• Trial by Fire

  • A Novel of Suspense
  • By: J. A. Jance
  • Narrated by: Karen Ziemba
  • Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (383 ratings)

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Trial by Fire  By  cover art

Trial by Fire

By: J. A. Jance
Narrated by: Karen Ziemba
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Publisher's summary

In the heat of the Arizona desert, a raging fire pushes temperatures to a deadly degree, and one woman is left to burn. Pulled naked and barely breathing from the fire, the victim has no idea who she is, let alone who would do this to her -- or why. In her hospital bed she drifts in and out of consciousness, her only means of communicating a blink of the eye. And then an angel appears. Misguidedly known around town as the "Angel of Death," Sister Anselm has devoted her life to working as an advocate for unidentified patients. To her burn patient, she is a savior. But to this Jane Doe's would-be killer, Sister Anselm's efforts pose a serious threat. Ali Reynolds is on the scene as the new media relations consultant for the Yavapai County Police Department, keeping reporters at bay and circumventing questions about arson and a link to a domestic terrorist group called Earth Liberation Front. But her job quickly becomes much more. As Ali struggles to help Sister Anselm uncover the helpless woman's identity, they realize that by locating the missing relatives they may be exposing the victim once more to a remorseless killer determined to finish the job. Faced with the possibility of putting all three of their lives in jeopardy, Ali fearlessly pursues justice -- and what she discovers is a secret even darker and more twisted than she ever could have imagined.

With unerring skill, Jance delivers relentless suspense in what is surely her finest novel yet in this riveting and addictive series.

©2009 J.A. Jance (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about Trial by Fire

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Trial By Fire

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.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Crisp writing - Jance is just getting better

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.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Ok if you enjoy rambling

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.


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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable Listen

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.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Vintage J.A. Jance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

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.

Who was your favorite character and why?

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

What about Karen Ziemba’s performance did you like?

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.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

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.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rewarding

This series has supplied me with many rewarding hours of listening during a difficult time in my life of 78 years
Looking forward to the next one
Chris

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book

Great story. I had a hard yime putting it down to get some sleep.Lots of well handled & develped twists & turns with a very satisfying conclusion.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

The only thing that bothered me was the Author's pronunciation of some city names and the Saguaro cactus being mispronounced. Being from AZ, that is like nails on the chalkboard to me.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Liked everything except

One tiny little.thing. I was born in Tucson, Arizona. Needless to say
I've see a lot of cactus. The narrator did a very good job except that she mispronounced the word saguaro every single time. Guess that's one way to tell a native from a non native. Don't pronounce the g.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this series!

Very interesting story, would not have to read the books before it to understand it, but I definitely recommend reading this entire series from beginning to end. I very much enjoy the narration, Karen’s voice is so soothing yet intriguing. Very glad she has been there from the beginning. Makes you feel like you personally know the characters. I look forward to listening to the rest.

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