House on Fire [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Denis Hamill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

Kevin Dempsey appears to have it all--Polly and Zoe, his beautiful wife and daughter, a rewarding job as a firefighter, and a close-knit Irish family. But as he sits in the new home he has bought as a surprise for Polly, everything goes up in flames. Polly calls to say she isn't coming home and that she is taking Zoe--who isn't even his child--with her. Kevin's world falls apart as he chases them across the country. 2 cassettes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hamill's third novel?his first in 11 years?is, like its predecessors (Machine; Stomping Ground), a crime potboiler revolving around working-class Brooklynites. Fireman Kevin Dempsey has bought a big house in a quiet area of Brooklyn as a surprise birthday gift for his wife, Polly, an ex-model who is due back from Disney World with their three-year-old daughter, Zoe. But Polly calls Kevin to say that she isn't coming back, and that neither is Zoe?who, she adds, isn't his daughter anyway. Kevin is devastated, but he is just the latest in a line of Dempseys to succumb to misfortune. His older brother, Frank, has recently been suspended from the police force, suspected of stealing $1.5 million in cocaine money from an evidence room; in response to that calamity, their father, a career cop, has committed suicide. Unable to bear the pressure, Kevin freezes while fighting a fire and is sent to a rehab center for alcoholics, prompting Frank, who's also a rummy, to take up the hunt for Polly. Hamill limns the Dempseys' struggle with alcohol believably and in some depth, but his plot line, which twists around a get-rich-quick medical scheme and plays out in a fatal family confrontation backdropped by a raging California wildfire, seems contrived for maximum melodrama.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Kevin Dempsey has it all: a job he loves in his native Brooklyn, a large family, a new house, a beautiful wife, and a daughter he adores. Then comes the call from Polly telling him that not only is she leaving him but that Zoe is not his daughter. The macho firefighter can admit this setback only to his best friend, a doctor, who tests his sperm count and confirms the bad news. As Kevin searches for a reason to live, his brother, Frank, finds one in hunting for Polly. Frank even steals money from the police evidence room to fund his search. Along the way he meets Sarah, who gives him a reason to stop drinking. The emotionally damaged brothers and the women who love them are real people who react believably. The settings become characters, too, and the Los Angeles fire at the end is particularly riveting. This is Daily News columnist Hamill's first book since Machine (LJ 4/1/84). Recommended for most fiction collections.
--Andrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: B & B Audio; Abridged edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882071700
• ISBN-13: 978-1882071708
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,732,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What Else Could Go Wrong?, November 19, 2000

By 

Jill Clardy "So many books, so little time...." (Redwood City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House on Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

New York fireman Kevin Dempsey has arranged a perfect life for himself, his former-model wife Polly and their 3 year old daughter Zoe. He loves his job, has bought a new house for Polly and Zoe, and wants to have many more children. But Polly and Zoe don't come home from a trip to DisneyWorld, and Kevin's perfectly planned life falls apart.

And there the mystery begins. As more characters are added to the mix, the story becomes more complicated. Why did his alcoholic policeman father kill himself? Why is his brother Frank (also an alcoholic policeman) being pursued by the Internal Affairs Bureau? Why is his brother Kevin so angry? And how could anyone with such a troubled family possibly be as supportive and loving as his sister Margie? How can someone as emotionally damaged as Kevin recover from all the cruel blows being delivered to him?

The pace never slackens in this tense melodrama, and you'll be turning pages until the end.

I read "Fork in the Road" also by Denis Hamill and was equally engaged with that book.