Book Review: Water to Burn

By Sandy Amazeen Aug 15, 2011, 2:36 GMT

Secret agent Nola O\'Grady is back and ready to save San Francisco from all evildoers, alien and otherwise. With the aid of her bodyguard and lover Ari Nathan, Nola\'s new mission is to track down and apprehend the mysterious "Brother Belial," head of the now-dispersed Chaos cult-and a possible invader from another dimension. ...more

As head of the San Francisco branch of an agency so secret few organizations know of its existence, Nola O’Grady monitors outbreaks of Chaos and generally keeps tabs on the weird. Nola has been assigned a “bodyguard” who is none other then her boyfriend Ari Nathan, an Israeli Interpol agent intent upon bringing an underworld boss to justice. Uncomfortable with serious relationships, Nola is having some difficulties sharing her life beginning with needing a larger apartment where neighbors won’t be a problem. While house hunting, Nola is drawn to a stretch of beach where two children have just been swept to sea by a rogue wave, killing one of them.

After a lawyer takes a dive into San Francisco bay and is swamped by another mysterious wave, Nola and Ari take up the hunt and uncover Belial, a powerful entity who draws power from the sea. Belial is looking to gain the power necessary to permanently manifest in this world. Nola will have to risk her life to keep the balance intact and restore some semblance of Harmony. Meanwhile, all manner of supernatural, otherworldly stuff is going on including attempting to assist Nola’s brother Michael in his efforts to draw his girlfriend from a toxic alternate dimension into this one.

There is plenty of quick paced action in this urban fantasy/sci-fi involving overlapping dimensions, pandimensional creatures, secret societies and family issues. Several interesting subplots twining through the main storyline providing depth and a sense of long history anchoring what could have been a far-fetched tale. The relationship between Nola and Ari continues to blossom while secondary characters gain from further development making this a series to watch.