"A Fantastic Conclusion to a Terrific Series!"

Talk about one series I hate to see end! I've been enjoying Susan Wiggs's books for years, and have loved her series, but this one has topped them all. It was so enjoyable on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin.

Lucy, a heroine who's a bookseller and a feminist is one any reader would be hard pressed not to identify with. There's one particular scene where Lucy is talking to one of her customers who is disparaging dime novels without ever having read one that had me sitting up and cheering. (Does this sound familiar, romance readers?) She even recommends books which will be vaguely familiar to romance fans.

A hero who is bitter and lonely but as gentle and as nice as they come and who wants to put his daughter's needs first - that's Rand. He's a successful banker who has had some terrible tragedies in life including the loss of his infant daughter in the Chicago Fire and then his wife leaving him, the palatial home he built for her remaining mostly empty.

What reader won't be able to have their heart simply torn from their chest with Lucy's decision to give up custody of her daughter? Sure, Rand is Maggie's biological father, but Lucy has cared for her for the past five years and is the only mother Maggie has known.

And prepare for a beautifully-written scene from Maggie's point of view as she meets her father for the first time in five years.

This is a fitting conclusion to the Chicago Fire Trilogy which began with THE HOSTAGE , and then THE MISTRESS. THE FIREBRAND stands alone just fine, but I believe readers will enjoy THE FIREBRAND even more having read the first two books in the series - and particularly one scene which is told from different points of view in each of the books.

Well done and thanks, Susan, for another terrific Series!

Reviewed by Maudeen Wachsmith
Posted June 30, 2001

August 2003
A reissue of Susan Wiggs's historical romance; Book Three in the Chicago Fire Trilogy.

Summary

October 8, 1871 — One small spark ignites the entire city of Chicago, sending the residents into panic. But amid the chaos, a miraculous rescue kindles an unexpected new love.

As she flees the raging inferno, Lucy Hathaway risks her life to save a precious baby girl. The little orphan is a gift from heaven, coming into Lucy's life just as the fire takes everything else from her.

Five years have passed, and Lucy has raised Maggie as her own. Now, seeking a loan to refinance her most cherished dream—her bookstore, The Firebrand—Lucy finds herself face-to-face with Randolph Higgins, Chicago's most prominent banker. Rand is a bitter, lonely man scarred by the great fire and still grieving for the baby girl he lost that night. And to her astonishment, Lucy discovers that the child she'd saved was his.

Some women would have run, some would have taken the secret of Maggie's identity to the grave. But not Lucy. Now her life is about to take another dramatic turn, forcing her to confront the one man who threatens all she holds dear. But it is their mutual love for a child that will propel Rand and Lucy on an unforgettable journey into emotion, adventure and passion.