Fire Raiser

by Melanie Rawn

Book Overview

Bestseller Melanie Rawn plunges down the back stairs of the old South into a dark world of family secrets and the international flesh trade that lies underneath the surface of small town politics and romance. Holly McClure and Evan Lachlan have survived the fiery beginning of their romance and left Manhattan for Holly's ancestral home to raise their children. Evan's the county Sheriff; Holly is still a trouble-making Spellbinder trying to manipulate...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765354373
• ISBN13: 9780765354372
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 390 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Magical Fires

Fire Raiser (2009) is the second Rural Fantasy novel in this sequence, following Spellbinder. In the previous volume, Nick and Alec destroyed the house. Holly crept into the work room. Noel called upon the Dark Gods. Elias shrunk the circle. And Raven Mocker brought Death. In this novel, Holly Elizabeth McClure Lachlan is the wife of Evan. She is also a Virginian from the hills and woods of the Blue Ridge country. Magic runs in her family; dozens of her aunts, uncles and cousins are also Witches. She is a Spellbinder, whose blood makes other spells permanent. She is also a bestselling author in both nonfiction and fiction. Evan Liam Lachlan is the husband of Holly. He had been a NYPD officer and then a Deputy in the United States Marshals Service before moving to Virginia with his new wife. Now he is the appointed Sheriff of Pocahontas County and elections are coming up. Cam Griffen is Holly's only first cousin. He has been a constitutional lawyer on various foreign missions. He is also a homosexual, who wants to stay in the closet. Jamieson Tyler Stirling is the appointed District Attorney of Pocahontas County. Jamey is a very good trial lawyer. He is also a homosexual and makes no secret of it. In this story, Holly has given birth to twins, Kirby and Bella. She has postponed any writing while the babies are young. But the twins are old enough now that she is thinking of writing another book. Tonight Evan has to attend a social gathering to kick off his election campaign. Luckily, campaigns in rural Virginia are not the long drawn out affairs that Evan is used to in New York City. He only has to smooze with people at a few gatherings, starting with tonight's party. Holly also has to go to the party as his spouse. Naturally, the whole county already knows her and her politics. But she goes to show the flag. Many things are discussed at the party, but the primary topic is the spate of church burnings in the county. In fact, the purpose of the gathering is to raise money for rebuilding the churches. Holly has learned that all but one of the fires were started by magic. A secondary purpose is to support the Baptist efforts to reduce the traffic in child sex slaves. Hurricane Katrina had introduced several women in the Baptist congregations to the international traffic in such children. In Virginia, they know slavery when they see it and the local churches are determined that they will not allow it to happen again. While they are at the party, Cam suddenly appears and greets Holly. He is avoiding a distasteful job offer while returning to his old stamping grounds. Then he notices Jamey and panics. Cam has a history with Jamey. While they were both attending law school at Yale, Jamey feel in love with Cam. But Cam refuses to have an affair with Jamey. Unfortunately, in the ensuing twelve years, Cam has not been able to forget Jamey. He is such a beautiful man and an impeccable dresser. Even Holly gets quivers

A burning good read

This is Melanie Rawn feeling her way back into large, engrossing fantasy. Do not pick up this book if you haven't read Spellbinder. Well, if you do, then you deserve the confusion you encounter. Fire Raiser is intriguing- it's Melanie getting back to new magic systems (ok, not really new - she is still being intrigued by stairs) and banter. Melanie really does banter well - I have seen myself in some of the dialogue her characters use. Holly is in some ways a lot like Melanie. Holly explains to us why we don't yet have "The Captal's Tower" - and then we move beyond this to real life parallels - Fire Raiser takes us into a new chapter in the lives introduced to us in Spellbinder. And you know what, it's a darn good ride. Melanie Rawn does human emotion and foible better than most authors out there today. Fire Raiser takes the characters introduced in her come back novel and fleshes them out, continues their lives, and lays out plots for the final (?) story for these characters. We're now promised not only another book in the Exiles trilogy, but another in the Spellbinder one as well. I am looking forward to both.

worth a read

Fire Raiser improves dramatically on the story begun in Spell binder. There are some modern politics thrown in which on the one hand is true to people's lives but on the other hand is a little distracting, but it works out okay, Fire Raiser felt and read more like Rawn's really spectacular Exiles series. She also set up a third entry in the Spell Binder series, definately fire raiser is worth reading if you are a fan of Rawn or just in the mood for a little witchy fun.

spellbinding action-packed fantasy

Evan Lachlan and his Witch wife Holly McClure have moved from Manhattan to her hometown in Pocahontas County, Virginia. It is the place with the most concentration of witches in the country and while Holly is a Spellbinder who uses her blood on spells so they won't unravel. While her husband Evan is running for county sheriff, she loves the way he takes in stride her family's magical skills. He takes a break from the rigorous investigation into an apparent serial arsonist burning down churches using magic as the ignition trigger. The couple attends a fundraiser for Evan at the Westmoreland Inn and Spa. Upon arrival the pair chokes on the magic that fills the air. Holly's cousin Cam finds a doorway not visible without magic. They all enter only to find some hideous things on the other side and even more horrifying is there is no return exit out. Melanie Rawn has written a terrific spellbinding action-packed fantasy thriller that will remind the audience of the works of Kelly Armstrong. Readers who became acquainted with the lead couple in SPELLBINDER will especially appreciate how far they have come as a couple since their initial volatile magical meeting. FIRE RAISER is fast-paced and loaded with action from the onset, but ignites when the cast (and spellbound readers) decide to see what is beyond the door. Harriet Klausner