Review: Burning Lies by Helene Young

 

Title: Burning Lies

Author: Helene Young

Published: Michael Joseph July 2012

Synopsis: Kaitlyn Scott is searching for the truth about her husband’s death, even if that means revisiting the most painful day of her life. But what she uncovers is a criminal willing to stop at nothing to keep his secret. Ryan O’Donnell, an enigmatic undercover cop, is investigating arson attacks when he is drawn into Kaitlyn’s world. He tries to fight his attraction for her, hoping the case might put his own demons to rest, but it only threatens to push him over the edge. With Kaitlyn and Ryan on a collision course, the arsonist seizes the chance to settle some old scores. As the Atherton Tableland burns, the three of them are caught in a fiery dance of danger and desire, and not everyone will come out alive. Read an Excerpt

Status: Read from June 25 to 26, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of Burning Lies, the third in a series of romantic suspense novels by Australian author, Helene Young. Set in far north Queensland the books are loosely linked by character and environment. Burning Lies features Kaitlyn Scott, a Border Watch officer who works with Morgan (Shattered Sky) and Lauren (Wings of Fear), and Ryan O’Donnell, (Wings of Fear), an undercover federal officer. With plenty of action, sizzling romance and page turning suspense, Burning Lies is a fast paced, exciting novel.

Burning Lies is literally more grounded than either Shattered Sky or Wings of Fear. Though Kaitlyn works for the airborne coastal border protection service featured in the previous novels, most of the action in this story takes place amongst the landscape of the Atherton Tablelands. Burning Lies sees Young’s characters caught up in the investigation of deliberately lit bushfires during the height of summer.
For Kaitlyn, the bushfires stir painful memories. Five years ago her husband was accused of setting the devastating Canberra fires that he and Kaitlyn’s father died in. Anxious to protect her young son and mother from a repeat of the tragedy, Kaitlyn’s home is as fire proof as possible and she volunteers as a rural fire service member, but all her defenses may still not be enough against a determined arsonist.
In Wings of Fear, Ryan was working undercover in a bikie gang accused of human trafficking. While the operation was successful, Ryan didn’t escape unscathed and now is targeted by the gang. He has been sent to Northern Queensland, not only to escape the men looking for him but also to identify a suspected arsonist at work in the area. Ryan’s cover has him as a city firefighter on leave who joins the local volunteer rural fire service, while living at a property next door to Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn and Ryan are well fleshed out protagonists, each battling their own internal demons while facing external challenges. Their relationship begins with a spark of instant attraction and builds through the novel, complicated by their circumstances. I really appreciate the way in which the author develops the romantic relationships in her novels, skillfully creating an attraction that blooms naturally.
The plot of Burning Lies is fast paced and builds suspense from the opening pages. Not only do the fires pose a real danger to the characters, Kaitlyn is being stalked and Ryan is being hunted. There is mystery surrounding the identity of the firebug and the truth of what happened during the fires Canberra and when the climax comes everything falls in to place, leaving the reader breathless.

Burning Lies is a fantastic read, unique but with all the action, adventure, mystery and romance found in both Shattered Sky and Wings of Fear. Helene Young is one of my favourite authors and I am already eagerly awaiting her next book!

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About the Author

Helene Young lives in Trinity Beach, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland. Her work as a senior captain with a major regional airline takes her all over the east coast of Australia. She is the RUBY-award-winning author of the popular romantic suspense novels Wings of Fear and Shattered Sky. In 2011 she was voted by the Romance Writers of Australia as the country’s most popular romance novelist.

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