Walk In the Fire

Starred review from November 27, 2017
Fresh out of prison, Judah Cannon has returned to rural Silas, Fla., in Post’s violent, emotionally wrenching sequel to 2017’s Lightwood. Judah has his sights set on assuming the lead role in his family’s criminal enterprise, left vacant after his father died in a fiery gun battle involving a ruthless Pentecostal preacher and an outlaw biker club. Meanwhile, a disgraced ATF agent, eager to redeem himself, arrives in town and asks questions about the fire that took down Sister Tulah Atwell’s church but didn’t seem to diminish her strange power over the town. And Judah learns that maintaining business as usual won’t be so easy when Everett Weaver, a psychotic drug runner nursing a decades-old vendetta against the Cannons, sets out to destroy the entire family. Judah and Ramey, his lover and partner-in-crime, must trust in some unexpected allies if they intend to survive. Post combines classical genre tropes with a touch of Harry Crews–style Southern gothic in this terrific crime novel. Agent: Jeff Ourvan, Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency.

December 1, 2017
The title of this fascinating novel is a spin on Isaiah 50:11, which saysroughlythat what goes around comes around. Post's characters include a northern Florida crime family and a snake-handling fundamentalist, and she makes their off-center world so vivid that the one person with a handle on realityan ATF agent from up northseems feckless and out of place. Judah Cannon, the head of the crime family, is attempting to grow the business by linking up with a psycho drug dealer who would rather kill them than join them. Their clashes are complicated by the presence of Judah's beautiful new girlfriend, Ramey. She wonders if her love for him can withstand the savagery of his world, and the arguments around this dilemma will remind some of the nagging question about The Godfather: Can you really make lordlings out of this gang of slime wads? Those uninterested in the question will still have a fine time with the fight scenes and the snappy dialogue in what is, finally, a solid actioner with some tasty trimmings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)