Smoke by Catherine McKenzie

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

October 12, 2015

I became a big fan of Catherine McKenzie after reading Spin when it came out in 2012. She’s a great storyteller.

In Smoke, after spending years putting out dangerous wildfires, Elizabeth is living a more low-key life as an arson investigator for Nelson County in the Rocky Mountains. One night, Elizabeth wakes up smelling smoke and immediately finds that an out-of-control wildfire is threatening her home and community.

Local residents are pointing their fingers at an innocent, gentle old man who lost his home to the fire, but Elizabeth suspects a group of defiant teens are to blame. Caught in the middle of the investigation is Elizabeth’s former best friend Mindy, the mother of one of the boys suspected to have started the fire.

In addition to being tasked with the arson investigation, Elizabeth continues to cope with her recent separation, which was spurred more or less by her inability to have children. As the residents of Nelson County bind together to survive the fire and save their town, Elizabeth must do what it takes to make things right for everyone.

The author throws in lots of interesting fun facts and tidbits about wildfires in Smoke. It was enjoyable, but it took me longer than usual to read a book of this length. I felt it dragged on a bit, and was also fairly predictable. I noticed Elizabeth’s character was tame and mellow compared with the female protagonists in McKenzie’s other novels, who tend to be more bold.

I’ve also read and reviewed Forgotten and Hidden by Catherine McKenzie. Those were books were great, I loved them.

Other recent books by Catherine McKenzie include:

Note: I’m updating this post for the first time since publishing it, and am so excited to see McKenzie has a very long backlist now! 👆

What are your favorite books by Catherine McKenzie?

Last Updated on November 16, 2025 by Sarah Ann

Affiliate Disclosure: There may be affiliate links in this content. This means I earn a small commission if you buy anything from those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.