The Fire Watcher

Jacob Adams was living the American dream; a loving family, a new home and a high-profile job, designing the world’s first atomic power plant. But when tragedy strikes his family, he turns to alcohol to deaden his pain and grief. He becomes an alcoholic and eventually loses his home, his job and his faith. Thirty years later he lives in poverty in the shadow of the defunct power plant, where he now works as a janitor.

His life takes one more unexpected turn when he becomes trapped in the pitch-black recesses of the plant. In his forced sobriety, the bitter memories he has been drowning for decades begin to surface all around him, dragging him into a pit of regret and despair. Suffering the ravages of alcohol withdrawal, combined with the chilling effects of sensory deprivation, he embarks on an emotional and spiritual journey that will take him to the brink of insanity and back. Before his captivity comes to an end, Jacob - like his namesake from the Old Testament – will find himself wrestling with God.

The town sheriff, a State Police detective and even a local priest follow the clues as they search for Jacob. The widening mystery touches off a cascade of changes in the lives of those connected to him. A friendship broken by betrayal is mended, a long abandoned romance is reignited, dark secrets about the power plant and its caretakers come to light, and a young man’s life is forever altered as he uncovers the tragedy that sent Jacob spiraling downward so many years ago.

Nominated: 2011 Christy Award for Best First Novel and Best Christian Suspense.