Andreae, Christine.
The Smoke Eaters: A Thriller

No misnomer, this fine effort from author Christine Andreae is indeed a thriller. The background is the Justice Peak Fire in Montana where Mattie McCulloch is finally assigned to her first big fire in the Forest Service. Of course, she is the first woman to assume the mantle of authority as IC (Incident Commander) after a series of racial incidents get out of hand. And, of course, there is great resentment and distrust from the men she must lead. Those obvious plot devices aside, the rest of this book is, for the most part, original.

The author presents the minutiae of firefighting with narrative tour-de-force as Mattie and the other characters fight fire then search for a murderer in this well-paced and compelling novel. Mattie is a mother whose son is fighting the same fire she commands and a daughter of a tough old bird who helped to bring up his grandson. As the pages flip by, you’ll meet Spence a writer looking for his big book, an assortment of law enforcement officers and fire specialists, members of a nudist colony, and a psychopath who really likes fire.

Fans of Nevada Barr‘s Anna Pigeon series should take to this character and this author like an ember to dry paper. There were some really interesting twists that kept me guessing up to the last few pages. Andreae seeds clues, yet gives nothing away easily as she tells a good story with some heart-pounding scenes.

Originally by Leane M. Ellis, April 24, 2000.
Edited August 27, 2008; lme

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Tags: Thriller