Hell's Gate

By: Stephen Frey

Narrated by: Erik Steele

When 35-year-old litigator Hunter Lee decides to turn his back on the rat race that has made him rich but cost him his marriage, he takes the advice of his brother and goes to Montana. There he joins the elite Smoke Jumpers, who parachute out of C-5 airplanes to contain the worst forest fires of the remote West. But escape from the ugly side of human nature is hardly what he finds when word reaches him of a small town's little secret involving arson and the reckless quest for profits at the expense of lives.

As Hunter follows his instincts, Montana becomes a crucible where good and evil collide -- and where one man, running from his past, takes on the burden of exposing the guilty while saving himself and those he cares about most from the greatest danger they have ever faced.

©2009 David Weber (P)2009 BBC Audio

Enjoyed...but

I listen to audio books constantly in the car and have always enjoyed Stephen Frey's work.

Hell's Gate was a good listen. I feel the author spent a great deal of time in parts 1 & 2 developing and laying out the story but to wrap it up so quick in part 3 was disappointing. I still really enjoyed Hell's Gate but so much occurs so quickly in part 3 I would have liked to have more detail.

Perhaps I'm just upset the book is over so listen for yourself.

The story moves along with good descriptions

What did you like best about this story?

I grew up in Montana and liked the descriptions, although Frey was a bit loose with things like where Hell's Gate actually is: Missoula. The fire danger and the hyperbole of the stereotypic Montana personality were fun.

Any additional comments?

I've enjoyed several other books from Stephen Frey and expect the same people who liked The Chairman series would also like this. His descriptions of characters has a familiar feel. An early editing blunder was a little distracting using guilty/not guilty (trying to avoid a small spoiler) rather than plaintiff/defendant in a civil case.