Reviewed by Gaius Konstantine for Readers' Favorite

"There are different kinds of justice," and Fireline by Anthony DeCapite reveals one more. Mace and Caleb are brothers serving time together. Their world is the tragedy of prison, where life is a brutal reality that few can understand without having been there. Once Caleb is killed (while protecting Mace) over an incident that makes little sense to the outside world, his brother vows revenge. Possessed by all-consuming hate, Mace devises a plan to hunt down and murder Graham, the man who killed his brother. Joining a prisoner firefighting unit with his newfound ally, Ortiz, Mace eventually comes close to his target. But this is a different existence from the penitentiary, and the would-be-assassin discovers new possibilities when he finds himself regarded as more than a convict. In a world where the stakes become higher than expected, Mace realizes there are many types of fire; some are external, others burn within, but all can destroy equally.

There is nothing generic about this novel, and reading it made me feel as if I were walking a tightrope without a safety net while someone threw knives at me. What begins as a tale of revenge slowly and imperceptibly becomes a story of redemption. Anthony Decapite offers a masterclass in immersion as I found this novel authentic, fascinating, and sublime. There is violence, but it's never gratuitous; there is action, but it's not over the top, and there is humor and compassion when I least expected it. Character development is exemplary, and I readily sympathized with the protagonist, even when his actions were questionable. It's a harsh read at times, not because it's written poorly but because of the subject. Yet it is also a beautifully balanced tale where every ingredient is in the perfect quantity and sequence. The result is that Fireline is a vivid and realistic thriller that will appeal to fans of many genres, including action, drama, and adventure.