A haunting eco-thriller. In many ways, the release of new issues-led novel The 7th Fire couldn’t be more timely. This explosive thriller tells the gripping story of a teenage environmentalist, Annie Erickson, who starts out searching to uncover the whereabouts of her twin sister and ends up in a race against time to prevent a global pandemic. The catch here is that the book was written right BEFORE the current pandemic. According to MSN News the first draft was written in 2014, predating Covid by several years. Which makes reading The 7th Fire all the more entertaining and unnerving. What follows is a dark and dangerous cat-and-mouse adventure where Annie puts her own life, and those of others, at risk as she pursues the shocking truth amidst a complex web of conspiracies and counter-conspiracies that could fuel an entire season of The X-Files. As you would expect from a great thriller, The 7th Fire is packed with double-crosses, violence, as Annie plunges ever deeper into the rabbit’s hole. This is all enhanced by the setting in the far north of Canada—a snowy, forested, isolated and bleak landscape where no one will help if you get into trouble. The remote lake setting seems like its own character, adding to the danger, the paranoia and the fear. It brings the novel to life, representing an ominous presence even from the opening scene where Annie is hitchhiking to her destination, and the truck she is in slides on the icy roads. The story essentially ends on an edge-of-seat cliffhanger where Annie uncovers a bigger goal that she must pursue at all costs, specifically relating to the 7th Fire.  It’s a breath-taking, gritty thriller. Highly recommend.

A Compelling Ride: it’ll make your heart skip a beat. This book, based on actual events, is Not for the fainthearted. A fast-paced read with cinematic vision, the main character, Annie Erickson, is a brilliant computer hacker searching for her missing sister. The latter is supposedly either kidnapped or murdered by a sinister biomedical company (the bio says the book was written pre-covid. The bio lab in the novel is like the Wuhan lab in China). The plot was set up concisely in just a few pages, and the reader knew it was time to buckle up for a wild and eerie ride. 14-year-old Annie Erickson’s is astonishing as a sometimes cold and tenacious young crusader, investigating the disappearance of her activist sister. McKinley’s talent for plot and dialogue feels as authentic as the real-life disaster this novel was based on. Erickson’s resilience shows in a series of frightening and brutal scenes in which she battles corrupt government Feds and big pharma. This read felt like a potential Netflix series with Annie Erickson as 21st century rebel Anne Shirley. It was a simple read that I finished in one sitting. A suspenseful mystery with lots of plot twists that kept me hooked until the last page.

This edgy YA Thriller packs a winning formula as the author wastes no time getting the action going (I couldn’t wait to see how it ended)!! Based on actual events, it’s a story of a real-life biochemical Armageddon. Scaringly it was written pre-Covid, which is very coincidental if you think about it ( you can read more about it in the author’s bio notes). The novel is both frightening and exhilarating. In some ways, it reminded me of the film “Winters Bone;” the movie that made Jennifer Lawrence a star. The main character in The 7th Fire is Annie Erickson. She starts as a vulnerable teen who later transforms into a total badass. Her quest for justice is cold and dangerous, but her courage is also uplifting. There are several mysteries interwoven in the novel which will surprise and shock you. It’s a page-turner you can’t put down, with a plot twist in every chapter. You can’t even guess the ending until you get there and well .. when you do…then you find out that’s just the beginning of Annie’s journey. Wow! I highly recommend the 7th Fire.