REVIEW:

(New-to-me) author Christopher Swann’s A Fire in the Night has been likened by the publisher and other reviewers to books by the following authors: Linwood Barclay, Michael Farris Smith, Lee Child, Gregg Hurwitz, and Vince Flynn. Since I’ve only read one book by any of those dudes (Hurwitz’s Orphan X), I can’t really speak to the validity of those comparisons. For me though, the gritty southern mood was reminiscent of S.A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears - only less visceral, enjoyable, and memorable.

The book opens with a guy named Nick who’s moved up to a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina to mourn the death of his wife. He doesn’t have a phone, but he does have a machete and a particular set of skills. After being informed that his long-lost brother and sister-in-law just died in a house fire, he learns of the existence of their teen daughter - his niece - and must use said skills to protect her from the nefarious gentleman that set said fire. Chase ensues, a snake’s head is chopped off, and human carnage follows. So on and so forth.

Although my take on A Fire in the Night is obviously cloaked in snark, it isn’t necessarily critical. The book may be a 5-star read for devotees of the authors listed above. If you’re one of them, you can find this and Swann’s previous two novels in both audio and ebook formats on the Hoopla library app.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

Acclaimed Southern mystery master Christopher Swann delivers a novel perfect for fans of Linwood Barclay and Michael Farris Smith.

Nick Anthony has retreated to the North Carolina mountains to mourn the untimely death of his wife. Once a popular professor, Nick just wants to be left alone with his grief. But when his estranged brother and sister-in-law die in a house fire, a stunned Nick learns he has a niece, Annalise, who is missing.

At the scene of the crime, the men who set the fire have realized Annalise, and the information they are looking for, got away. Feverish and exhausted, she stumbles onto her uncle's porch, throwing Nick into the middle of the mystery of her parents’ death and the dangerous criminals hunting her down.

Hired to retrieve the stolen information at any price, private military contractor Cole and his team track Annalise to Nick’s cabin. But Nick has a hidden past of his own — and more than a few deadly tricks up his sleeve.