Book Review - Hell's Gate by Stephen Frey

Synopsis:  It's fire season in Montana...From New York Times bestselling author Stephen Frey comes a riveting new thriller about a disillusioned star litigator who goes west to forge a new life in Big Sky Country -- and stumbles onto the toughest case of his career. When thirty-five-year-old lawyer Hunter Lee decides to turn his back on the New York City rat race that has made him rich but cost him his marriage, he takes his brother's advice and sets out to build a new life in the beautiful but isolated town of Fort Mason, Montana. However, escape is hardly what he finds there.

Hunter befriends Paul Brule, a Fire Jumper -- one of an elite corps of firefighters who parachute into remote wilderness areas to put out blazes before they become infernos -- and gets a terrifying firsthand look at the reality of vast tracts of forest being reduced to ash in seconds by hundred-foot walls of flame. In this tiny town where everyone seems to have a secret, Hunter comes to suspect that this particular rash of summer fires is anything but accidental and could, in fact, be serving a more sinister purpose.

As Hunter follows his instincts, Montana becomes a crucible where good and evil collide -- and where one man, running from his past, takes on the burden of exposing the guilty while saving himself and those he cares about most from the greatest danger they have ever faced.

First Line:  "As far back as he could remember Hunter Lee had known his fate lay in the law."

Random Quote:  "Now Hunter understood why Paul had that confident air about him.  He faced death every time he went to work, every time he went into the woods to fight a fire."

Review:  One of my former bosses was a smoke jumper at one time in his past.  He jumped out of planes to fight fires in the Idaho area and later led crews throughout fire season.  He was a pretty interesting guy and told great stories about his adventures in a really laconic way.  I thought of him when I picked this book up.

Fighting wildfires - Image by Lou Angeli Digital via Flickr

All the elements of a good thriller were here - Montana, smoke jumpers, mysterious fires burning down Montana, untimely deaths, suspicious business and political doings, but for me it just didn't come together.  The plotting was just okay.  The setting is lovely and a story centered around smoke jumpers would be pretty cool (only this isn't that).  There's a lot of testosterone, lots of manly men in a manly world doing manly deeds.  The characterization here is shallow enough that if you were to scrape it with your fingernail you'd just come up with a little dirt under the nail.

I was trying to decide while I was reading this what about it wasn't working for me.  I thought and thought and then it hit me!  This is the male equivalent of a Harlequin romance - a Harlequin bromance, if you will.  Enough said.

Reading Challenges:  Thriller & Suspense Challenge 2010, 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 A to Z Challenge, 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge