Set in the Vancouver area, several police officers/RCMP investigate a series of rapes, arsons, and kidnappings that seem to be related. The characterizations are good, although I got a little tired of the cryptic references to earlier case(s) and their aftermath. I gather there's a previous book with (some of) these characters; reading that one first might solve that problem. But I didn't enjoy this one enough to hunt down more by this author. ( )

RCMP Constables Craig Nolan, Ashlyn Hart, and Tain (no first name) worked together on a case the year before that profoundly impacted all three. Since that time, they've not worked together. As the story opens, each is working a separate case: Nolan, a series of rapes, Hart a series of arson, and Tain a string of child abductions, one of which has turned to murder. As the separate investigations proceed, it becomes clear that they are linked in some fashion, bringing the three together again. What follows is a police procedural that meticulously follows the constables as they pursue leads, run down blind alleys, and eventually piece together the truth.

WHAT BURNS WITHIN is built on procedure, and offers the readers a sense of authenticity in its depiction of interdepartmental interplay and politics as the police and fire departments must cooperate, and hidden agendas try to dictate the investigation within the RCMP itself. The characters are well-drawn and believable, human and fallible rather than omnipotent superheroes. The one small problem I had with this book is that too little information of the previous case with the three protagonists was given. A bit more detail would have been nice.

That aside, this is an excellent book. ( )

Set in the Vancouver area, several police officers/RCMP investigate a series of rapes, arsons, and kidnappings that seem to be related. The characterizations are good, although I got a little tired of the cryptic references to earlier case(s) and their aftermath. I gather there's a previous book with (some of) these characters; reading that one first might solve that problem. But I didn't enjoy this one enough to hunt down more by this author. ( )

http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-burns-within.html ( )