The Woman for Dusty Conrad

Rating:
Summary: Sharp edged and vividly realized -- Very highly recommended
Review: One moment firefighter Dusty Conrad and his brother are scaling a set of stairs, seeking out a fire, his brother quizzing him about the flash point of pair of the socks. Then a careless, stupid mistake, a back draft, his brother dies, and paramedics whisk wife Jolie to the hospital with third degree burns. Dusty resigns from the department, and asks Jolie to resign as well. He can't attend another funeral of a loved one, especially when she purposely places herself in danger. She refuses. So Dusty walks away from the tie that bound him to the woman he loves, but threatened to choke him in the end.

Six months later Dusty returns to Old Orchard because Jolie hasn't signed the divorce decree. It's supposed to be a quick process. Quietly slip into town, pick up the papers, and quietly slip away. Then everyone greets him as if he'd only been gone a day. Worse, his hot reaction at seeing Jolie reminds him of everything he's lost. And he sees his brother's widow; bringing to mind the pain he wants to leave behind. He can't compete with the adrenaline rush of fighting fires, or the emotional risk of loosing another to that vicious red monster. Surely with him gone, Jolie would be relieved to be able to live, as she wanted without someone questioning what she was doing.

Tori Carrington creates powerful conflict in THE WOMAN FOR DUSTY CONRAD. In a marvelous reversal of traditional roles, where men ordinarily risk their lives and women wait helplessly at home, Carrington creates a loving couple that risk their lives together on the job. It's the man who has second thoughts, survivor's guilt, and the inability to maintain such a risky lifestyle. Jolie never backs away from the job she loves and the responsibility she's accepted in her small town. Even her eventual compromise doesn't lessen her power or responsibility.

Further, Carrington captures the sharp edge of emotion held in check, maintaining a careful tension throughout the novel as these characters battle the blazing inferno of their hearts as well as life and death issues. Once again Carrington demonstrates a remarkable ability to seamlessly blend the male and female points of view in a powerful narrative that never backs away from either's emotions. Indeed, this writing team has become a master of vividly capturing fierce emotion. Very highly recommended.