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“CITY OF FIRE is my kind of crime novel. Gritty, tight, and assured.”—Michael Connelly
When a beautiful young woman named Nikki Brant is found dead in her bed, the elite Robbery-Homicide division of the Los Angeles responds in full force. Is Nikki another victim of the infamous “Romeo” serial killer? LAPD Detective Lena Gamble will make it her business—in the most high-profile, make-or-break case of her career—to find out.
“A scorcher.”—Baltimore Sun
As the investigation plays out and a massive forest fire blankets the city with acrid smoke, a cloud of conspiracy descends on Lena’s investigation, and she knows she’ll have to grind this one out…because Nikki Brant’s death just breathed new life into more than one closed case…because she’s suddenly stuck in a web of conspiracy and corruption…and because if there’s one thing Lena knows about murder in L.A. it’s this: The bigger the spectacle, the deeper the horror.
“I just discovered Robert Ellis. This book is terrific.”—Janet Evanovich, People
Los Angeles's infamous Santa Ana winds, or "Devil Winds," provide fuel for the fire in Ellis's (The Dead Room) serial killer-cum-police procedural. LAPD Det. Lena Gamble, haunted by her musician brother's murder, figures out that Nikki Brant's horrific rape and murder are just one small piece of a madman's desire to seek revenge against all those who have made his life miserable. Opening with Brant's death, this potboiler dishes it out: pornographic web sites, the plight of orphan siblings, the Hollywood music industry, and drug abuse. Needless to say, a brush fire seems superfluous. But pressing on, Gamble and her partner work both forward and backward as they delve into musical and handwriting clues left on the victims' nightstands, gradually teasing out the slayer's identity. If that weren't enough, the unsolved murder of Gamble's brother becomes personally threatening when she realizes that one of her colleagues probably killed him. Totally plot driven, with plenty of stereotypical characters, this book is fast, gruesome, and twisted, like a scary Jodie Foster movie. Ellis makes it easy to be terrified. Recommended for popular collections. [See Mystery Prepub, LJ2/1/07.]
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Mark Jacob
reviewed City of Fire (Lena Gamble Series #1) on February 24, 2015 City of Fire (Lena Gamble Series #1)
Book Blog | Bookstagram
WHAT?! SO GOOD.
I am always searching for a new character series I can get excited about. My dream-book criteria go like this. One: a kickass female heroine, who is human and knowable with just a sprinkle of torture. Just a sprinkle! Two: dead bodies. And three: I don't want to be able to figure out the mystery until the author wants me to.
Trying new books, I usually get two-out-three in random combination. This book checks off all three boxes.
City of Fire has a detailed, intricate and layered plot that weaves together a medley of separate past and current events and past and current crimes, into one glorious cornucopia of mind-blowing mind-blowingness.
You find out pretty early on who the serial killer, "Romeo," is but there are still a few tricks up Ellis' sleeve that will serve to give the killer some surprise. And when the final words are read, you realize the whole time the mystery wasn't about Romeo. It was all so brilliantly tied together and the red-herrings are perfect. As the ending draws near, you think back to those things you just barely picked up on in previous chapters and it feels like Ellis is winking at you.
I got you, Ellis. You silly, clever bitch.
This is a twisted and engaging story, even during some of the slower parts, with crisp writing that is descriptive but not overloaded. It has a perfect cast of characters who blur the lines of good and bad, black and white. It's some 3-dimensional, human character writing shit. The shades of grey are rich. There's just enough backstory to bring everything to life and move the underlying mystery forward, while also teaching the reader about lead character Lena Gamble and the ridiculousness that is the RHD. I've never been to L.A. but the setting is written with such kaleidoscope description you could almost taste the smoke from the forest fire, or see the Hollywood hills or the suburban neighbourhoods or the downtown streets.
The meh, of it: Ellis uses the word "righteous" too many times. It's such an odd word used in the context of this story, that every time I read it I thought, Really? There was no other word you could use that wouldn't make me stop and think: "Really?..." A gripe so small, it hardly registers and doesn't detract from the overall perfection of this book to me.
LOVED IT. Recommended. Buying the next one.
âââââ | 5 stars
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