MY REVIEW OF "WORKING FIRE" By Emily Bleeker

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Emily Bleeker for the Advanced Reading Copy of "Working Fire" by Emily Bleeker.  The genres for this book are Fiction, Mystery, Thriller and Suspense. The timeline of this story is set mostly in the present with explanations of events that happened in the past, that are pertinent to the storyline.

I appreciate that Emily Bleeker has written an intriguing, and captivating story, discussing the importance of family, and the importance of Paramedics, EMT's, Firefighters, and the Police. There are twists and turns, suspense, betrayals, and secrets that are devastating. 

The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. Some characters are not who they seem to be. As the storyline progresses, some character are unpredictable and unstable.   

Emily Bleeker is a paramedic, who gets a call that there has been a shooting at a familiar address. Emily's sister Amelia and her husband and children live at that address. Everything that Emily has believed in, makes her question everything. Who can you trust?

This is an intense and suspenseful story that will leave you on edge.  The ending was surprising to me. I would recommend this novel and look forward to reading more books from this author.

Ellie Brown had finally escaped Broadlands, her home town, and was studying medicine when – “life happened” and called her back to the town she thought she had escaped. Her sister, Amelia Saxton, was happily married to her ex-firefighter husband, living in Broadlands and then “life happened” and she and Ellie found themselves caring for their father, the former fire chief of Broadlands who had suffered a stroke. Throw in Steve who is Amelia’s husband, Caleb who is Amelia’s childhood boyfriend, Collin who is Ellie’s fiancée and Caleb’s brother, and Travis and you have the major players in this crime thriller. There are plot twists and the pieces don’t fall into place quickly but when they do it is one of the messiest situations ever contrived. And therein lies the problem. So much get overlooked, forgiven and washed away with a thought. So much is unspoken and not questioned. Possible? Maybe but not probable, reality has been suspended. And did I mention that I absolutely hated the ending. The effect of the final pages dissolved my belief in the sanity of the protagonist.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC.

Bleeker does not disappoint with her latest story that will keep you glued to the pages with her wonderful writing style and fleshed out characters. She has created an enthralling, twisty story of secrets, family dynamics and tragedy.

You’re treated to two stories of 2 sisters and the shooting that affected them both through the blending of a past and present storyline which was done in a realistic way. Bleeker does a great job in her character development because she writes them in such a way you’re going to hate some of them and cherish others; have to love an author who can make you feel real emotions for fake people.

The only huge problem I had was that it came off a little ‘soap operay’ in that it seems every single character had some Jerry Springer qualifying issue; there wasn’t one that could be the normal, stable person to act as the baseline.

I liked that it wasn’t overly predictable so you really had to hang in there to find out who the killer was and what led up to the shooting.

"Working Fire" by Emily Bleeker


"...for one moment, reality and the questions that accompanied it floated away, and she enjoyed the beauty of the fire and the dancing embers around her. Fire was the same everywhere whether devastating a house, a city, or an open prairie. ...she remembered one more important thing about Fire. Sometimes in nature, fire causes pine ones to open and prairies to bloom. Sometimes it cleared out old dead trees to make way for new life. Sometimes fire wasn't about destruction -- sometimes it was about renewal. Sometimes fire was necessary." (End of chapter thirty nine)


Emily Bleeker has written a twisting, turning novel full of family secrets, misconceptions, and multi-faceted relationships.

Life seemed so set for both Ellie and Amelia. Two sisters with a close bond and few secrets. Then tragedy strikes and what seems to be before is not what it truly is afterward. Lives change, relationships change, perceptions change, people change.

An enthralling and thrilling mystery that keeps the reader on their toes. Just when it seems one puzzle has been worked out and resolved, there is another piece of that puzzle still out there. Things that you think are true, are often not true, only partially true, or misconstrued.

With extremely well written and relatable characters and an intricate and beguiling plot, Emily Bleeker has written a novel the reader will not soon forget.


Rating: 4.7
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Buy Link: http://amzn.to/2talNw0

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts are my own.

(Any links may be affiliate links. I may get a small commission from them at no cost to you)

Ellie has always wanted to leave her hometown and she does for med school. But her father has a stroke and she returns home to help her sister Amelia take care of him. Ellie is working as a paramedic. One day she receives a call about shots fired and it's her sister's address. The book takes place before and after the shooting. It tells the story of what leads up to the shooting and why it happens. Ellie sifts through all the secrets to get to the truth of what happened. It is a great who done it and it keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Strong characters and a plot that kept me turning pages to see what happened next, made Working Fire an enjoyable read. Having some chapters in the past and some in the present time was an interesting way to tell the story. I have to admit that I didn't really care for the very last chapter and the ambiguity it brought up. I am not sure why the author chose to end the book on that note.

This Author can do know wrong!! Loved it. Hard to put away!!

A very well written book. I enjoyed the plot very much. A new author to me and I thoroughly enjoyed the style of writing.

I enjoyed the way the author intertwined the present and the past as the story unfolded. I liked Ellie quite a bit and thought she was a well-rounded character, although she seemed rather quick to bend and break the rules that didn't work for her.

The other characters, Amelia and Steve, were not as likeable. Amelia was very much like a doormat through a lot of the book and Steve was someone I just couldn't stand.

The story was good, but there was so much going on behind the scenes ~ every single person had secrets in this story or they bent or broke the law for their own personal reasons. I feel like a book goes off the rails somewhat if every. single. character. has this closet full of secrets. Someone has to be "normal" for heaven's sakes!

I guess that's what really led me to rate this book a 3. No one knows that many people that have done that many things wrong in their past. It was totally unbelievable.

I do appreciate being allowed to read an ARC by Netgalley, the publishers and Ms. Bleeker. I was just dissatisfied with this book.

A truly wild book with may twists and turns in the plot of this book.
The scene is set in the first chapter, as there is terrible shooting in a small town.
The story continues and in each chapter, you see the broader picture begin to unfold to lead up to this tragedy, but I honestly did not know until the end, exactly who the killer or killers were and why it lead up to the crime.
It definitely kept me waiting and on my toes to try to figure it out.
Great job Emily Bleeker!

The author leaves no mystery as to what happens, as she tells you in the opening pages of the novel. I like her style of writing and how past a present are merged so the reader can follow the main characters, sisters, Ellie and Amelia. It is obvious that they are a close family as the sisters care for their disabled father.

I enjoyed the book, though I felt the characters could have been a bit more developed. You learn of their struggles and sacrifices. I found myself frustrated with events and some of the distractions that a presented to the characters.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I became an instant fan with Bleeker's first book. I enjoy her writing style. This book was good, but I struggled with Amelia and Ellie. Some of the decisions and twists just didn't make sense to me. I do like the way it was told from both the sisters' perspective. It also goes from previous to present day flawlessly. It is an enjoyable read, and will have a solid audience.

I have read other novels by Emily Bleeker and enjoyed them so I looked forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, WORKING FIRE was not nearly as good as her other books. The writing felt awkward and clunky and the characters did not seem realistic. It made me wonder if this was one of Bleeker's early novels that she resurrected after her other successes.

Wow. I was so overjoyed on how great this book was. Suspenseful, but yet homey. Loved this book.
Hope that author is continuing to write more books, its THAT good.

I wasn't able to finish this. The writing style didn't work for me; it seemed rather trite.

I didn't enjoy this book as I did the other novels from this author. I think the way the book was written was a bit confusing: two weeks ago, then the next chapter the present, then 10 days ago...etc. Also chapters alternated from being told from the point of view of Amelia and her sister El. The plot was too unrealistic and some of the characters changed so much from the beginning it was difficult to see how this could happen.