Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts (2005)

Now this is the Nora Roberts I like and respect. This was a cross between Roberts' normal romances and her J.D. Robb books with tough cop Eve. This time the heroine Reena Hale works for the arson unit and is trained as a firewoman. The setting is Baltimore, and since I was just there for a conference this spring, I had been to Little Italy and recognized some of the places mentioned in the book. We see Reena from childhood, when she is fascinated by the fire that destroys her parents' restaurant. I loved her close knit family and cozy family business. The other unusual aspect of this book was that we got a realistic view of the various semi-serious relationships Reena has throughout her life. Usually romances just have the two people meet, and it seems that there is nothing in their past, they find the one and only. Now this lady has a lot of fires in her life - not just as part of her job, but as part of her life. It takes her a while to put it all together that they are connected, but the trip through her life is worth following. I had no idea what it takes to become a specialist in arson - and it is amazing how much they can tell about the origins of a fire. It is also scary to see the other side - how an arsenist can set up a destructive blaze. I also liked Bo Goodnight - a great carpenter, who once saw Reena at a party many years ago and was smitten by her.