Burning Lies in Aussie Readers

Apr 01, 2012 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley, aussie-authors, own-read, arc, 2012-release

I finished Burning Lies back in May, and can finally put my review up! I absolutely loved it! The old ‘I could not put it down’ was so true for me...what a wonderful, gripping, suspenseful and riveting read!

Kaitlyn is now part of the Border Watch team, along with Lauren and Morgan, after moving to the Tablelands with her mother, Julia, and son Dan, to try to escape the horror of the past. The death of her father, Stephen and husband Chris, in the bushfires in Canberra, where it pointed to Chris I finished Burning Lies back in May, and can finally put my review up! I absolutely loved it! The old ‘I could not put it down’ was so true for me...what a wonderful, gripping, suspenseful and riveting read!

Kaitlyn is now part of the Border Watch team, along with Lauren and Morgan, after moving to the Tablelands with her mother, Julia, and son Dan, to try to escape the horror of the past. The death of her father, Stephen and husband Chris, in the bushfires in Canberra, where it pointed to Chris being an arsonist, and him murdering his father-in-law were too much for them all to bear, and getting away seemed to be the only way to deal with their grief.

But five years later, the past threatened to catch up with them again. Kaitlyn was part of the Rural Fire service, with Speedy in charge of their group, and he was also the local school run bus driver. When a new man arrived on the scene and moved into old Jerry’s house at the end of Kaitlyn’s road, and also joined the Fire service, Kaitlyn wasn’t sure what to think of Ryan. The fact that he was reported to be on sick leave from Sydney, but didn’t seem to know a lot about being a firie, made her suspicious. The attraction was immediate, but she didn’t give trust easily. She was suspicious of everyone, and needed to check him out first, in more ways than one.

It seemed the arsonist was working in her area too, and it brought the horror to the surface again all too readily. Between being away for long stretches at a time with her job in Border Watch, and getting called out to the increasingly frequent number of fires in the area, she wasn’t spending as much time with Dan and Julia as she wanted. Her family was her life, but it seemed she had more problems to try to work through.

Would Kaitlyn find the arsonist before he killed again, would she ever get over the terrible loss of her father, and the grief of not knowing if her husband was really the Canberra arsonist? The more she found out, the more she needed to find out, and with Ryan seeming to not be who he said he was, her nerves were strung so tightly she couldn’t think straight.

Following on from Wings of Fear and Shattered Sky, Burning Lies is a brilliant novel from an Australian author right at the top of her game. The twists and turns of this story, the suspense and fear, along with a hint of romance make for a wonderful read, one I would highly recommend.

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Aug 16, 2012 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, gift-from-author, favourites, 2012-release, autographed-book

I finished Burning Lies back in May, and can finally put my review up! I absolutely loved it! The old ‘I could not put it down’ was so true for me...what a wonderful, gripping, suspenseful and riveting read!

Kaitlyn is now part of the Border Watch team, along with Lauren and Morgan, after moving to the Tablelands with her mother, Julia, and son Dan, to try to escape the horror of the past. The death of her father, Stephen and husband Chris, in the bushfires in Canberra, where it pointed to Chris I finished Burning Lies back in May, and can finally put my review up! I absolutely loved it! The old ‘I could not put it down’ was so true for me...what a wonderful, gripping, suspenseful and riveting read!

Kaitlyn is now part of the Border Watch team, along with Lauren and Morgan, after moving to the Tablelands with her mother, Julia, and son Dan, to try to escape the horror of the past. The death of her father, Stephen and husband Chris, in the bushfires in Canberra, where it pointed to Chris being an arsonist, and him murdering his father-in-law were too much for them all to bear, and getting away seemed to be the only way to deal with their grief.

But five years later, the past threatened to catch up with them again. Kaitlyn was part of the Rural Fire service, with Speedy in charge of their group, and he was also the local school run bus driver. When a new man arrived on the scene and moved into old Jerry’s house at the end of Kaitlyn’s road, and also joined the Fire service, Kaitlyn wasn’t sure what to think of Ryan. The fact that he was reported to be on sick leave from Sydney, but didn’t seem to know a lot about being a firie, made her suspicious. The attraction was immediate, but she didn’t give trust easily. She was suspicious of everyone, and needed to check him out first, in more ways than one.

It seemed the arsonist was working in her area too, and it brought the horror to the surface again all too readily. Between being away for long stretches at a time with her job in Border Watch, and getting called out to the increasingly frequent number of fires in the area, she wasn’t spending as much time with Dan and Julia as she wanted. Her family was her life, but it seemed she had more problems to try to work through.

Would Kaitlyn find the arsonist before he killed again, would she ever get over the terrible loss of her father, and the grief of not knowing if her husband was really the Canberra arsonist? The more she found out, the more she needed to find out, and with Ryan seeming to not be who he said he was, her nerves were strung so tightly she couldn’t think straight.

Following on from Wings of Fear and Shattered Sky, Burning Lies is a brilliant novel from an Australian author right at the top of her game. The twists and turns of this story, the suspense and fear, along with a hint of romance make for a wonderful read, one I would highly recommend.
...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Joanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-writers, women-writers, fiction

A terrific third novel by Helene Young. Her writing is clear and well crafted, and she keeps the pages turning. Her characters are well described and believable, and the story lines hold together strongly. The country - the landscape - is always an important character in Helen's books, and no less in this one. She does it beautifully.

I'm not a romance reader, but I love her books - the romance parts are not squirmy at all!! And they're romantic thrillers, which I guess is a big difference - it' ...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are, netgalley-reviews

I've been eagerly awaiting the publication of Burning Lies, the third in a series of romantic suspense novels by Australian author, Helene Young. Set in far north Queensland the books are loosely linked by character and environment. Burning Lies features Kaitlyn Scott, a Border Watch officer who works with Morgan (Shattered Sky) and Lauren (Wings of Fear), and Ryan O'Donnell,(Wings of Fear), an undercover federal officer. With plenty of action, sizzling romance and page turning suspense, Burning I've been eagerly awaiting the publication of Burning Lies, the third in a series of romantic suspense novels by Australian author, Helene Young. Set in far north Queensland the books are loosely linked by character and environment. Burning Lies features Kaitlyn Scott, a Border Watch officer who works with Morgan (Shattered Sky) and Lauren (Wings of Fear), and Ryan O'Donnell,(Wings of Fear), an undercover federal officer. With plenty of action, sizzling romance and page turning suspense, Burning Lies is a fast paced, exciting novel.

Burning Lies is literally more grounded than either Shattered Sky or Wings of Fear. Though Kaitlyn works for the airborne coastal border protection service featured in the previous novels, most of the action in this story takes place amongst the landscape of the Atherton Tablelands. Burning Lies sees Young's characters caught up in the investigation of deliberately lit bushfires during the height of summer.
For Kaitlyn, the bushfires stir painful memories. Five years ago her husband was accused of setting the devastating Canberra fires that he and Kaitlyn's father died in. Anxious to protect her young son and mother from a repeat of the tragedy, Kaitlyn's home is as fire proof as possible and she volunteers as a rural fire service member, but all her defenses may still not be enough against a determined arsonist.
In Wings of Fear, Ryan was working undercover in a bikie gang accused of human trafficking. While the operation was successful, Ryan didn't escape unscathed and now is targeted by the gang. He has been sent to Northern Queensland, not only to escape the men looking for him but also to identify a suspected arsonist at work in the area. Ryan's cover has him as a city firefighter on leave who joins the local volunteer rural fire service, while living at a property next door to Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn and Ryan are well fleshed out protagonists, each battling their own internal demons while facing external challenges. Their relationship begins with a spark of instant attraction and builds through the novel, complicated by their circumstances. I really appreciate the way in which the author develops the romantic relationships in her novels, skillfully creating an attraction that blooms naturally.
The plot of Burning Lies is fast paced and builds suspense from the opening pages. Not only do the fires pose a real danger to the characters, Kaitlyn is being stalked and Ryan is being hunted. There is mystery surrounding the identity of the firebug and the truth of what happened during the fires Canberra and when the climax comes everything falls in to place, leaving the reader breathless.

Burning Lies is a fantastic read, unique but with all the action, adventure, mystery and romance found in both Shattered Sky and Wings of Fear. Helene Young is one of my favourite authors and I am already eagerly awaiting her next book! ...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, series, australian, thriller, mystery, suspense, aww2012, rural-lit

Ryan O’Donnell is an undercover cop on a new assignment, tracking a suspected arsonist in the Atherton Tablelands in northern Queensland. He’s playing the part of a city fire fighter on stress leave, volunteering for the local brigade hoping to get a handle on what’s going on, infiltrate and find out information. This brings him into contact with Kaitlyn Scott.

Kaitlyn works for Border Watch and it’s her job to help track arsonists using infra-red equipment in the air. She has a painful past, los Ryan O’Donnell is an undercover cop on a new assignment, tracking a suspected arsonist in the Atherton Tablelands in northern Queensland. He’s playing the part of a city fire fighter on stress leave, volunteering for the local brigade hoping to get a handle on what’s going on, infiltrate and find out information. This brings him into contact with Kaitlyn Scott.

Kaitlyn works for Border Watch and it’s her job to help track arsonists using infra-red equipment in the air. She has a painful past, losing her husband, her father and her home in a fire five years ago and she fled north with her mother and her young son, looking to put some distance between her and the tragedy. When she meets Ryan, a mysterious man who is renting the house closest to hers, the attraction is immediate. But Kaitlyn is damaged and scarred, even as she’s drawn to Ryan. The way Ryan is towards her young son softens her heart towards him but she keeps telling herself that he’s too secretive. Too mysterious. And she can’t be drawn in by someone she thinks she knows only to be hurt again.

It is soon obvious that the fires working their devastation in the local area can only be deliberately lit. Fueled by hot weather and dry storms with lightning strikes, the conditions are perfect for the firebug to truly wreak some havoc. Kaitlyn is desperate to not only identify the culprit but protect herself and her family from another devastating loss. But the rumours and half-truths are flying as thick and fast as the flames and Kaitlyn doesn’t know who she can trust. Could she have put her faith in the wrong man again?

Burning Lies is the third and final novel in the Border Watch trilogy. I read the other two recently and this became one of my most anticipated novels of 2012 and I was thrilled when a finished copy arrived on my doorstep courtesy of the people at Penguin Australia. Both Ryan and Kaitlyn appear in the previous novel, Shattered Sky. We didn’t see much of Kaitlyn but Ryan played a small part in the important story and I had liked him immediately so I was excited when I heard he moved to front and centre for the final novel. Ryan is back undercover again, even though the events of his last mission have left scars on him, both physical and mental. His job is to investigate the likelihood of an arsonist at work, taking on the persona of Brad Ryan.

Ryan is so used to slipping into constructed identities, something that he’s been doing for many years now. He’s beginning to recognise that he’s having trouble remembering exactly who the real Ryan is, until he meets Kaitlyn. He feels that he can be himself around her, the person that he really is without any need to dress it up or play a role. Now I was already a fan of Ryan but I enjoyed him even more, especially with both Kaitlyn and also her family. When Kaitlyn’s seven year old son Daniel comes around, Ryan knows he should send him packing. But he can’t bring himself to, instead bonding with the boy and spending time with him. In his friendship with Daniel, Ryan sees what could be his life. He didn’t even know he wanted it until he met them.

Kaitlyn is fragile and inexperienced and although she wants Ryan to be trustworthy, she can’t quite convince herself that he is. She sweats the small stuff, such as Ryan’s age (or assumed age, she really has no idea how old he is) as a way to possibly stall the inevitable. Helene Young has done a great job laying the foundations for a delicious sexual attraction with hidden depths for two characters who are both essentially quite lonely and missing that key connection with another person in their lives. Kaitlyn has deliberately kept herself aloof from people, not forming any real friendships and Ryan’s job means that his connections to people are all made under false aliases and only temporary. In each other, they can both see something permanent.

Like Wings Of Fear and Shattered Sky before it, Burning Lies delves into an important issue facing this country: arsonists. We are a country of long droughts at times and high temperatures. Bushfires are a given and they can be absolutely devastating. But time after time, things are made far worse by people deliberately lighting fires for the sheer thrill of watching things burn. Often these result in homes and even lives being lost. It’s hard enough to fight the destruction of nature without adding in. Burning Lies is meticulously researched but with information and scenarios that don’t slow down the pace building at all. The story keeps moving, never pausing, making its way to the dramatic climax that delivers everything promised throughout.

Burning Lies is a fantastic conclusion to what has been a wonderful trilogy. Fresh and different for me in more ways than one, it was lovely to read stories set in northern Queensland, not often a popular choice of setting despite its beauty. Likewise the characters jobs have been equally new to me but also interesting, giving me a better idea of just how much work goes into monitoring and protecting our vast coastline. ...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Cathleen Ross rated it it was amazing

Caitlyn is a strong heroine who is out to protect her family and start a new life. The hero Ryan, was multilayered and sexy, a quintessential Aussie hero, so lifelike I went to Cairns hunting for a sexy Aussie male. Didn't find one!
Luckily I had Burning Lies to retreat back into.
Helene is a wonderful writer who will have a long career.
Cathleen ...more

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