Fire in the Blood

Starred review from June 22, 2020
Set in 2003, O’Brien’s impressive debut charts a soldier’s dogged search for the truth about his estranged wife’s death. Specialist Cooper, who’s been assigned to find hidden munitions in Afghanistan, is stunned when word reaches him that his wife, social worker Katherine Bellante, has been killed in the Bronx by a hit-and-run driver. With time running out before her funeral, and military bureaucracy moving slowly, Cooper goes AWOL so he can attend the service. In New York City, Cooper learns that the police are still investigating Katherine’s death and that she had been working at a rehab facility in the Bronx. At the facility, he’s puzzled by the removal of Katherine’s files by one of the doctors in charge. The revelation in the first chapter that Katherine was struck by a car in which an Albanian drug dealer was riding, along with a person he believed cheated him and had just abducted, heightens the suspense as Cooper relies on his professional skills to find out what happened. Fans of Nick Petrie’s Peter Ash novels will be pleased. Agent: Nathaniel Jacks, Inkwell Management.

November 1, 2020

After being suddenly summoned to meet with his commanding officer, U.S. Army Specialist Coop's dread of court martial transforms into profound sadness when he is informed that his wife Kay has been killed. Coop navigates military bureaucracy to make it back home in time for the funeral but quickly identifies something lurking under the surface of what he has been told was the random bad luck hit-and-run accident that took Kay's life. The uncertainty around Kay's death drives Coop to delay returning to Afghanistan until he can uncover more details about what has happened. Complicating Coop's search for the truth is Kay's wealthy and elite family, whom Coop meets for the first time at the funeral; the shady detective covering the case who seems to be in their pocket; and his efforts to balance his need to remain incognito as an AWOL solider forced to take risky actions while chasing down clues. Coop will tangle with everything from corrupt doctors to drug gangs while diving deep into the dirty underground of the Bronx. This debut work by O'Brien, a veteran of war in Afghanistan himself, features a complex and emotionally interesting protagonist who is obviously aided by O'Brien's experience as a soldier. Holter Graham's narration captures O'Brien's characters well by craftily emphasizing the nuanced and overt emotions of the work. VERDICT Recommended for fans of action thriller works as it includes all the hallmarks of an engaging listen in this popular genre.--Sean Kennedy, Univ. of Akron Lib., OH

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