Kathy Herman begins the Baxter Series with the book, Tested by Fire. The story begins with a fire on Mike McConnell's houseboat. Fearing all five members of the family have perished in this fire, the small lakeside town of Baxter, Georgia watches in horror. With a surprising twist, one of the family members is alive and believed to have killed the rest of the family. While the town besieged with the FBI and a swarm of media, struggles to adjust to the changes. A friend of the family takes a cross-country journey to get answers and finds his salvation along the way. The book, laced with enough suspense to keep the reader guessing until the end, is captivating. I found myself wrapped in the relationships and longing to uncover the truth.