City of Fire [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2008

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.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Through the literal and metaphorical fog of a forest fire that rages through much of Ellis's tense third thriller (after Access to Power and The Dead Room), LAPD detective Lena Gamble investigates a string of gruesome murders, the first of a pregnant woman, while trying to follow the convoluted thinking of "Romeo," as the serial killer has been dubbed. The search becomes more complicated and personal when the body of the best friend of Gamble's dead brother, David, is found, apparently another Romeo victim. Through Gamble's nicely framed reminiscences by her pool, we learn of David's unsolved death by gunshot, five years earlier. There's clearly some connection, but Gamble can't tie Romeo to David, a sensitive soul and a rock musician of some renown. The pieces of the case fall into place a little too neatly, and there may be a few too many words on L.A. driving, but the story is tight, the characters alive and the Rambo-like assault at the end refreshingly uncharacteristic of female protagonists. Author tour. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Five years ago, Los Angeles police officer Lena Gamble's brother was gunned down on a dark Hollywood street. The chilling case remains unsolved. Now, the newly promoted homicide detective is pursuing a psychopath who sexually assaults his victims before stabbing them to death. But the mystery of her brother's death is never far from her mind. Who snuffed out the life of the talented musician who became her best friend after their parents' early demise? As time passes, Lena suspects that the LAPD colleagues she has come to trust and admire are conspiring against her in the interest of closing a troubling case. Though his attention to grisly detail may be too much for some, Ellis (Access to Power, 2001) vividly evokes Hollywood as a place of burning desires, where the boundaries between good and evil are blurred beyond distinction. Ellis' prose is crisp, and his plot moves at a good clip. His characters are credible and complex: a cadre of flawed cops, a strong-willed young woman seeking answers, and a serial killer hell-bent on revenge. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312366140
• ISBN-13: 978-0312366148
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ellis' fans the flames of tension, May 31, 2007

By 

Lesa Holstine (Glendale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City of Fire (Lena Gamble) (Hardcover)

Robert Ellis' latest thriller is a powerful story, filled with violence and graphic detail. Ellis builds the tension so high you won't want to read City of Fire late at night, particularly if you're in the house alone.

LAPD Detective Lena Gamble is 29, and alone in the world. Her brother, David, had been murdered five years earlier. Lena has the time and willingness to work on the latest horrific crime investigation. She and Hank Novak, her partner on the Homicide Special Squad, are the officers responsible for the investigation into the murder of a woman found in her bed. Although all clues point to the husband, Lena soon realizes there might be a link to a previous murder. As she starts to make the connections, she realizes they're looking for a serial killer, a man soon dubbed "Romeo."

As fire season starts in LA, the Santa Ana winds fan the flames, just as Ellis builds the book's tension up so much it's almost unbearable. Lena realizes she's not only looking for a serial killer, but at the same time, she's looking for her brother's killer. And, someone in the police department wants to shut down that case, and label it solved. She no longer knows who to trust, and she doesn't want to become another victim.

Pack this book for summer vacation because you won't want to put it down. But don't read City of Fire late at night.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars authentic touch - Peacocks in La Canada, September 24, 2008

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City of Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

When you read a novel [any novel] set in contemporary Los Angeles, you have to wonder how much work the author has put into getting the background accurate. This recent novel by Ellis is quite well done, with many details of LA. But you know that there is always a temptation by an author to put in the stereotypicals. The sleazy Hollywood music and drug scene. The glittering night view from the Hollywood Hills. And so on.

But what struck me about this novel was a short scene in the northern hillside suburb of La Canada. (There's a tilda over the n, by the way.) The protagonists visit a house there, where the host shows them peacocks that inhabit the neighbourhood. He says some got free years ago and bred. Now they are a fixture in La Canada. This is exactly right. I've visited a place there several times, and you can often see peacocks and their offspring loitering around on roofs. Not a detail you will often run into in books set in LA. It was just a tangential observation that Ellis inserted. Adds an authentic flavour.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master and His Subtext, August 7, 2007

By 

Ray C. Noll III (Chestertown, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City of Fire (Lena Gamble) (Hardcover)

Read this book for the subtext--there is a lot more going on here than just great character development and an out-of-control-freight-train of a plot. What Ellis has done is to give us a snap shot of American culture in 2007--complete with a coffee addicted female detective and one sick-sexual-psycho-killer. But wrapped around these unforgettable characters, are layers of information about who we are as a society, how we react, think and manipulate all of our technological devices that enable us to function as higher primates in a modern age. The problem is, we are still animals. Ellis knows this and exploits it to a horrifying degree.

On top of the deftly interwoven social commentary, Ellis has rendered a portrait of Los Angeles that literally puts you on the freeway. The sprawling urban environment becomes a major character, indifferent, moody and combustible. Driving in LA is a daily hassle for those living there and absolutely daunting for a visitor in a rental car--but driving in this book--frequently against the clock--can be a matter of life or death. All that is missing here is a road map for the out-of-towners.

Down the road. . . City of Fire will serve two purposes. It will always remain a highly entertaining, rip-roaring read. But it will also become a succinct time capsule of our immediate age and how we lived and thought in 2007. The same way Dashiell Hammett's gritty crime novels provide a vibrant window on the 1930s. It is one of the underrated aspects of the crime genre--holding up a mirror to society. With City of Fire, Robert Ellis has earned his place as a true master of crime fiction