Ponder: Out of Nowhere

Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown ©2023 is about a mass shooting at a county fair in Texas and its aftermath. The portrayal of the shooting itself is intense and chaotic. Although it opens the novel, it has the intensity and the fast pace of a climax. The novel not only explores the anguish of the victims and casualties, but also relates the investigative efforts of the authorities to determine the perpetrators. It is the type of book that once I’d begun, I needed to finish, permitting myself only those interruptions that were absolutely necessary.

I also appreciated the candor of Sandra Brown before she launched into the text. Her honesty in the introductory Author’s Note is worthy of note.

I tried to imagine how one copes after surviving such a horrifying traumatic event. … I confess that even as I was writing this story, I knew my words were inadequate to describe rending of heart and spirit that Elle andCalder were suffering. ... To anyone reading it who has come even close to an experience such as my characters, I apologize for presuming that I know what it’s like. I don’t.

Key characters are Elle with her two year old son Charlie and her best friend Glenda, a business man Calder, and a detective team of Compton and Perkins. The characters are well-defined with inter-relationships morphing enough that I became engaged with key players’ feelings and thought processes. Interspersed chapters from the point of view of the shooter also inject a creepy feel into novel. The settings are varied and lend themselves to a suspenseful ambience. My one star reduction from four stars is that I felt the book ended too abruptly. The level of detail in telling the story seemed to have been dropped in order to finish succinctly, almost as if an invisible word limit had been reached. Other than that, I would still would recommend this book. Overall I enjoyed Out of Nowhere and became deeply enough engaged as to be entertained.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

Ponder: After the Fire

Frank and I were on our way back from a trip to San Diego and sitting at the airport waiting for our flight. The book I had left out of my suitcase to read was The Cat That Saved Books. It was awful. (See my post for 10/20/23.) Frank reminded me I had my iPad and perhaps I could read one of my saved Kindle books. I'd forgotten about them since I am so accustomed to holding a physical paper book in my hands when I read. His proposal was a great idea so I pulled up After the Fire by Kathryn Shay. 

The story follows an Italian family of five siblings. Three of them became firefighters. Mitch, Jenny, and Zack Malvaso followed in the footsteps of their father who also practiced that profession. The other two siblings resented the stress and worry the three firefighting siblings caused the family, wanted them to pursue safer careers. In a particular horrendous four alarm blaze at Sinco Automotive’s five-hundred-square-foot warehouse, a roof collapsed trapping some firefighters inside, three of which were Mitch, Jenny, and Zack. In the aftermath of that terrifying experience each vowed to change his/her personal life to fix whatever was wrong that each had been ignoring. Hence the title and main focus of the book is After the Fire.

The author Kathryn Shay spent five years riding fire trucks with a large city fire department, eating in their firehouses and interviewing hundreds of America’s Bravest. She is quite well versed in the ins and outs of the life of firefighters. Her knowledge shines through in her description of many climactic moments, and in her meticulous description of tools and methods in blaze battling or other rescues. The brave scenarios portrayed in this novel are strong and vivid. But equally communicated was the turmoil and emotions within private lives and family conflicts. I enjoyed this realistic fictional read and found it captivating. 

★★★☆☆ Better than average; not a waste of time

I do not plan, however, to continue with other stories in the Hidden Cove Firefighter series. I browsed ahead for previews of the subsequent books and frankly, the focal characters of those follow-on books did not entice me to follow up. A sequel is rarely as good as the first. After the Fire was indeed worth my time, albeit I was a bit coerced into the choice due to my airport confines.