I've finished. A good read, but not a great one. Like his prior book the premise is interesting, but the character development is lacking. I was reading McCammon's "Gone South" at the same time and you have greater depth of character after three pages in that one than in 700+ here. But still a fun book.
I'm not even sure why it is called "The Fireman" since the the fireman is only one among many secondary characters. Maybe that title sounded better than "Harper the Pregnant Lady." The many Mary Poppins references were annoying, but the Martha Quinn angle was outright bizarre. Truly a strange choice for that. I doubt anyone under 40 has ever heard of her and most people over that age have forgotten. Joe must be older than I thought. Although now I really want to get her to sign my copy (assuming she is still alive).