Trial by Fire

A Novel of Suspense

By: J. A. Jance

Narrated by: Karen Ziemba

In the heat of the Arizona desert, a raging fire pushes temperatures to a deadly degree, and one woman is left to burn. Pulled naked and barely breathing from the fire, the victim has no idea who she is, let alone who would do this to her -- or why. In her hospital bed she drifts in and out of consciousness, her only means of communicating a blink of the eye. And then an angel appears. Misguidedly known around town as the "Angel of Death," Sister Anselm has devoted her life to working as an advocate for unidentified patients. To her burn patient, she is a savior. But to this Jane Doe's would-be killer, Sister Anselm's efforts pose a serious threat. Ali Reynolds is on the scene as the new media relations consultant for the Yavapai County Police Department, keeping reporters at bay and circumventing questions about arson and a link to a domestic terrorist group called Earth Liberation Front. But her job quickly becomes much more. As Ali struggles to help Sister Anselm uncover the helpless woman's identity, they realize that by locating the missing relatives they may be exposing the victim once more to a remorseless killer determined to finish the job. Faced with the possibility of putting all three of their lives in jeopardy, Ali fearlessly pursues justice -- and what she discovers is a secret even darker and more twisted than she ever could have imagined.

With unerring skill, Jance delivers relentless suspense in what is surely her finest novel yet in this riveting and addictive series.

©2009 J.A. Jance (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

book with heart and mystery

Well-crafted story line, along with good well thought-out characterizations, and enjoyable book to read. This definitely invites you to read the next Jance book.

Trial By Fire

I had listened to other Ali Reynolds stories by J.A.Jance and each time I thought I might not listen to her next book in the series. I am very glad I went ahead and listen to this one as it was the best one she has done in this series. I had felt in the other books that Ali was lost but this book got her a new job and purpose for the story. Lots of nail biting suspense and still the calm of the family interaction. Great characters in the story. You will enjoy it.

Enjoyable Listen

Well crafted story, interesting characters, though some of the action is a bit "super-human" style, but enjoyable nonetheless. Typical well-thought-out story line, and character development.

Great book

I love this series. It always hooks me and I can't put it down. Can't wait to start on the next one.

Crisp writing - Jance is just getting better

I am a long-time Jance fan so expected a good read, but realized part way through that this is some of her best work so far. The writing is absolutely crisp so things unfold at a steady pace while also providing excellent character development and a solid story line. Multiple characters and story threads can be confusing sometimes & I think the audiobook format may accentuate that problem, however, in Trial By Fire, Jance draws the characters and outlines the story threads so distinctly that this is not a problem at all. If you like a good puzzle as well as emotional context, then you will find Trail By Fire right down you alley. I suggest this is a good novel to start with if you are new to Jance's work.

Love this series!

Very interesting story, would not have to read the books before it to understand it, but I definitely recommend reading this entire series from beginning to end. I very much enjoy the narration, Karen’s voice is so soothing yet intriguing. Very glad she has been there from the beginning. Makes you feel like you personally know the characters. I look forward to listening to the rest.

Great book!

The only thing that bothered me was the Author's pronunciation of some city names and the Saguaro cactus being mispronounced. Being from AZ, that is like nails on the chalkboard to me.

J.A. Jance's builds characters!

What did you love best about Trial by Fire?

Character development for even obscure characters.

What other book might you compare Trial by Fire to and why?

Jance's Edge of Evil had the same type of well developed characters.

What aspect of Karen Ziemba’s performance would you have changed?

More emotion in the reading.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The main character, Ali Reynolds defies all of the authorities during the conclusion because of her loyality to other characters.

Liked everything except

One tiny little.thing. I was born in Tucson, Arizona. Needless to say
I've see a lot of cactus. The narrator did a very good job except that she mispronounced the word saguaro every single time. Guess that's one way to tell a native from a non native. Don't pronounce the g.

Rewarding

This series has supplied me with many rewarding hours of listening during a difficult time in my life of 78 years
Looking forward to the next one
Chris