The Time of the Fire Emma Kavanagh 9781409199564

Northern California, end of summer. Fire Hazard Severity Zone: Very High.

A mysterious death.

On the anniversary of her mother's death, CEO-in-waiting Robyn Sandoval goes for a morning run. She knows her father - a local fire fighting hero - is desperate to speak to her, to tell her something he wants her to know before she starts her new job leading the corporation that owns most of their Northern Californian town of Destino. But when Robyn arrives, she finds him dead.

A devastating fire.

Meanwhile, after months of drought, a freak forest fire ignites on the mountain ridge looming over the town. Destino has never burned; its unique position protected by the seemingly insurmountable barrier of the ridge, a favourable wind direction, and a belief long held by the community that they are categorically safe.

A life split in two.

Robyn is shaken to the core by her father's death, and her life is shattered in two, the fabric of her reality shorn by the sheer force of her grief.

The next time she wakes, everything is different: her father is alive, and there's no sign of the fire on the ridge.

To understand what is happening, she has to confront not only the secrets of her past but both versions of her present. Because back in her world, the fire is spreading and the time to find answers is running out...

Emma Kavanagh was born in Wales in 1978 and currently lives in South Wales with her husband and two young sons. She trained as a psychologist and, after leaving university, started her own business as a psychology consultant, specialising in human performance in extreme situations. For seven years she provided training and consultation for police forces and NATO and military personnel throughout the UK and Europe.
For more information, tweet Emma @EmmaLK