Into the Fire

Those of you who read Daisy Chain, Mary E. DeMuth’s first installment in the Defiance Texas Trilogy, experienced the downside of reading a series which of course is the wait for the next one. At long last the second novel in the trilogy is here and it’s cleverly titled A Slow Burn.

The following review will refer to events which occurred in the first novel (Daisy Chain) so if you haven’t read it, there will be **Spoilers**. I would urge you to read Mary’s first in this trilogy to get the full perspective and benefit of A Slow Burn.

This particular story focuses on Daisy’s mother Emory Chance while bringing back Hixon, the black preacher handyman, and brief snippets of Jed Pepper, Daisy’s beloved companion, his mom and little sister, and Muriel while introducing new characters and flashing a glimpse of Daisy’s killer. Emory Chance, or Missy, as Hixon calls her, is a lost, pathetic and self-loathing character who runs to her marijuana stash and occasional hallucinogens provided by her charming supplier whenever her self-pity overwhelms her will to function. Her past haunts her daily, she has become her despicable mother, and she resents and resists rescue in all forms except chemical.

Hixon, a man who knows “his place” in Defiance, is respected for his godly behavior, his helpful attitude, and his care for the dying Muriel. His pathos is his love for Emory Chance. She’s stone-cold hard in her heart and rejects all efforts to penetrate her rock solid feelings of anger toward God and her refusal to forgive Jed Pepper who she accuses of abandoning Daisy, blaming him for her death.

Watching Emory’s struggle pains me, and honestly by the end of the novel I’d had enough of her. In her wretched state she is mean-spirited and unlovable except to her God-appointed protector Hixon who finds a way to love her through her ugliness. When he’s ready to quit, God rushes him to her defense. She is the undeserving beneficiary of God’s undying love for her demonstrated through Hixon’s self-sacrificing words and deeds. And, of course, the point is we can all be the beneficiaries of God’s love in our equally undeserving and fallen states.

The similarities among all of the primary characters show the lack of real love given them by father or mother figures, leaving them empty young people or adults until they can grasp the magnitude of the loving kindness of Jesus and real concept of family offered by God.

Mary doesn’t write fluff, and I applaud her for putting the hard stuff down on the page. This novel is a harsh capsule of one woman’s life who travels the hard way and takes the long road to discovering who she truly is. And like the rest of us who’ve come to know Jesus, Emory learns she’s no better, no worse than anyone else who makes the journey to the Cross of Christ.

The third installment in this trilogy will finally expose Daisy’s killer, at least I assume so. We’re given hints of who it is in A Slow Burn, and it’s a somewhat familiar figure but held just out of our sight until the next book.

If you’re a reader of serious novels that tackle difficult issues and expose human behavior in all of its weakness, frailty, and sinfulness, pick up the first and second books in the Defiance Texas Trilogy and read them in order: Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn. The unique characters will touch your heart and/or drive you crazy, but you’ll know you’ve experienced something important when you finish reading about them.

Father, please bless Mary for all of her efforts to bring glory to you, to worship you in Spirit and in Truth, to convey the love of Jesus in her work, and for enduring the pain and triumphing through her personal suffering. She’s an amazing woman in so many ways. Love on her, Lord, as only you can do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.