'Fatal Burn' by Roxanne Rustand - Book Review

‘Fatal Burn,’ by Roxanne Rustand, tells the story of Kris Donaldson.  She is starting a new adventure in the beautiful mountains of Montana, her place of birth.  She has just inherited a piece of land from an aunt – an aunt she was not aware of prior to her death.  Kris has had some rough patches in life, primarily through the ill-advised marriage of a bad seed while she was still a teenager.  The choices she made – and the ones he made that impacted her - continue to plague her years to this day. 

Other main characters in the book are Trace and Carrie Randall, brother and sister, who live next to Kris.  Trace is a cowboy, fire fighter and arson investigator – and Kris finds him to be very attractive.  Carrie is a vivacious Jesus follower who allows the Holy Spirit to guide her and shine through her.

I appreciated how all of the main characters prayed when they needed guidance and illumination from God, and thanked and praised Him afterward.  They heard and followed an inner voice – the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit – that never steered them wrong – and will always guide and direct us on the right path as well.

Another strong theme in the book is accepting God’s forgiveness, and not getting stuck in the constant loop of replaying old sins and regrets.  As stated by Trace:

“ I've been so caught up in the past.  Guilt.  Regret.  Anger at myself… I guess God was sending me a wake-up call.  I always knew that He’s forgiven me, but I still needed to hand all that baggage over to Him and forgive myself.” (p. 209)

This is the second book in Mrs. Rustand’s  ‘Big Sky Secrets’ Trilogy.  The first book is ‘Final Exposure.’  The third book, ‘End Game,’ will be releasing in June 2010. 

I found this to be a sweet – yet suspenseful – story.  I look forward to learning what happens to these characters in the final book of the trilogy. 

This book was generously provided to me by the author for review purposes.