Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780451219992
ISBN number: 0451219996
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 240
Printing Date: December 05, 2006
Publishing house: Signet
Sale Popularity Level: 79237
Studio: Signet
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
With her kennel business and her part-time job with the forest service, Raine Stockton is having a hectic summer when the FBI drops in to see her about her old flame Andy Fontana. Fontana disappeared from her life when he was connected with an act of sabotage that left several people dead. Now, he's an eco-terrorist on the Ten Most Wanted list, and the feds think Raine can help them bring him to justice.
The FBI suspects Andy has returned to retrieve a fortune in diamonds he hid in the wilderness. He also may be responsible for a recent wave of property damage, and an unsolved hit-and-run death.With the help of her loyal Golden Retriever, Cisco, Raine must discover the truth about the man she once loved, and uncover a killer in the process.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
I enjoyed the very first book in this mystery series featuring search-and-rescue dogs, Smoky Mountain Tracks, so I picked this one up. I just ordered the third book in the series, Gun Shy.
Rapid Fire brings the mystery a little closer to home for kennel owner, dog trainer, and search-and-rescue officer Raine Stockton: her college boyfriend, Andy Fontana, is back in the area, wanted by the FBI as a known terrorist and suspect in recent eco-terrorism crimes.
He'd disappeared ten years ago when he was suspected of bombings, but Raine's never believed he's guilty. Now they think he's back, looking for his payment for that job--a cache of diamonds.
Raine's faith is tested, however, when she keeps finding rainbows--Andy's nickname for her, and the symbol of the eco-terrorism group he's suspected of heading. Still, she believes in him and it's a race to find him before the authorities.
Rapid Fire is a more intense book than its predecessor, both because of the personal connection and emotions and because the issue isn't black-and-white. Raine has to reevaluate her former and present relationships, and has to decide where she draws the line between her views on the environment and the law.
And of course there are the dogs. One subplot involves Raine entering a dog in an event for which he's unsuited. The dog training echoes and clarifies larger issues in the plot and in life in general.
The very first book was simply entertaining. This one is deeper. I'm looking forward to finding out where the series goes from here.
Rated by buyers -
Donna Ball is a great author. Her books are well written and I think its great the way she incorporates the animals into the story, from the many dogs to the bears. I highly recommend her books. They are enjoyable from start to finish.
Rated by buyers 
-
"Rapid Fire" is the second in the Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries by Donna Ball. Ms. Ball's writing is improving as she goes along, as the second is better than the very first -- and the very first was a solid three star. We're back with Raine Stockton and the dog she finally accepted in the very first book. Although the dog is puppyish and gets into his share of problems, when the fewmets hit the windmill he does his job. The story is a good look at the dog training world but a better look at relationships between people and how politics and the U.S. current Soviet-style government will make even Americans turn on their neighbors and family members. The reason I don't give the book 4 stars is because the main character, Raine Stockton, is going backwards. (SPOILER ALERT) In the very first book she was a woman coming into herself and her own independance, after twice marrying and divorcing the local sherrif for his infidelities ... with just about every woman in their small, mountain town and a few passersby just for variety. By the end of the second book Raine has played doormat to the government MIBs and sucked up betrayal from just about everyone *except* the fellow who's supposed to be the bad guy. At the end of the book, she's not just sucked it up but shacked up with ... you guessed it, her cheatin' ex. This disappointing ending made Raine a lot less likeable and left me with the urge to smack her upside the head and demand, "What are you thinking?!" Not a good way to end a book. Also not a good way to encourage me to buy the subsequent in line.
Rated by buyers 
-
I personally liked the book as I could relate to the main character's issues with dog training and tracking. Sometimes, dogs just don't do what's expected but "trust the nose, as the nose knows". If a reader likes dogs and mystery together, then the reader will find this a good read. The ending was unexpected which is always good in a mystery. Characters in the book were well rounded and made the reader care about the trials and tribulations they went through.
Rated by buyers -
If you love dogs and very few people don't, this new series by Donna Ball is a treat. In this the second book in the series, Raine Stockton is still employed as a part time "consultant" and search and rescue officer with the Forest Service. Her own kennel business, Dog Daze Boarding and Training Facility is doing well and her free time is spent at various dog competition events. Her life is disrupted when her almost ex- husband, Deputy Sheriff Buck Lawson, visits her home with the FBI.
Raine's old college boyfriend, Andy Fontana, is wanted by the FBI as a known terrorist and has been on the run for 10 years fleeing from a bombing charge. The FBI insists he's back in the area and they suspect that he's trying to retrieve a huge cache of diamonds that he once hid in the vast forest area surrounding Raine's house. They also feel that Andy is responsible for the recent eco terrorist crime spree and the murder of a Mexican construction worker who was working for the construction company hired to clear part of the forest for a huge resort.
Raine is loyal to her memories of Andy being a good man, and she firmly believes in his innocence no matter what Buck and the FBI tell her about his criminal history. In order to prove his innocense she must (with the help of her golden retriever, Cisco) find the real killer in order to help the man she once loved. Her determination causes a rift between her and Buck, and the FBI begins to suspect she is helping Andy.
This is a great Donna Ball mystery. Anyone who loves dogs, wonderful descriptions of the Great Smokie Mts., an interesting plot and well developed characters will enjoy Rapid Fire. Raine and Buck are people you will want to continue reading about and I'm eagerly waiting for the subsequent title in the series.
Find other books like this one:
