Burn

The latest book from Ted Dekker, with co-author Erin Healy, is Burn. After Christmas last year, this duo released Kiss, which was Dekker's first novel with a female lead. Burn is the second of this type, following the character of Janael Mikkado and her fellow gypsy family and friends. The book begins in a gypsy setting in the middle of New Mexico, and readers learn real quick why the title of this book is Burn. The first 19 chapters, which are only about 100 pages of this novel could be a story unto itself. There is enough action and drama along with a satisfying conclusion to give readers a "Dekker short-story." But this is only part one of the novel and the set up for what else is to come.

As to not ruin one of the surprises that comes with chapter 20, I will continue no further with the rest of the novel. But I will say that this a book that considers what happens when our pasts come back to haunt us. How do decisions you make in life affect you future? For Janael, she had to figure this out. Do you let your past determine the course of the rest of your life, or do you attempt to change that and chart a new future? But for Janael, that change does not come without some drastic consequences. As you read Burn, you cannot help but wonder how you would respond in the same situation.

In a return to some of Dekker's earlier books, like Thr3e and Blink, Burn will leave you wondering what will happen next. Always expecting a twist and never wanting to get comfortable with one of my theories of one his stories, I never trust what I read. That is how it was when I read Thr3e, and in Burn, it kept me wondering if he was being serious as the novel drew to a close. The main twist is big but earlier in the book than normal. Yet it is still effective, and in the end plays right into the title of the book.

Matt