It took me a while to get into Fire with Fire by Candice Fox but I ended up really liking it. It was fast-paced.

A fast-paced thriller, Fire with Fire drew me in from the beginning. While some of it was far-fetched, I really felt the angst of the parents and could understand their desperation. The narration made this book. The cast of characters was rich and I liked the writing style very much. I definitely want to read more by this author.

Wow, what a ride! Fire with Fire grabs the reader from the first page, with the daring rescue of a drowning man who is actually an undercover cop, then in the next chapter, a desperate couple commandeers a police lab, taking both humans and the most critical investigation samples hostage until the police investigate their daughter's disappearance. Only Detective Hoskins and the rookie cop fired for risking Hoskins's life have a chance at solving the cold case before time runs out.

Every character is well-developed and interesting, but Hoskins and Lamb definitely steal the show. With clever twists, turns, and red herrings, Candice Fox once again crafts a suspenseful crime story with a satisfying resolution. The narration by Jay Aeseng is excellent. Highly recommend.

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to get to this one! I’d never read this author before so I didn’t know what to expect. It was AMAZING! Nonstop action from start to finish meant I couldn’t stop listening. It’s been a long time since I’ve binged a book like this. I love the banter between Hoskins and Lamb and unlike most thrillers I’ve read lately, all the storylines in Fire With Fire felt fresh and original. If you’re looking for a book you won’t be able to put down, this is it! Now excuse me while I go check out Fox’s backlist.

This was a heart pounding read that started off with a bang and did not let up until the end, and I loved every minute of it. I enjoyed the dynamic between Detective Charlie and Lynette Lamb, it provided some comedic relief given all of the tension throughout. I listened to this via audio in one sitting and could not get enough. It seems that somehow this is my first Candice Fox and I don’t know how that happened, but I will definitely be going back and fixing that soon! I really enjoyed this one overall and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC to review.

This is a police procedural mystery that moves at a moderate pace. At times it felt like it was running and then others a little slow. The story is well built and the characters were well fleshed out.

Ryan and Elsie Delaney's daughter was abducted and as far as they're concerned, the police didn't do enough to find her. They break into the forensic lab at the police station and hold everyone inside hostage. They will destroy a sample of evidence every two hours unless the police find their daughter. Meanwhile, Detective Charlie Hoskins has been undercover in a deadly motorcycle gang for five years. All the evidence he collected in numerous crimes is in that lab! He needs to find Tilly. He joins forces with Lynette Lamb, a young woman who finished her training, but was fired from the police department before her first day on the job. They follow the evidence, question the witnesses again and track down leads. Will they find Tilly, dead or alive?

I really enjoyed this crime thriller. It grabbed me right from the first page and held my interest until the end. I really liked both Hoskins and Lamb and thought they worked really well together. Lamb had great instincts as well as being able to piece things together that might not have been obvious to everyone else. She does have a short fuse and flies off the handle quickly, but Hoskins is able to calm her down. I am always in awe when a police officer puts his/her life on the line doing undercover work, and Charlie was good at it. He has a sarcastic personality and I often laughed at some of his comments to Lynette. This was a great mystery/cold case and I loved how they put things together. We were kept apprised as to what was happening at the lab at the same time and that kept me on the edge of my seat. As the case came to an end, I was pleased with the conclusion and am hoping there might be more books with Hoskins and Lamb. I did a read/listen and enjoyed both formats. The audiobook was narrated by Jay Aaseng. I really liked his narration and even his female voices were well done. His tone and pace, added suspense to the story. I definitely recommend this on to anyone who enjoys a good Crime Thriller.

I had to DNF this one as I wasn't getting into it after 35%... it just wasn't for me.

I can see how it can be for others but it's too much of a police procedural for me.

The question that is presented is to what lengths will a parent go for their child: in this case, to extremes. The Delaney’s daughter went missing on a beach two years ago and has never been found. In their eyes, the police didn’t do enough to find her and should still be on the case but they have essentially closed the case as a drowning. The parents want proof. They decide to force the LAPD into action by taking over their forensic lab, complete with hostages, and will start destroying evidence necessary for convictions in important cases if the police don’t find their daughter immediately. It sounds like an impossible request.  
   In a parallel story, an undercover cop, Charlie Hoskins, is exposed and was soon to be eliminated out at sea. Circumstances allowed his naked escape and rescue by a surfer who rescued him and had him back on the job. He becomes involved in this lab scenario because of evidence in little glass vials he needs to prosecute and they are threatening to destroy.
   A third character is a brand new police academy grad, Lynette Lamb, that looses her job before she even starts……policing has been her life’s dream and her detecting skills are excellent. She is derailed by this judgement.
   Happenstance brings these two characters together and they become a pair of super detectives with skills that compliment each other.
   The story is filled with emotion, hostility, regret and suspense. The reader understands the desperate state that made these parents act and the desperation of a rookie cop to prove herself and maybe return to that blue line.
   Couldn’t put it down.

I don't read a lot of crime procedurals these days and this was my first by Candice Fox but I couldn't resist the unique premise. The book starts off really strong with a surfer rescuing a man about to drown in the water. Turns out he was an undercover cop whose cover was blown and only just managed to escape with his life. His story is linked to the the rookie who inadvertantly gave access to police files that were used to expose him and got her fired on the first day. Together these two team up to help solve a cold case involving a missing child. The parent's of the little girl who has been missing for over two years take matters into their own hands, holding a police crime lab hostage and threatening to burn evidence until someone brings their daughter home to them. Phew, that was just the setup! What follows is an edge of your seat ride with really compelling characters and lots of twists. Definitely recommended and good on audio too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

In the book Fire With Fire, author Candice Fox follows Detective Charlie Hoskins who has been undercover for five years with an extremely dangerous biker gang and is almost killed. Hoskins teams us up Lynette Lamb, who was fired from the police force for blowing his cover, to find a missing girl before her parents destroy evidence from critical cases in the police evidence lab.
This is a good fast paced police mystery. I would recommend this book. The audio-book narration was very good. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fire with Fire by Candice Fox
Narrated by Jay Aaseng
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Published: May 9, 2023

Fire with Fire by Candice Fox was such an exciting thrill ride! I loved the twists and turns in this book! I thought the characters were fascinating and seeing how their lives were woven together was amazing!

This fast paced book is a quick read and kept me on the edge of my seat! I highly recommend reading this book!!!

I loved the narrated by Jay Aaseng. He did a great job bringing the book to life!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Fast paced and action packed this novel has at least 3 different story lines that all converge together. A woman fishes a gravely wounded man out of the water, he is an undercover detective whose cover was blown. A couple take over a crime lab and demand that the LAPD find their missing daughter. A young rookie is fired her first day on the job as a police officer after she made a mistake and took the wrong guy home, one that hacked the police database and found an undercover detective had been embedded with a deadly biker gang.

I loved the characters. Hoss(the undercover detective) and Lamb(the rookie who was fired) team up due to Lambs' demanding nature and her gift for figuring out puzzles. Their banter, is great, Hoss being the gruff jaded detective and Lamb the wide eyed rookie.

Over at the hostage at the lab, the police are getting antsy, evidence is being destroyed and they don't feel the police chief is doing enough to end the siege.

Everything about this book felt like it could be happening - that's what's so great about Candice Fox books. You feel like you are on a ride along with the characters. A fly on the wall.

The narration is fantastic, the story line while complicated is easy to follow and the action is fast paced. Excellent read.

Fire with Fire was the first book that I have read by Candice Fox. I was impressed with her writing, pace of the book and well defined plot. Fire With Fire drew me in immediately and kept me engaged throughout the book. There were elements of suspense and surprise woven through the plot. The ending was a complete surprise for me. I did not see it coming. The audiobook was well narrated by Jay Aaseng.

Fire With Fire alternated between two on-going situations. One was a hostage situation at a forensic lab run by the Los Angeles Police Department. Two years ago, Elsie and Ryan Delany’s daughter, Tilly, disappeared from a beach. It was ruled as an accidental drowning. Parents, Elsie and Ryan, never gave up hope that their daughter might still be alive somewhere. They did not buy the verdict of accidental drowning that the police had pronounced. To get the Los Angeles Police Department to reopen Tilly’s cold case, Elsie and Ryan secured themselves in a forensic lab that housed DNA samples from other cold cases. Along with them, they took several hostages. The Delany’s demanded that the LAPD find their daughter in the next twenty-four hours or they would start to destroy DNA evidence now in their possession. The Delany’s had captured the attention of not only the police and the FBI but of the whole country. Would their threats be enough to reopen their daughter’s case?

The other situation that was occurring at the same time and alternating with the first situation involved an undercover detective, Charlie Hoskins. Charlie’s cover had been blown in the case he had been working on for the past five years. He was on the run from the members of the motorcycle gang that had discovered his blown identity when Charlie learned about the demands of the Delany’s. Charlie had a vested interest in helping the Delany’s find their daughter. Many of the DNA samples that Charlie had gathered from working this case were housed in that lab. He could not afford to let them be destroyed. Charlie was offered no choice. He had to try and find Tilly or loose everything he had worked towards for the past five years. Charlie had planned to try and find Tilly by himself but he soon learned he had company. Lynette Lamb, a police officer whose position on the force was derailed before it even started, joined Charlie to figure out what had really happened to Tilly. Solving this case might be her only chance in saving her lifelong dream of becoming a police officer. Their desperate search for Tilly began. Will Charlie and Lynette be able to discover what happened to Tilly before it is too late to save the DNA samples Charlie gathered so painstakingly to bring justice to the criminals he had been investigating for the past five years? Could Lynette impress Charlie enough to have him help her get her job back?

Fire With Fire by Candice Fox was an edge of your seat, hold your breath type of mystery thriller. There were plenty of twists and turns as well. My only criticism was that some of the pieces of the plot were not completely resolved and tied up. Perhaps Candice Fox plans on writing a sequel. That would be a welcomed surprise. Although this was the first book I have read by Candice Fox I will definitely seek out future books by her. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to Fire With Fire by Candice Fox through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hold up! Do you feel the heat? It seems to be breathing down upon us....
This was so damn hot that I think I best get a cold drink of water to put out the embers that are still burning alongside me after finishing this smokin' hot book.
In fact, I'm a huge fan having read and reviewed just about 4k books as of today's date and I'll tell ya' this one packs a punch in multiple directions.
If you're like me you want to get to the juice and quick. You don't want a delay, a pause in action, or characters that seemingly come out of the woodwork and fall flat. You want that edge, that crispness in writing, that scenario that's just mind blowingly brilliant.
We have so much energy and movement in this one that I was about ready to jump in the ocean myself and enjoy the beach but alas, we got work to do.
The parents of Tilly of course are steaming mad about their missing daughter. Someone has to know something and who better to be on the team then Detective Charlie and PD Lynette Lamb.
When they join forces it's not only the biker gang that needs to watch out but the hostages and the kidnappers too.
This is one of those books that ain't playin' with ya' because the police procedures, the quick wit, the sny commentary is right up in ya' face!
Come to think about things...what parent wouldn't go to the edge of the EARTH to rescue their own.
What more can I say or in the words of FOX-"Life's a garden-dig it!"
You know as a parent we always must watch over our kids. Regardless of where, when, or how the question remains in an ever changing world-how much is too much protection.
In a world in which we can't go to the mall, the beach, the hospital, or the theatre safely it's imperative that we start to question what more can we 'all' do to help one another and change our increasingly violent social outcomes.
I hope if nothing else this book sheds light on that topic because things can change in the blink of an eye.
Thank you to Candice Fox, Macmillan Audio, Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

They’ve endured every parents’ worst nightmare. It’s been two years since their youngest daughter went missing. The police looked into it, quickly closing the case. Even though no body was ever recovered the police labeled it an accidental drowning. But the Delaney’s never believed that and tired of not getting the attention they felt the case deserves decide to take matters into their own hands and force the police to take them seriously and take action. How? They’ve taken a forensic lab hostage and are threatening to destroy vital evidence in a number of serious cases if their daughter’s case is not solved…in the next twenty-four hours. The officer in charge of the hostage situation doesn’t want to give in to the Delaney’s demands, but Hoss ( Detective Charlie Hoskins) , who had been undercover for five years before a screw up blew his cover isn’t willing to let all the evidence go up in smoke. He ends up reluctantly teaming with recently fired rookie Lynette Lamb (coincidently the person responsible for his cover being blown) to try to solve the two year old case and discover what happened to the Delaney’s daughter. This one hooked me right from the start. The story is totally engaging, the pacing dang near relentless, and if I hadn’t had obligations I couldn’t skip out on I probably would have ended up listening to this one straight through. As it was, I listened to it in three sessions over a day and a half. I’ve read a few of Candice Fox’s other books, but I don’t recall any of them hitting this hard. Jay Aaseng’s narration is spot on and this is an easy recommendation for thriller fans. I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audio version of Fire with Fire.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3LR36G8C15G4B/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Very fast paced- and I devoured this one!

Ryan and Elsie Delaney are grieving, angry parents. Their daughter disappeared from the beach two years ago. The police quickly ruled that she drowned, despite never finding the body. They are certain that their little girl did not drown. They take a forensic lab hostage, demanding that the police investigate Tilly.

Chief of Police Saskia Ferboden is commanding the scene. But she refuses to investigate Tilly's case.

Lynette Lamb just graduated the police academy. And was promptly fired before her shift even began.
Detective Charlie Hoskins has been undercover for years. Just days ago, he washed ashore, barely alive.

Lamb and Hoskins become a likely pair, and work to solve Tilly's case. Either prove she drowned or find out what really happened. Not only are they up against the Delaney's 24-hour time limit, they also have the gang Hoskins recently betrayed on their tail.

This was so fast paced and had me riveted. I will say that there was a bit (maybe from 50-75% or so) where it seemed to slow down. I really, really hope that this is just the beginning of the Lamb and Hoskins duo. They were so great- you have the hardened, experienced Hoskins and the very green Lamb.

Just random thoughts- I always find it funny when non-American authors write books set in the US. Like the use of hospital- whenever I hear "in hospital", I instantly thing "UK" (though this author is Australian). I will say, the narrator threw me on this one. He sounded American, but a few pronunciations leaned British/Australian. Aluminum, for one. I had to Google him to see if he was actually not-American with just a really good American accent. (I even started to wonder how Canadians pronounce aluminum, thinking maybe he was Canadian.) Nope. Born in Wisconsin. I guess I will stop rambling about nothing, lol

I listened to the audiobook. Jay Aaseng narrates and does a good job. His pace is a bit faster than normal (not complaining) and I almost slowed it down a bit. I typically start at 1.5 and adjust when needed, but left it.

I will say the transitions from POVs was a bit abrupt at times. A pause would have been helpful.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ryan and Elsie Delaney have taken desperate measures by taking those working in a LAPD forensic lab hostage. They want the LAPD to find their missing daughter, Tilly, and have given them the ultimatum to find their daughter or they will destroy evidence that could solve cold cases. Tilly has been missing for 2 years and they want answers.

Detective Charlie Hoskins had been undercover with a motorcycle gang for five years, but his cover had been blown. Lynette Lamb was fired the day before and wants to find Tilly hoping this will get her job back. Hoskins and Lamb team up to find Tilly and free the hostages.

One of the pluses of this book was the banter between Hoskins and Lamb. I enjoyed their scenes and dialogue. Lamb is the new kid on the block and Hoskins has been around the block a few times. I liked the blending of experience and novice. Each brings something to the table.

This book does have plenty of things and action happening, but nothing feels confusing or too much. There is a solid mystery and time is of the essence.

I listened to the audiobook and wonder if I had read the book would I have enjoyed it more? Others love this book so please read their reviews as well.

3.5 Stars

How far would you go to find your missing child? The Delaney’s daughter, Tilly has been missing for two years and they are desperate for answers. That desperation leads to them taking the employees of a forensic lab hostage. They will not let their hostages go until their daughter is found. LAPD Detective Charlie Hoskins and former cop, Lynette Lamb, who was involved in the initial investigation into the disappearance team up to try to determine why the investigation went off the rails and find Tilly before it’s too late. This is a fast-paced thriller with a unique and compelling plot