Fire Damage was an ok book, took me awhile to get into it but I enjoyed it in the end.
We are introduced to Jessie a Flynn an army psychologist who is asked to see a deeply troubled child to get to the bottom of his problems.
A few twists throughout and a great ending tying up all the loose ends.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This is the very disturbing story of Sami, a young boy who arrives at the door of psychologist, Jessie with terrifying visions. In helping Sami, Jessie uncovers an horrific story of murder and lies.
I loved this book. I was fascinated from the first few pages and was still guessing how the story would play out into the final couple of chapters. This is very well written and maintains suspense levels throughout.
If I had to find a negative it would be that, at times, I had to remind myself who is who because a group of characters seem to be introduced at the same time.
Overall an amazing read!

A really great read, Jessie Flynn a new favourite character for me, looking forward to the next one in the series, a great story told well considering the subject matter, the story come together well, wasn't long and drawn out

What a great book. Love the character of psychologist Jessie Flynn who has her own secrets whilst trying to unravel a child's. I found this part of the story really interesting and added to the rest of the book it made it a great read. This book kept me captivated due to it being so well written and great believable characters. Can't believe this was a debut novel as the writing is of a high standard. A great psychological thriller that will make you want to read more from this author.

I really enjoyed this book. The military setting is a nice change from your standard police procedural and the characters of Jessie Flynn, Callan and Marilyn have a lot of promise for future books. Highly recommended.

I had never read a book by this author before. This book is well written and grips you from the first page.
Jessie is a psychologist in the army and is attempting to unravel the lives of a number of people but it is Sami that this story revolves around. A small boy with post traumatic stress but what has he seen or been party to in order to have this?
however, there is more to the story than this.
This psychological thriller has more twists and turns than a little and keeps you gripped to the very end.
Throw in a complicated military policeman and this is a recipe for more books .
The insight in to the army adds a different perspective too.
Thoroughly enjoyable and a must read for anyone looking for a new author to follow.
Thanks to Netgalley,the publisher and the author for allowing me to preview this book.

Dr Jessie Flynn is a psychologist who works for the army and as such she sees a great many patients who have been injured and traumatised by war. 29 years old, she has her own demons, but she is a great character; a strong, independently-minded woman who can hold her own and use her insight to help those whose minds are fractured.
4 year old Sami Scott is brought in for her assessment and treatment. He is the son of a severely disfigured senior Army officer. It is obvious to Jessica that Sami is deeply troubled and afraid of something or someone.
Jessie’s heart goes out to Sami and she resolves to get to the bottom of why he is so frightened. In the course of speaking to his family she will uncover some heartbreaking stories from both his mother, Nooria and his father, Nick.
Meanwhile, Captain Ben Callan of the Military Police, a former patient of Jessie’s, is investigating the death of an officer in Afghanistan and when he asks Jessie to attend an interview with a soldier who suspected of being involved in that death, she reluctantly complies.
It is not long before they find that they are drawn into each other’s cases as their separate investigations start to link together and when a body is washed up on the shoreline, it is clear that their cases are inextricably linked.
I also enjoyed the character of civilian Inspector ‘Marylin’ Manson and his interaction with Ben Callan.
This is a strong book, very well plotted, with excellent research and a thorough knowledge of army life and the sometimes brutal way in which it treats its soldiers. The book is multi-layered, well-written, realistic and quite compelling. Medina manages to capture the army spirit very well and without being in any way over emotional, she can tell a story that pulls at the heart strings.
Jessie Flynn is a protagonist to be proud of – roll on the 2nd in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins for a review copy of Fire Damage, the first novel in a new series to feature army psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn.

Major Nicholas Scott asks Jessie to help his 4 year old son, Sami who is withdrawn and terrified of being burned and continually repeats "the shadow man came. The girl knows". His parents suggest it is because his father was badly burned in Afghanistan but Jessie suspects there is more to it and starts digging. Captain Ben Callan of the military police and a former patient asks her to help in a psych evaluation of Sergeant Colin Starkey who is accused of murdering Sergeant Andy Jackson in Afghanistan when they both went out for a run and Jackson ended up shot dead, but again there is more to it. In the meantime DI Bobby "Marilyn" Simmons is investigating a dead body found at the beach.

There is plenty going on in Fire Damage and never a dull moment so I found it to be an addictive read and had to keep reading until everything was resolved. The plot has some unexpected twists, none of which I guessed, so it keeps the reader on their toes as they try to work out what is coming next. With the exception of Jessie's memories the narrative is linear and easy to follow as it is told exclusively from her point of view. I must admit I found the ending a bit of a letdown in comparison with the rest of the novel but this is a minor quibble in an otherwise good read.

I like the writing style. It has a crispness which makes everything immediately obvious and clear.

I'm still meditating on Jessie Flynn's character but I think she will develop into a much more rounded personality in future books. In Fire Damage she is crippled by OCD and memories of her brother's death 15 years previously, very much the clichéd troubled protagonist. She is, however, smart, caring and very likeable.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fire Damage so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

A gripping page-turner set against an army background: while the military policeman, Ben Callan, and police detective, 'Marilyn', are both attractive characters who I would read about again with alacrity, Jessie Flynn is an irritating identikit protagonist: a dark trauma in her past, an unending burden of guilt, a dysfunctional approach to relationships, acute OCD - and yet is a successful professional clinical psychologist - just not believable. I'm also a bit tired of lead characters who have no social/personal lives, obsess completely about their jobs, break all the protocols on investigation and privacy, and corner the killer unaided and with no back-up...

Despite some over-blown plotting at the end, Medina writes with directness and clarity: perfect as a commute or switch-off read.

Fire Damage is a very good book which I thoroughly enjoyed .The story is a gripping, compelling murder mystery .I found it hard to put down ,the ending was unexpected .Really looking forward to reading more in the series .

This is our introduction to Dr Jessie Flynn, a psychologist with the Defense Psychology Service. She is called upon to counsel Sami, a four-year-son of a Major severely burnt on duty in Afghanistan. The parents assure Jessie that the trauma the boy is experiencing is a consequence of seeing his father’s disfigured face. However, Jessie has her doubts particularly when Sami speaks of the ‘Shadowman’ and his references to himself as ‘the girl’. Why is his bedroom devoid of any child-friendly decoration, why does he play with dolls? Jessie’s enquiries lead her to question her past, and her self-imposed control on her feelings and her surroundings.

Ben Callan (a Captain in the military police) a former patient invites Jessie to interview a soldier who is implicated in the death of another officer in Afghanistan. However, Callan, too has a secret – one that could end his military career.

Initially, I struggled with this book. I did not feel any burning desire to unearth the story. However, as it evolved I found myself more interested and the latter part soon justified my sticking with it. It is definitely well-written with a well-structured plot and the premise of the protagonist being a psychologist within the army is a different angle. The characters of Jessie and Callan are worth investigating further whilst the other characters were well-drawn and totally believable and who could resist Sami?

If you liked Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series this is for you.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an arc of this book sent via net galley in return for an honest review.

This is an intriguing start to a new series.

Similar to the book that I just read (Dangerous to Know by Anne Buist), Jessie Flynn is a psychologist who is dealing with her own mental health issues. It adds an interesting dimension to the story and creates a frisson of the potential for something more than the professional between herself and Ben Callan that I hope will be developed as the series continues.

Two crimes have been committed that seem to have little to do with the case of the traumatised child that Jessie is treating, but nothing is as it seems in this book. Rather than being a police procedural book, this is a psychological book that deals with the aftereffects of war for the military personnel and their families and the wide reaching consequences that impact many. Kate Medina really excels here, and the book makes for some uncomfortable reading as Jessie untangles a complex web of cause and effect.

The book read very much as a puzzle to solve and, for me, was lacking in suspense and a building of tension. However, I do look forward to reading the series as it continues and Jessie's character develops.

I adored the debut White Crocodile set in Cambodia by this author and I feel exactly the same about this novel after reading this. This is a dark, disturbing, intelligent and multilayered novel which explores the nature of psychological harm given nearly all the characters are damaged, including Dr Jessie Flynn, our military psychologist with her pathological OCD issues. Jessie finds herself treating the severely traumatised 4 year old Sami, the child of Major Nick Scott and his wife, Noorie. Nick was part of the Intelligence Corps in Afghanistan, and in an ambush, was severely burnt. Noorie is an art student busily preparing for an exhibition. Neither are in a position to support or help their son.

Ex-patient of Jessie's, Captain Ben Callan, part of the Military Police Special Investigations Branch, has a bullet in his head which it is deemed unsafe to remove. He brings in Jessie at an interview of Sergeant Colin Starkey, who is suspected of killing a fellow member of the Intelligence Corps, Andrew Jackson, in Afghanistan, but the circumstances are not clear cut. Starkey is refusing to talk and given his background, he is not a man that can be broken down through interrogations. DI Bobby 'Marilyn' Simmons investigates a murder where the victim's torso is recovered on a Sussex beach. Jessie tries to get to bottom of Sami's trauma, why does he think he is girl? Who is the Shadowman? His parents are less than helpful and Jessie is convinced there is more to the situation than his father's burning. With further murders, Jessie and Callan find themselves in dangerous and toxic waters as connections between what happened to Sami, the riddle of Andrew Jackson's death, the torso, and what happened to Nick, become transparent.

This is a brilliantly twisted story of the murky nature of dysfunctional families with a compelling storyline that never fails to grip. It deals with some pertinent mental health issues facing the army such as PTSD. The psychological study of Sami feels so hearbreakingly real and captured my interest immediately. The complex and tragic subject matters have been well researched and it shows in the novel. The flawed and damaged character of Jessie fits right in with her patients! She is smart and tenacious and her relationship with Ben Callan is intriguing. I really liked that the story was set within a military background. I cannot wait to read the next in the series. Highly recommended. Thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

Thoroughly excellent first in a series here from Kate Medina (Who's "White Crocodile" I adored) so yet another one to add to the must read list which is getting stupidly long but I'm not giving any of them up!

I'm all for intriguing characters and Jessie Flynn is just that - intriguing. Attempting to help an obviously damaged child she gets drawn into a dark family history with very emotive undertones and as a person who has suffered a loss often finds it hard to come to terms with her own demons. I was drawn into her world very quickly, the plotting here is taut and immediately absorbing, I read it start to finish in two sittings and was in it all the way.

The mystery elements well imagined, with dark twists a plenty and a hugely gripping ending that will have you holding your breath that is just the way I like it. The wider cast are equally fascinating and the character interactions were highly charged and beautifully done, some intense themes explored here, overall a truly great read.

Recommended.

What a great book. Loved it. Chilling and action packed, this story kept me guessing from start to finish.

With an ending I did not see coming, this is well worth a read.

Jessie Flynn is one of the main leading roles in this new series.
As we slowly get to know her, I can see she's a very strong person, but, with a story of her own.

She's treating a small boy from a very dysfunctional family background which ranks up more and more as she delves further.

There is someone else who is undergoing problems too.

This is an intriguing beguiling first book of this series where I've been left panting for more.

Thank you to Harper Collins Uk via Net galley

“Fire Damage” is a book with all the things I like to read about. There is a small child in desperate need of help, traumatized soldiers coming back from war zones unable to adapt to a normal life, injured and frightened and a psychologist, who’s trying o help, but has some serious problems herself. Once I started reading I was drawn in to the story and the suspense, but also all the sadness, made it impossible to put the book down. I hadn’t expected to like a story about the military so interesting, but Kate Medina proved me wrong with this wonderful, memorable and honest book.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK!

I really enjoyed this novel with its "damaged" characters. All the strands of the story came together at the end and I will look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Kate Medina's “Fire Damage” is a first instalment in a new Jessie Flynn series. It tells a story of a psychologist, Dr Jessie Flynn and one of her patients, a little boy named Sami. It is during the first therapy session, when Jessie begins to suspect that the boy's trauma runs deeper than she had been led to believe. Especially some aspects of Sami's behaviour are difficult to understand, like the fact that he refers to himself as “the girl”? He also seems to be terrified of a person he calls a “Shadowman”.
I must say, I initially really loved the synopsis. And I still think “Fire Damage” is a solid book. It's just that at the same time, I felt that it was lacking something. I enjoyed the author's style. And I did manage to connect with the characters on some level. Perhaps, it's the rather slow pace that I wasn't crazy about. But that's just my opinion, since I like things to move forward quickly. And I do love the action and excitement.
All in all, it is a good and enjoyable read, just maybe not something that would keep me on the edge of my seat.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Physician, heal thyself. Psychologist Jessie Flynn has a few issues of her own, OCD being the most noticeable, but it makes her character more believable. It also makes her more sympathetic to her patients. In this outing she’s trying to help three men suffering from PTSD following military service. Her compassion in no way weakens her strength and abilities as a psychologist. Medina has created a sympathetic, believable heroine