Firestorm (Johansen, Iris (Large Print)) (ISBN 0375432973)

Amazon.com Review:
Arson investigator Kerry Murphy has a unique talent for sniffing out the cause of fires like the one that killed her mother years ago. She also has a secret, known only to the mysterious stranger named Silver, a "consultant" who needs her cooperation in stopping the psychopath who burned his brother alive and who's holding national security hostage to his own demented ego. Silver has an uncanny gift for getting under Kerry's skin, which is both the good and bad news--good because it doubles their chances of finding the man behind the terrifying weapon of the title, and bad because Kerry can't afford to be vulnerable to Silver or any other man. Johansen has written a taut thriller that's not quite as combustible as its title but one that will keep readers fired up enough to stick with it to the last page. --Jane Adams

Deja Vu?????? Wake up Johansen!!:
I have always enjoyed Johansen's books but they are getting pretty predictable with the female protagonist and the male protagonist at odds with each other, building into an obsession and her finally succumbing to his charms. Its the same story with her other female protagonists as well. Other than a little different type of killer, these stories are as redundant as a Victoria Holt gothic novel and I gave those up many years ago for the same reason.

Pure Drivel:
I picked up Firestorm with no anticipation. I don't read book jackets but the cover told me that Iris Johansen "Takes you to the edge of suspense." Unfortunately, the book looked over the edge, got scared, and ran like hell. The suspense was barely perceptible, the characters drawn from the stock-footage locker, and the plot had about as much momentum as bowling on a sandy beach. It's clear that Ms. Johansen knows how to write - she just didn't put herself out on this effort. The book should give you about as much excitement as reading this review does. Unless you're a fan of pure drivel. Then you should you love it.

Big disappointment:
I used to enjoy Iris Johansen. This book is a super natural psychic thing. The book flap describes it as "psychological thriller", but it's not. If you enjoy the super natural type of book (Stephen King, etc) then this is good. If, like me, you dislike that type of book, STAY AWAY from this one. The main character Kerry can get into peoples minds. The other main character also does that. Yes,that is the basis of this book.

Only Worth Reading if Your Stuck on an Airplane:
I've read rave reviews for Iris Johansen, but decided to try a 'single book' as opposed to her serials. Boy did I get a wrong number. It's like she wrote this book on a weekend after seeing the old "Firestarter" movie with Drew Barrymore. (By the way it's not as good and even more hokie.) This book reads like a blah movie on "Lifetime" network. The whole "psychic" stick is so badly done that they wouldn't use it on "The Ghost Whisperer". The characters are so two dimensional as to be non- existent. At the end I was rooting for the bad guy, hoping he'd set everyone on fire and put them all out of their misery. I found the most 'human' of all the characters to be the dog, Sam. I will assume that her mysteries are much better than this and that she was just going through a bad period when she wrote this one. The best she could do is to get all the copies of this novel and then have the biggest bonfire and roast some marshmallows.

LOVE IT:
I LOVE IRIS JOHANSEN!!!! ALL OF THE BOOKS I HAVE READ OF HERS ARE GREAT!!!!! READ THEM, YOU WON'T BE DISAPOINTED!