With an Extreme Burning [Hardcover]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

In a chilling story of ordinary people trapped in extraordinary and deadly circumstances, two friends are faced with the possibility that someone they know well--for reasons they cannot fathom--is plotting to destroy them and everyone they love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The most intense writing in Pronzini's new novel is the title, which refers to a series of deaths by fire caused by an unknown villain in a California town. The story itself is mostly a lackluster working out of whodunit. Dix Malory begins to suspect that his wife Katy's death in a car crash was no accident only after he starts to get phone calls from a man who, disguising his voice, says that he was her lover. Soon Dix learns that his friend Cecca also has been getting calls, these making sexual threats against her daughter, Amy. When the cops prove little help, Dix and Cecca turn sleuth, doubling their efforts after more friends die by fire. Several suspects are set up, but the killer's motivation, when revealed, comes nearly out of left field, making the choice of villain seem arbitrary. Pronzini avoids tarting up potentially lurid scenes, most notably those concerning the kidnapping of Amy, but the suspense builds unevenly, leading to a windswept, cliffside climax that is muted in a message-like wrapping. This latest is no match for even a middling entry in the author's Nameless Detective series, to which he should return, pronto.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Dix Mallory, a professor in northern California, is attempting to deal with the recent death of his wife, Katy, in a fiery car crash. His grief is compounded by the hints dropped here and there that Katy was having an affair. While Dix obsessively strives to clarify his status as either widower or widowed cuckold, there's another tragedy in town: the husband and son of one of Katy's best friends are killed in a propane explosion. Meanwhile, another of Katy's friends has been receiving threatening phone calls, as has Dix himself. The two realize the calls are from the same source and that perhaps the recent deaths weren't tragic accidents. The three women had been friends, but what did they share that would generate such horror? Pronzini is best known for his extraordinary "Nameless" detective series. The same craftsmanship is present here. The characters are believable, the setting is real, and the confusion and terror are palpable. Even the conclusion, although somewhat disconcerting, makes sense in this world of Court TV and tabloid journalism. Wes Lukowsky

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub; First Edition edition (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786701390
• ISBN-13: 978-0786701391
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,202,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WIDOWER'S WOE, July 31, 2000

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: With an Extreme Burning (Hardcover)

Dix Mallory had lived in his small town practically all of his life except for a brief absence. He married, taught at a local college and was a faithful husband. A tragic car accident ended the life of his wife and Mallory did his best to deal with her death. Then the phone calls came. At first they were an annoyance then became vicious. A male voice claimed Mallory's wife was unfaithful. Soon we find this average joe questioning himself, his marriage and if indeed his wife's death was an accident or murder. Come follow this intriguing story as we see close-knit friends become suspects, innocent victims become the pariahs of the community and a pathetic man is excused for his sins. See how one murder leads to another but "the law" is unable or unwilling to protect those whose lives are in imminent danger. The implications of these actions taken will have a chilling effect upon you as you witness the widower's woes.

4.0 out of 5 stars Burn, Burn, Burn, September 17, 2002

By 

Beverly C. Sanders (USA, Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With an Extreme Burning (Hardcover)

Bill Pronzini does a fair job with this book, With An Extreme Buring. He sets up a mystery concerning Dix and his inability to get over grieving over his loving wife's death due to a car accident. It has been about 3 months and he still could not shake himself loose of her death and move back to intergrating himself into his normal flow of events. That in itself begs for something to happen to him which would be out of the ordinary.
Sure enough, it does. As strange as it sounds, someone obligued him and he unfortunately fell for their act. Well, as he poked his noise into the recent past of his deceased wife, he found reason to move on with his life. Good for him that he did or he too would have fallen victim to an insane man's plan to not only wipe him out as he had done Dix' wife but his wife's close female friends' family as well.
Dix and Cecca (wife's female friend) are forced to track down his wife's murderer and turn him in to the police in the end. Too, bad that the murderer turned out to be one of Dix' and Cecca's close friend.--- ...