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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plot and setting vs. Character and style, July 29, 2002
This review is from: Flash Over (Hardcover)
Flashover will be welcomed by mystery readers looking for an alternative to the police procedural and a new style of non-traditional heroine. Suzanne Chazin, who is married to a New York City firefighter, allows us to get behind the scenes of a world few of us will ever see. The strength of Flashover comes from a strong, plausible plot, where both crime and solution are grounded in the author's thorough grasp of pyrotechnics. Fire Marshal Georgia Skeehan investigates two mysterious fires that show signs of "flashover," combustion of a room and its contents by simultaneous ignition. Skeehan believes both deaths are connected to denial of disability coverage to fighters who fought a warehouse blaze nearly thirty years ago. She meets resistance and veiled threats when she digs through past reports. Adding to her frustration, her best friend disappears and her boyfriend arrested on suspicion. The last chapters are worth the price of admission. Chazin takes us through an adventure scene that keeps the pages turning, building a unique venue for the final conflict. The heroine seems completely cornered but uses her own skills to rescue herself. The solution plays fair: we are surprised but not deceived when we learn the identity of the villain For many readers, the strong plot and setting will outweigh the awkward writing and incomplete characters. Most annoying are the abundant clichés ("...a ghost of its former self..." "stopped ... in her tracks...") and far-fetched, distracting analogies. How does it feel to have blood "crystallizing" in your veins? Or your heart as tight as a twisted dishrag? Or your stomach like a box with marbles rattling around? Or see a sky the color of a faded t-shirt? What does it mean for someone to have "a firefighter's sincerity?" The author needs to step back and let her characters reveal themselves and their thoughts. Is it Georgia who sees Federalist columns and Beaux Arts touches on Grand Central or is the author intruding? Was Georgia an art history major in college? Ironically, the brief chapters about "Hood" and "Bear" are written with greater sensitivity. Some supporting characters -- the boyfriend and best friend -- have more recognizable, identifying features and dialogue than the main character. Still, the plot and setting are strong enough to outweigh the book's flaws. I'd pack Flashover for flight or beach reading. With meatier character development and a tighter writing style, the series should evolve from "very good" to "truly great."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Powerful Sequel....., June 18, 2002
This review is from: Flash Over (Hardcover)
FDNY Marshal, Georgia Skeehan, knew something was amiss when she investigated the apartment fire of Dr Louise Rosen. The brass wanted this one closed with an easy drunk and smoking in bed determination. But the autopsy showed Dr Rosen hadn't even had a sip of alcohol, and there was no sign in the apartment that she was a smoker; no cigarettes, matches, or ashtrays. Georgia is convinced it's arson, and when the doctor's former partner is also killed in a suspicious fire, she begins digging into their pasts and finds these two had an infamous reputation of denying pensions to firefighters disabled in the line of duty. At the same time, Georgia's best friend, NYPD Detective, Connie Ruiz, goes missing. Her apartment is soaked in blood and riddled with bullets, and to top it off, Georgia's boyfriend, fire marshal, Mac Marenko is charged with her supposed murder. Add to that a pipeline bomb threat and poor Georgia's got more than her hands full as she investigates these seemingly unrelated crimes. As the pieces begin to come together, she finds that a clue from the distant past may be the answer to the murder and mayhem surrounding the FDNY today..... This is Suzanne Chazin's second Georgia Skeehan thriller, and like the first, The Fourth Angel, this novel starts off with a bang. The prologue and first chapter of Flash Over are so harrowing and compelling that it's impossible to stop reading. The fast paced plot is intriguing, and Ms Chazin's extensive knowledge and expertise in the inner workings of the fire department, arson, and fire investigations adds real credibility to the story. Her characters are original and interesting, and the writing, for the most part entertaining and intelligent. Unfortunately, this time around, Ms Chazin trades in tight, tense, and suspenseful for melodrama and hand wringing, and this detracts from the story line and bogs down the plot. That said, she pulls it all together for a stunning climax and satisfying, solid ending that doesn't disappoint.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful, June 1, 2002
This review is from: Flash Over (Hardcover)
After finishing Suzanne Chazin's first book, The Fourth Angel, I was eager to read more about her unusual heroine, feisty Fire Marshall Georgia Skeehan--and I wasn't disappointed. With Flashover, Chazin creates another page-turning adventure full of surprising twists and turns of plot that paint a vivid and accurate picture of the behind-the-scenes life of a fire fighter and the inner workings of a fire as it builds and spreads. A member of the International Association of Arson Investigators and wife of a New York City fire chief, Chazin clearly knows what she is talking about. Nowhere is this more apparent, or her writing more powerful, than in the opening scene of the first chapter. I don't think one could understand the horror of being the victim of the fire Chazin describes--a living and breathing monster--without actually being there, which is exactly where Chazin places the reader. You won't want to put the book down after that.
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