Review: For lovers of mystery and romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 11, 2013
There are times when selecting a book to read is a means of escapism, relaxing from the stresses of the times, and plunging into make-believe stories that absorb attention, allowing the reader to leave all else to take care of itself while simply entering into the realm of a well-wrought story. Susan Vaughan has a history of producing such escapism stories, tales she terms `page-turning mystery and romance'. She has a style, a large following and has acquired a number of impressive awards and prizes for her efforts - and her books have been translated into German, French, Spanish, and Icelandic! Having degrees from West Virginia University, Rice University and the University of Pennsylvania and having a long history as a teacher have brought her to the point where she can devote all her time to penning her specialty novels from her home in Maine.ONCE BURNED is the second installment in her series collectively known as the Task Force Eagle and it bristles with both suspense and romance - as well as plenty of well written escapist mystery. The focal character is Maine inhabitant Jake Westcott who is an ATF agent (for those unfamiliar with that abbreviation is stands for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ATF) who's current assignment is acting as an undercover agent to discover a drug and arms cartel positioned in his hometown of Dragon Harbor, Maine. Jake is a committed guy who is still haunted by a mysterious fire that claimed the life of his girlfriend Gail - a fire signed off as routine but Jake is convinced there is more to know that will show the public that it was arson. Enter Lani Cameron, the returning twin sister of the incinerated Gail, Jake's love. Jake and Lani connect; Jake hopes Lani will have clues that will help resolve the doubt of the origin of the fire, but at the same time he fears Lani's presence and participation in his inquiry will endanger Lani's life. Or as Vaughan states it, `He shouldn't let her get involved even in a small way. Every time he saw her--saw Gail's face--would be another log on the burn in his gut. If someone had set the fire that killed Gail, the arsonist was a murderer and might do anything, anything to keep his crime secret. He wasn't worried for himself but he couldn't protect Lani. Not that she'd ask.' That is Vaughan's style.How the threats to Lani's life and the proximity of the twin of Gail gradually mold into a passionate love may be predictable, but Vaughan manages to draw us in to a fine conclusion. The great American novel this is not, nor does it pretend to be. But for a romance mystery it holds its own and provides a few hours of escape in a good way. Grady Harp, November 13