Into the Fire

(What is it with me reading stories about incredible freezing storms and appalling survival conditions – in the summertime?!) 

Dustin Stevens' Fire and Ice, Book 3 in the Hawk Tate Novels, surprises Hawk with an unusual request from the Glasgow (Montana) sheriff where Hawk is staying in a motel because of the destruction to his cabin home from Cover Fire (Book 2).

During a severe untimely mid-April snow storm, there is an unusual kidnapping just outside the local hospital, and small towns being what they are, everyone knows something about what had happened to Hawk in his town – notably, the sheriff who is keenly aware that his two deputies are definitely not up to the task of finding these kidnappers and bringing them to justice. His humble but urgent request for help in the dead of the storm is something Hawk can't refuse, and this begins a frustrating search for the perpetrators of this strange crime.

When a meth lab explodes in the outskirts of Glasgow, the three men associated with it are put in dire straits from their out-of-town boss man. The "cook" barely survived and is unconscious which causes the leader of the three to make a critical decision.

The last thing young Dr. Yvonne Endicott expected, as she took a brief break from the near empty hospital to breathe in some fresh air, was what the two men pulling up through the snow delivered.

With little to go on in the investigation, the snow demolishing most tracks within minutes, the sometimes uncomfortable alliance between Sheriff Rake Ferris and Hawk moves slowly into a mutual respect and processing of what they learn. Time threatening with the weather conditions and with hard to dig out clues finally yielding useful information, they pursue their only solid lead. What happens next is almost deadly for them both.

Fire and Ice displays the helpless, hopeless, urgency of the search for the kidnapped victim while switching back and forth to expose the mindsets of the criminal elements involved and to depict the terrible plight of the young physician. Hawk gives his first person narrative of what he knows, his determination under pressure, his disgust and anger at a belligerent deputy, and his innate sense of how to take his best shot – or die trying – to rescue the victim. A bona fide low-key hero, himself a victim of unbearable tragedy, and a bit of a melancholy philosopher, Hawk is likable and a good protagonist.

Good series. Some profanity.

Father, you're the anchor of our souls. May each one of us know that any good and perfect gifts come from you. Bless Dustin and may he know the source of his talent and gifts. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.