When the Smoke Clears

Title: WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS
Author: Lynette Eason
Publisher: Revell
February 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8007-2007-0
Genre: Inspirational/romantic suspense

Alexia Allen is suspended from her firefighting job due to equipment failure while trying to rescue some young children from a house fire. She makes a last-minute decision to head across the country to her mom’s house and attend a high school reunion. But trouble seems to follow her. Someone is in her mother’s house when she arrives and she discovers a dead body in the basement. Who killed her mother’s boarder, and why?

Hunter Graham is the responding officer. He harbored a crush on Alexia from way back in high school, but his partner has Alexia on the top of her suspect list. Hunter doesn’t believe the Alexia he knew is guilty of the crime—but then again, she did have unproved evidence against her for setting fire to her parents’ house in an attempt to kill her dad. Did that really happen? Or was that another instant of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Everything seems to be going wrong. Someone is definitely trying to kill Alexia, but why? Hunter is pulling favors he doesn’t owe to try to keep her safe. But the killer is determined and will stop at nothing to succeed. Why are they targeting Alexia? Does she know something from her past that the killer wants?

WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS is the first book in the newest series by Lynette Eason. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it held my attention to the very end, even though I figured out part of the mystery very quickly. There are some loose strings in this book, which will tie it into the next book, and probably the third book in the series.

I fell in love with Hunter, Alexia and some of the secondary characters in this book. I can’t wait to read more in the Deadly Reunion series by Lynette Eason. This book is a winner. Highly recommended. $14.99. 340 pages. 5 stars.