The Fire in Ember: A Novel

DiAnn Mills
Zondervan
ISBN 9780310293309
Reviewed by Tracey Rock for Reader Views (3/11)


Deputy John Timmons’ life had already been planned out for him.  He took care of the family ranch and his brothers and mother.  There was no other way of life for him.  Ember (“Bert”) Farrar has been on the run for six months.  Dressed and disguised as a boy, she ventures out to make a new life for herself away from her violent and dangerous brothers.  The return of a ranch owner’s horse that her brothers stole was in this plan while running away, but being hung for stealing the horse was not.  In steps John who stops the hanging and agrees to pay for the horse.  In return, Bert is to work at his ranch to help pay off the debt.  Only after Bert arrives at his ranch does John find out that Bert is really a girl, or a woman, by all counts, since she was seventeen at the time.  Bert obviously had a past for her to go to such extreme measures to make everyone think she was a boy, but why?  Could she be behind the recent rash of stolen cattle in the area? 

While life on the ranch is quite pleasant for Bert, she is not only fearful for her life, but now she fears for John’s family.  She knows her brothers will find her and will stop at nothing to bring her back.  As Bert and John’s relationship becomes closer, suspicions around the stolen cattle are all pointing to Bert.  John sets out to protect Bert, but Bert is trying to find a way to leave as quickly as she can so no one will get hurt.  Her plans though have now changed as her brothers have found her and give her a choice.  She must either help them steal cattle or they will kill John and his family. Left with little choice, Bert leaves the ranch with her brothers and relies on her newfound faith to prevail.  John sets out to find the cattle, but is seeking revenge more for his pain in trusting Bert than finding the stolen cattle.  Both John and Bert’s love for their family and each other will now be tested.  Can they choose?  Will faith bring them back together?

“The Fire in Ember” is a good book and you will find it hard to put down once you start reading.  There is mystery, love, betrayals and family drama.  Everything a good love story has to have.  One element of the story that I found fascinating was the relationship and dynamics of a family.  It was such a huge part of the storyline, yet was subtle.  There is, however, an underlying Christian element in this story with quotes from the Bible and such, so if this is not something you want to read about, then you may not particularly care for reading this one.  For me, I felt it added a certain element to the story and helped define some of the characters a bit.  Also considering the story took place in the 1800s in Colorado; it seemed to fit in just fine.  This book has plenty of twists and turns from beginning to end.  There is a very nice southern charm to the book. 

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