Beneath the Flames (PB)

2019 Readers' Favorite First-Place Gold Medal Winner in Fiction: General Best Book Awards Finalist

BENEATH THE FLAMES is a mesmerizing story of love, race, and life as an urban firefighter that brims with emotion and humanity. A fire in a neighboring farmhouse has young farmer and volunteer firefighter, Mitch Garner, blaming himself for the tragic outcome. He loses all hope of forgiving himself. His only hope for redemption is to leave Jennie, the girl he’s loved since high school, and journey from Wisconsin’s lush farmland to the decaying inner city of Milwaukee to prove himself as a professional firefighter. Mitch is assigned to the busiest firehouse in the heart of one of the most blighted areas of Milwaukee, the Core, where he’s viciously hazed by senior firefighters. He struggles to hold it together at horrific scenes of violence and can’t do anything right at fires. Within weeks, he’s ready to give up and quit. His salvation comes in the form of a brash adolescent girl, Jasmine Richardson. Mitch is assigned to tutor her little sister through a department mentoring program. Despite Jasmine’s contempt toward Mitch, her courage and devotion to her little sister inspire Mitch to stay and dedicate himself to helping her and the neighboring children overcome the hopelessness of growing up in crushing poverty. Trouble on the farm has Mitch torn between returning home to Jennie and staying in Milwaukee where he’ll be forced to risk his life to protect Jasmine from the leader of the One-Niner street gang.

In 2006, Gregory Lee Renz was inducted into the Fire and Police Hall of Fame for the dramatic rescue of two trapped boys from their burning basement bedroom. In 2008, Captain Renz retired, exchanging his turnout gear for a writing desk to pursue his passion, storytelling. After eight years, numerous creative writing courses through the University of Wisconsin, countless workshops and conferences, Gregory finally typed *The End* to his debut novel, BENEATH THE FLAMES.