Flicker & Burn by T.M. Goeglein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Flicker & Burn
T. M. Goeglein
I received and ARC from the publishers for review. I loved Cold Fury and was waiting on pins and needles to get a hold of Flicker & Burn. While I was reading it there are times that I wanted to inhale it whole and times I wanted to slow down and make it last longer. It is that good! Part of me was thinking how long before we get where Sara Jane is trying to go? I can’t take this. The other part of me thought when is she going to box someone’s ears? She is straddling this line between being a teenager who goes to school and hangs out with a best friend and being a mafia princess of sorts. I have to admit that mafia books and movies are not my thing. But, the author has wrapped this thing up in such a nice package that I can’t help but enjoy it. I have to admit I am starting to despise clowns also.

I look at the really nice cover of Flicker & Burn and see the blurb “A heart-pounding mafia action-adventure” and think wow that is so true. This book is full of chase scenes, fight scenes and a great mystery which turns multipronged. That was handled very well. We get to meet some of Sara Jane’s family and from the beginning I wondered why they were suddenly there. I have to admit I thought they worked for the people holding Sara Jane’s family. It was great to be wrong. Their part of the story was a great addition to the storyline. This part of the story and the part with Max did bring out some emotions for me because it really portrayed how alone Sara Jane seems in this fight. Doug’s exciting part of the story also brings that home.

One of the big breakout facets of Flicker & Burn is seeing more of Sara Jane’s immersion into the Chicago mafia. We meet some colorful characters. There is some great character development in this edition and it looks like we will see more of them in future books as opposed to only getting summaries of what occurred from Sara Jane. We got to see blow-by-blow, if you will, interactions. I have to admit that I hope that things change with regard to her family. I am one of those people that do not like when the storyline goes on and on across multiple books with no resolution. I would like to see a new story arc with regard to her family after they are home and the family is back together. Lou is fascinating and I can’t wait to see more of him in the books. Flicker & Burn is a great addition to the series and I look forward to seeing where the Cold Fury series goes from here.