Firethorn by Ronnie Kendig

The novel begins with Nightshade being attacked, at their own “secret” warehouse. Most of the members of the elite team are taken into captivity and are ultimately placed in dangerous situations – situations where torture is sure and death is probable.

The the wives and children of the Nightshade men come under attack as well. Then the General and his wife disappear.

The General had hired a “wonder woman” to spring Griffin from prison and then rescue the rest of the team. But she has a history and it catches up to her, almost ruining the rescue efforts.

The big question is who had the inside information to bring down the Nightshade team? What was the motive? Lambert and the others struggle to figure out what could be happening in the world that is so important or so valuable that the Nightshade men had to be kept out of action.

Many ghosts from the past are resurrected as the team members struggle to understand what is happening. The characters struggle with their Christianity, trusting God for forgiveness and restoration.

I like Kazi, the new character (although she worked with Aladdin once before). She's a spunky woman. As a spark ignites between her and Griffin, both must work through their pain. The trust between the two is hard in coming.

At times Kendig's writing style irritates me. For example:

“Pop! Pop!

Thwat

Tat-a-tat-tat!

The sounds of a gunfight in the distance blazed through him.”

Do we really have to have “BooOOOoom!”? Or “Thwump.”? Personally, I'd prefer not to have the sound effects written out as it makes me think I'm reading a Batman comic!

Sometimes her staccato writing leaves me in the dark. I'm not sure who is speaking nor what was actually said.

So why have I read them all? The plots are great! The action is fast. I just breeze through the parts that puzzle me and concentrate on the parts I “get.”

There are discussion questions at the end of the book. The questions are good. There are some really great issues as part of the plot and the questions make you think about them. This would be a good choice for reading groups.

Ronie Kendig has partnered with Soldier's Angels, a volunteer nonprofit organization that provides comfort and aid to our troops and their families. Find out more at http://www.soldiersangels.org.

Ronie Kendig is an Army brat and married an Army veteran. She has a B.S. In psychology and is active with the American Christian Fiction Writers and mentors new writers. Find out more about her and the book series: www.roniekendig.com or www.discardedheroes.com.

Publisher information and video.  This book releases January of 2012.

I received an egalley of this book from Barbour Books for the purpose of this review.