A Fire in the Night
A Novel
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4.2 • 21 Ratings
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
The acclaimed master of Southern mystery delivers “literary fiction, a spy novel, and a relentless thriller all in one” for fans of Linwood Barclay and Michael Farris Smith (Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author).
Nick Anthony has retreated to the North Carolina mountains to mourn the untimely death of his wife. Once a popular professor, Nick just wants to be left alone with his grief. But when his estranged brother and sister-in-law die in a house fire, a stunned Nick learns he has a niece, Annalise, who is missing.
At the scene of the crime, the men who set the fire have realized Annalise, and the information they are looking for, got away. Feverish and exhausted, she stumbles onto her uncle's porch, throwing Nick into the middle of the mystery of her parents’ death and the dangerous criminals hunting her down.
Hired to retrieve the stolen information at any price, private military contractor Cole and his team track Annalise to Nick’s cabin. But Nick has a hidden past of his own—and more than a few deadly tricks up his sleeve.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The life of 16-year-old Annalise Bashir, the heroine of this lackluster thriller from Swann (Never Turn Back), is upended when a group of men kill her parents and burn down their Tampa, Fla., home. Annalise's father, Jay, had recently asked Annalise to meet him and her mother at the remote North Carolina cabin of his brother, retired professor Nick Anthony. Nick learns of Jay's death, and that Annalise is a fugitive person of interest, just before he catches his niece trying to break into his cabin. Her very existence is news to him, as he and Jay hadn't spoken in 20 years. Cole, the leader of the group that killed the older Bashirs, identifies Annalise's destination and sets off with his team to catch her. Cole believes Jay passed information to her of great value to a billion-dollar energy company involved with Saudi Arabia. Predictably, Nick has certain skills beyond those of the typical academic useful in fighting the bad guys. Thin characters, a trite story line, and a groan-worthy climax make this instantly forgettable.
