Burnin' Up

Book Review: BURN by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy

I've been waiting a while for a Dekker book that I really enjoyed. I started hitting on that when I read a pre-release copy of his upcoming book THE BRIDE COLLECTOR, which releases in April. But I also hit on that a bit with his newest outting with co-author Erin Healy, BURN. Healy explains in an interview at the back of the book that they were trying to shoot more for a few like Dekker's BLINK or THR3E, which captured more of a female audience than Dekker's fantasy books. And the feel is definitely more like Dekker's older books, which will be a welcome to some fans and maybe not to some others.

The plot centers around a gypsy kumpania in New Mexico, where the daughter of the rom baro, Janeal Mikkado lives. She soon is caught up in something much bigger than she had ever anticipated when a mysterious stranger appears in camp. What ensues is a desperate chase for Janeal to discover who she really is and where her life has headed -- and in all goes up in typical Dekker fashion -- blazing right to the very end.

The writing here is pretty solid, although some readers may reach the middle of the book and think that the plot is over and done with. I reached about halfway after being amazed by the first 150 pages, and started to wonder where the plot went. It suddenly seemed like there was nothing much left for the characters to discover or achieve. But then Dekker and Healy pull a pretty good twist that I never saw coming -- and definitely kept me going to the very end.

I would say that BURN is one of the more solid Dekker books. Not as amazing in my mind as SAINT or ADAM or even THE BRIDE COLLECTOR, but definitely up there on my list of favorites from him. Definitely one to check out for sure.