I really wanted to like BURN. The cover looks super-cool, the blurb on the dust jacket sounded interesting, and it's Ted Dekker; you just can't go wrong...right? A couple of years ago I would have given this book a 5-star rating simply because it had Ted Dekker's name on it. And let's face it, there were really only two good Christian-suspense-thriller-type of authors at the time; Ted, and Frank Peretti. With authors like Robert Liparulo, and Eric Wilson entering the scene, Ted's material has lost some of its luster. I can't exactly pinpoint the moment it happened, but I fear Ted has gone the way of Stephen King; high demand, thus cranking out less-than-stellar stories, thus quality of story begins to suffer. Throw in a relative "unknown" like Erin Healy, in the hopes of igniting her career (or breathing fresh life into his), and it had the potential of being an interesting story. But here's where BURN fails to deliver:
The story starts out well enough. Janeal is the 'misfit' gypsy among her gypsy peers and family members. She's a strong character - as far as female characters go - but lacks social maturity. She's rebellious, jealous, and a bit of a mean girl. I found it interesting that Janeal is motherless. It's not something that gets a lot of "press" in the book, and yet, I feel that it is the central reason that Janeal turns out the way she does. She never really has a soft place to land. She is an outcast among gypsies due to circumstances beyond her control. And as a result, she's had to live a life behind the walls of her heart. Sad.
She lives her life surrounded by her gypsy boyfriend, Robert, and her gypsy BFF, Katie. The three of them do everything together...or so we're led to believe. Unfortunately, this relationship isn't really fleshed out, and we just have to rely on the authors' words.
Enter the BAD GUY; Salazar Sanso. I won't get too much into the plot, but suffice to say that Sanso had all the makings of being a really bad dude. Unfortunately, I feel like the Dekker/Healy duo fell flat. Instead of loathing Sanso, I was apathetic. I only knew he was the BAD GUY because they told me he was the BAD GUY. He definitely wasn't a "Marsuvees Black" BAD GUY. Marsuvees was the real deal. Sanso...not so much.
Salazar offers Janeal a deal she can't refuse - involving an insane amount of money and double-crossing her father and the DEA. Janeal, of course, tries to figure out a way to double-cross Salazar, make off with the money, and have her father live. And predictably, it all goes wrong.
So this is where it loses me.
Salazar and his thugs shoot down innocents, and set the camp on fire. Janeal is trapped in the fire, along with her BFF Katie. She can save herself and make off with the money, or she can save her friend and lose it all. That's all I can say without giving away crucial plot twists.
By the time some things are revealed, I was so irritated and disappointed that I wanted to just throw the book across the room.
Really, Ted? Really, Erin? THAT is the best you two could come up with?
I think what annoys me the most is that this particular story had the potential to be something really intense. The basic plot was believable, but the characters were not. It's a shame too, because I actually enjoyed KISS (the first Dekker/Healy collaboration). I had higher expectations for their sophomore novel. Unfortunately, BURN just left me cold.