Aurora Of Fire

Rating:
Summary: Mystery, adventure, and romance.
Review: There is an old Innuit (Eskimo) legend about a huge monster with sharp, rending claws called a Tuurngaq. Professor Raine Devereux says he has dug one up, frozen in cryogenic life suspension, during an archaeological dig. Raine says the creature defrosted and is currently loose on the North Slopes, killing all it finds. Therefore, he is trying to stop the preliminary work on a proposed Trans-Canada pipeline.

Having been harmed by the Tuurngaq, Raine is being kept in the medical section of the pump station. The engineer of the station, Jaarl Larsson, plans to do all he can to prove to Raine, and his own work crew, that the Tuurngaq is not real. Jaarl is convinced it is nothing more than a bear doing all the recent attacks and killings. He learns that Raine has a daughter who happens to work at the Valdez Terminal of the Alaska Pipeline. He hopes to convince her to visit the pump station. Perhaps she can help convince her father to stop spreading rumors of a legend walking around and to stop his campaign against the pipeline.

Francine Devereux has not seen her father in over twenty years. She had thought he was dead. She agrees to speak with her father, not only for Jaarl's reasons, but to also find out why he left his wife and daughter all those years ago. Yet before she even reaches the secluded pump station, someone tries to kill her. Once at the station, the attempts on her life continues. Worse, it seems the Tuurngaq is real. At the pump station, Francine will learn to love and to fear!

*** A very good mystery with a touch of romance and danger to keep the pace moving along at a good clip. The character of the hero, Jaarl, is very well developed and very realistic. However, the character of the heroine, Francine, is not as well done. She starts out smart, but becomes too naive to be realistic to me, as the reader. Yet through it all, this novel held my attention until the very end. Great reading for those who love mysteries, the wilderness of Alaska, or just want a "romantic thriller"! ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.