Shawn Grady's "Tomorrow We Die"

A dying man hands paramedic Jonathan Trestle a piece of paper with seemingly nonsense scribbles, saying “Give this to Martin.” But the man doesn’t die and discharges himself from the hospital. When Trestle tires to return the paper, he finds the man dead, this time permanently.

Then the man named Martin dies – and his body disappears from the morgue. And then Trestle realizes what the scribbles are all about, and finds himself under arrest and on the run.

Shawn Grady, author of the previously published novel Through the Fire, has written another wild suspense ride through the streets of Reno with Tomorrow We Die. But there are three aspects of his second novel that make it every bit as good as the first one – and even a shade better.

First, Grady draws upon his own experience as a paramedic, to render the action and details of the story vividly real. Instructions at response scenes are barked and received in language that only a paramedic would know and understand, and yet the reader is able to follow closely.

Second, he develops Through the Fire as both a suspense story and a love story. Trestle connects with Naomi, a nurse serving on an emergency medical helicopter and a former girlfriend he walked away from. The romance is rekindled and becomes part of the suspense story.

Third, Grady draws the character of Trestle in complex ways that make him more than only a character is a suspense story. He was to live and deal with an alcoholic father, deal with his own feelings about the death of his mother, find his way back to Naomi, and protect his acceptance into medical school, not to mention deal with several villains and attempts on his life. In the process, Trestle becomes a very three-dimensional and very real character.

Grady’s writing, already solid in his first novel, is even better in Through the Fire. And he tells a first-rate suspense story, too.

Shawn Grady's "Through the Fire"

I’ve posted a review of Shawn Grady’s Through the Fire over at Amazon, and I’ll repeat what I’ve said before about the book –it’s a terrific story. I love how Grady writes – it’s terse, concise, powerful and action-packed. The novel almost effortlessly pulls the reader into the story – and that’s where you stay.

There’s a little romance here – the hero’s fiancé calls off the engagement at the beginning of the book and he finds another love interest not too much later – but it’s not the primary plot of the story. That honor goes to the fires being set by an arsonist.

Beyond the writing, I liked how Grady draws his characters – they’re real, multi-dimensional people, with the kinds of problems and flaws shared by all of us. The hero of the story, Aidan O’Neill, has problems and issues beyond the failed engagement. He’s never been able to deal with the death of his father, he’s developing a drinking problem and he’s suspicious of both his best friend and the new love interest in his life. He journey to discover the identity of the arsonist coincides and becomes one with his journey toward faith.

Through the Fire is a great read, and an entertaining one – but one that also makes you think, about what firefighters risk to protect us, what goes through the minds of arsonists, and what firefighting work is actually like. And Grady makes sure that when those tones sound the alarm at the fire station, we slide right down the pole with the firefighters.

A Long Week

I've not been posting much this week. Lots of things have been happening at work -- retirement announcements, team changes, meetings -- the whole gamut of stuff. In a week or so, I'll have more about it. But it has been a wild ride, especially today.

Yesterday, I met with six local PR people as part of a study program for the Public Relations Society of America accreditation exam. My topic was social media, and we had a really good discussion. One of the participants asked if I thought social media would have an impact on corporate structures generally, and I said most definitely yes. I said we're already seeing corporate America go through the five phases of social media adoption -- total denial it even exists; a couple of experiments with it; wild enthusiasm until something bad happens; almost total withdrawal; and then a more measured and balanced involvement.

Also on Wednesday, InsideWork published one of the posts from this blog -- one about layoffs. We've been blogging the experience at work on our intranet, which hasn't thrilled Human Resources but which has drawn thousands of employees to the stories.

My ribs continue to mend; I'm making do with Aleve and Tylenol. My lung is back to normal. Last week, I was actually given the OK to do the stationary recumbant bike for a short stretch. If things continue to go well, I'll get to be up on my road bike by mid-September, at least for a 20-30 minute ride. Unfortunately, that means I'll miss the MS 150 over in Columbia, Missouri, for which I'm registered and have my new team jersey, a fiery red in color -- perfect for someone my age to look totally foolish in.

I've been reading Shawn Grady's Through the Fire, and it's extraordinarily well done. It's a first novel, but this guy knows how to write and he knows about fighting fires (he's a firefighter in Reno). Take a look at his web site -- it includes the "soundtrack" for the novel -- the music he listened to while writing the story. (I'm listening to it right now, in fact -- songs from U2, Led Zeppelin, Cold Play, Jars of Clay and the Dave Matthews Band, among others.)

More soon.