract killer. Donny’s only chance to save himself is to confront the person pulling the strings. It’s a desperate plan and it will cost him everything he has left.”

Appraisal:

In The Spark, firefighter Donny Robertson becomes obsessed at getting to the bottom of what really happened in a suspicious fire that injured Danny and killed his Captain. Answering his questions turns out to be more than he bargained for, with a high price to be paid before reaching his goal.

The thriller aspect of the story was good, but what stood out for me even more was the day-to-day life of the firefighter. Not only the hours or days of boredom interspersed with minutes of terror, but the workings of the fire station and camaraderie between the fire fighters. A page turner, with more than a touch of human interest, too.

FYI:

Uses Canadian spelling conventions.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing or copy editing issues. However, there was an issue I suspect relates to formatting with words, primarily numbers, rendered as compound words instead of using a hyphen like fortyeight rather than forty-eight. It is possible this is an issue in review copies and not the production version available for purchase.


Rating: **** Four Stars

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