For anyone not familiar with Sarina Bowen’s True North series, it’s is a series of connected stand-alones that take place in rural Vermont. To me, they’re grounded and gritty, not shying away from the some of the realities of life in the 21st century – unemployment due to mill closures, the opioid epidemic, social media ruining lives. Fireworks is no different.

Skye Copeland is on paid leave from her broadcast weather job after accidently drawing a penis on screen while identifying a weather pattern. She’s completely mortified and ready to go into hiding when she gets a bizarre text from step sister, Raye, asking her to drive a rented car with a kayak attached up to their hometown in Vermont. But Skye has vowed to never set foot back in the state, much less the town. The promise of a hot lead on a good story is what finally entices her to drive north.

The mystery continues once she gets there. She drives to the appointed location, expecting to see Raye and instead her sister steals the car while Skye is using the bathroom. In a series of cryptic phone calls and texts from burner phones, Raye convines Skye to stay in town for the weekend while she “sorts things out”.

If you were worried Skye would be stranded in the bathroom, don’t fear – Raye thought of that. She sent Officer Benito Rossi to collect Skye – which means she sent the boy who broke Skye’s heart in high school.

Benito has never understood why Skye bolted from town without a look back on the night of their senior prom, and he’s certainly also never forgotten her. With her sudden reappearance, he’s got a chance to get answers. Complicating matters, however, is the fact that Raye is caught up in the massive drug ring that Benito is trying to crack – and so is Skye’s abusive step-father.

So, yeah, a bit messy.

This whole book is messy in the best of ways. Skye is a bundle of scars – both fresh and scabbed over – and she comes by them pretty honestly. Benito is her one true love, but the lies told by others that led to her departure means a messy knot to untangle. Benito is just a good dude, trying to do right by his community, but screwing up his personal life on the regular. The tension between these two isn’t manufactured drama for drama’s sake and is instead the multi-dimensional, layered web made by two people who loved each other once and need to learn the new versions of each other as they build a happily ever after.

This series is a solid one – I’ve read all the books and enjoyed many – and Fireworks is a great addition to it. You can certainly dive in here, but your experience with this town and its people will be richer if you start from the beginning.

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