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Janeal lives at a gypsy compound, "Kumpania." To say she is unhappy there is like saying a cat is unhappy in water. Sure she has family and friends, but that is not enough for Janeal. She wants more. Then opportunity brings a situation that changes Janeal's world and heart. Years later, after dealing poorly with the decision she made, she must deal with the mark it has left on her soul and her friends.

I was surprised how we were introduced to Janeal, who seems to be a very selfish character. Her description of her positions in life left me feeling sour in the stomach, even as we get to her "wonderful" life years later. I think the reason her character is so unlikable is because deep down all humans have weaknesses like Janeal's that we hate to be reminded of. At least that is how I feel.

This was my first delve into christian fiction with supernatural elements, which is a little strange combination to me. Although I am a big fan of fantasy in general, so the fact that this genre is blending into christian fiction is awesome!

In the end, things are resolved, but my first impressions of Janeal's character and how she reacted stuck with me. They left me with uncomfortable feelings toward the book, and I guess myself.

This book is fast paced, and action packed with a touch of the supernatural thrown in to heighten the suspense. It is in a genre I don’t usually read, Christian Suspense. I was surprised that the first mention of a Christian precept didn’t appear until about halfway through the book.

Jeneal Mikkado, is a 17 year-old member of a gypsy ‘kumpania’ (community). She is thrust in the middle of a struggle between her father who is the leader of the camp and a drug kingpin, Salazar Sanso. A fire breaks out at the camp when Sanso confronts her father about his double dealing with the DEA. Jeneal is forced to make a wrenching decision in the midst of scenes of a violent massacre. Everyone is led to believe that there are no survivors of the night’s violence.

Fast forward fifteen years. Jeneal built a new life for herself under an assumed name using money she wrested from Sanso the night of the inferno. But she hasn’t found peace in the ensuing years. She is thrown back into chaos when Robert, the boyfriend she thought had perished in the fire, captures Sanso during a DEA bust. Without giving away all the plot twists, from here on out it is a fast and bumpy ride for everyone involved.

Evil, in the form of Sanso, is drawn with a heavy hand. He’s a character with no redeeming qualities. Jeneal struggles with her ongoing attraction to him when they meet again after his arrest. Ultimately, she’s given a chance to make a different decision than the one she made on the night of the massacre. Will she choose the dark or the light this time? The storyline was engaging and kept my interest throughout. However, I wish the story wasn’t drawn so starkly in black and white; evil versus good. I believe that for most people the choice would be easy if the only options presented were good or evil. It’s those gray areas in between that are harder to sort out.

Having enjoyed the previous Dekker/Healy collaboration, Kiss, I had really high expectations of Burn. The premise behind Kiss was so interesting, and I just knew the Burn would be just as good. Well, it was good, but not great. There were a couple of instances that I found myself struggling to stay engaged in the story, which I think could've been helped by a better editing job.

In typical Dekker style, though, Burn had a high level of suspense, and there were times when I completely got thrown for a loop when the story took an unexpected turn. The bad guy was very bad indeed, and his fascination with Janeal was down right sinister. There were also some supporting characters that had some pretty deep secrets, and that was just enough to keep me turning the pages.

My biggest disappointment came with the lack of the Gospel that was presented in the story. This is probably the biggest thing that has bothered me lately with a lot of new Christian fiction, and the only thing I can attribute it to is that Christian publishers are trying to gain new readers that don't like a lot of preachiness in their books. Furthermore, this is the third book by Thomas Nelson that has been read in my family that had a very flimsy Christian message, and that really bothers me.

If you like a good clean suspense novel that's got a touch of romance and not very preachy, then, I would definitely recommend Burn. If the Dekker/Healy team ever joins forces for another book in the future, I'll probably read that book, too, but my expectations won't be quite as high.