Saturday, January 25, 2014

Review: Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed



Things We Set on Fire is a detail-rich family story by up-and-comer Deborah Reed that will suck you in from the first pages. 

When marital misfortune and physical collapse bring sisters Elin and Kate back to their mother, three generations of tough but damaged women finally come together to deal with a 30-year old tragedy that had splintered the family.  Reed never sugar-coats the story, but her evocative prose brings out every nuanced emotion as these women learn the truth and learn to forgive.   

With a strong Southern Gothic vibe, believably flawed characters, and a heart-tugging plot, Things We Set on Fire will linger long after the cover is closed.

  

NOTES

Things We Set on Fire is Deborah Reed's first literary novel.

Carry Yourself Back to Me
(reviewed here), shares the lyric voice and hardscrabble Florida setting of Things We Set on Fire.  She is also the author of two sassy thrillers, A Small Fortune (reviewed here) and Fortune's Deadly Descent (reviewed here), both published under her pen name, Audrey Braun.