Trial by Fire: A Novel of Suspense

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.

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.

The prologue is engaging. Unfortunately we don't get back to the plot until part 2 of 2 and then it quickly falters.
The story and narrator made all men gruff and curt.
Many of the random characters introduced in first half had a grab-bag of social-economic-medical-political maladies who were never involved in the plot and and simply just forgotten.
Congratulations if you made it to the end as you show incredible perseverance.

Yes, I would recommend the whole Ali Reynolds Series. Being in the upper middle age bracket I like reading a story with the main character being in the same general age of life. The mystery and twists that Jance puts in her books are good and make me think harder to try to figure out the end game.

In this book I liked Sister Anselm because she made positive things come from negative situations in her life and others.

Not as good as I would like. Sometimes she seemed to have problems catching the "voice" of each of the characters. Sometimes it seemed she didn't know how to pronounce some words and was too slow in her speech.

Not necessarily. If I would have been able to I would have, but I liked having the break to think about what I had listened to.

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.