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The Smoke Room: A Novel of Suspense [Hardcover]

Earl Emerson (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)


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Book Description

May 31, 2005
From the terror of a lightless, smoke-clogged building to the secrets kept by the men and women who trust their partners with their lives, Earl Emerson knows the world of firefighting like no other author–and writes about it with passion and piercing honesty. In his remarkable new thriller, Emerson fuses together a gripping drama with unforgettable scenes of peril that, in this realm, can explode at any second.

Jason Gun, a risk-taking rookie firefighter who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, has found in his firehouse the family he never had as a child. Then, in one ill-fated turn of events, it all begins to go wrong.

A bizarre accident brings a thrill-seeking woman into Engine Company 29–and into Jason’s life. Suddenly, his future on the job is at risk. Two fellow firefighters know that he missed a call because of some sexual heroics at the wrong time and place. Now, deeply in their debt, he will find out what kind of men his partners really are.

When these two firefighters come upon a fortune in missing bearer bonds–money found in a dead man’s house–Jason is forced to become an accessory to their crime. And when evidence of their greed, foolishness, and thievery begins to emerge, Jason is witness to an even darker deed.

Suddenly, the twenty-four-year-old, who only wanted to do the right thing, is trapped behind a wall of silence. Trying to undo his mistake, Jason moves further into the darkness, where a beautiful young woman might just be his emotional rescue–or yet one more very wrong move. Unfortunately for Jason, the worst isn’t behind him. Like a fire hit by wind, the killing has raged out of control.

Capturing the thin line that separates a hero from a criminal, and an enemy from a friend, Earl Emerson’s new novel is a gripping tale of a man’s dangerous fall from grace–and of his fierce battle for redemption.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How can a book go wrong when it opens with the immediate aftermath of a pig's 11,000-foot drop into a Seattle home? The answer is: it can't, really. Emerson's compelling latest defies easy categorization. Its mystery elements echo his Seattle-based Thomas Black detective novels; suspense comes from the felony and coverup that lie at the center of the story; and then there's the comedy of the deliciously deadpan Jason Gum, narrator and rookie firefighter, which spins the novel out of any conventional genre. There is, though, a definite coming-of-age story, as rookie Jason learns the ins and outs of his challenging job, for starters. Jason's rocky affair with the lady of the pig-wrecked house, Iola Pederson (who's 20 years his senior), is just the first of many lessons he learns at this school of hard knocks. Additional plot developments involve a compulsive fire starter cum alarm puller and his stash of valuable bonds, as well as Jason's complicated relationships with his co-workers, Lieutenant Sears and bickering fellow firefighters Johnson and Tronstad. Indeed, the more spectacular firefighting set pieces act as McGuffins before the real story gets rolling. Character becomes plot when Jason runs afoul of the amoral and possibly evil Tronstad. Emerson is funniest when he's at his most serious—and vice versa—in this consistently entertaining and always surprising yarn.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

By the time ill-starred firefighter Jason Gum trains his hose on scantily clad vamp Iola Pederson--he's trying to wash off the remains of the meteoric pig that fell from the sky through her West Seattle roof--the sleazy, breezy tone is set for this smoldering little morality tale. The story's somewhat slack mainspring is $12 million in bearer bonds, stolen from the house of a deceased recluse by Jason's despicable partner and secreted in Iola's garage just about the time she wearies of her fireman boy toy. The vortex of greed, destruction, and murder that ensue seems headed for Hiaasen country without ever really getting there; the book's broad strokes diffuse suspense without providing a compensating zaniness. What remains is a laid-back and likable noir lite, as though Dan Jenkins or Bill Fitzhugh had taken up the firefighting torch. Emerson has done better in both his Thomas Black and Mac Fontana series. This one won't lose him fans but probably won't gain many, either. David Wright
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 31, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345462904
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345462909
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,094,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, authentic and captivating, July 21, 2005
By 
This review is from: The Smoke Room: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)
Some mistakes cost you nothing, while others may cost you everything. Rookie firefighter Jason Gum commits an error in the latter category when he misses a call because he's in the middle of a sexual encounter with Iola Pederson, an older married woman he just met, in the weight room of the firehouse. Because two fellow firefighters help him conceal his indiscretion, he feels obligated to turn a blind eye to their activities when they subsequently violate department policy by removing three garbage bags full of bearer bonds from the scene of another call where they discover the body of an old man. Gum learns the painful truth that lies often breed more lies, and that some lies can lead to murder.

The Shamus Award winning author of the Thomas Black detective series (The Portland Laugher is a high point in that eleven book saga), Emerson has in the last few years penned several novels set in the world of firefighting, The Smoke Room being his fourth such effort. As filtered through the perceptions of the naive yet oddly appealing Jason Gum, Emerson's latest plunges readers into that dangerous world, into a perilous milieu where you're as likely to be killed by comrades as by the dangers inherent in firefighting. Scarily authentic and utterly captivating, full of numerous twists and turns, The Smoke Room is an engrossing tale of deceit and danger, cowardice and courage, easily one of the most compelling books you'll encounter this year.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A book this good belongs at the top of the best-seller lists, May 31, 2005
This review is from: The Smoke Room: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)
I've been an unabashed fan of Earl Emerson's books for several years, and I am again (constantly!) surprised by how deftly he weaves humor and pathos together with suspense and thrills. His writing is economical, unflinching, and with each new book he finds ways to challenge his own talent. In the past he's given us street-smart heroes, womanizers, heroes troubled by their pasts, but this time he gives us a genuine nice guy in Jason Gum, a guy with a normal amount of talent, brains and ambition, but one with a fatal flaw: Timidity. One moment, one tiny moment, one small and what should be inconsequential decision to try to avoid "getting in trouble" and his world begins to spiral out of control. Gum makes that decision over and over again, as "getting in trouble" assumes larger and more life-threatening proportions with each error in judgment until he finds himself so tightly painted into a corner that all the turpentine in the world would not give him a way out. In this book, as in his more recent outings, Emerson takes us on a journey of self-discovery along with Gum, where we can empathize with his mistakes, knowing it would be all too easy to fall into the same traps as Gum given the same pressures and temptations he faced. And with all of this, the book is laden with action and vivid imagery. Hollywood surely ought to make a film of this book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Emerson delivers solid, entertaining thriller, May 31, 2005
This review is from: The Smoke Room: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)
Jason Gum is a rookie firefighter with a rocky childhood. He is finds his place in Engine Company 29, when a beautiful woman walks into his life. His hormones result in his missing a fire call and he finds himself at the mercy of two fellow firefighters that are aware of his slip-up.

When these two firemen acquire a fortune in bearer bonds, Jason becomes an unwilling accomplice to their crimes. When actions of these men grow even darker, Jason's conscience cannot allow him to keep silent. He finds himself fighting to do the right thing while keeping the job he loves.

The Smoke Room begins with a pig falling from 11000 feet into a woman's house. You have to like any author that can come up with that. The Smoke Room features humor that I have not seen previously from the author. Emerson delivers a solid suspenseful page-turner. If you are looking for a summer thriller, you can't go wrong with this one.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
EXPERTS ESTIMATED THE pig fell just over 11,000 feet before it plunged through Iola Pederson's roof. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bunking coat, apparatus bay, drill court, turnout clothing, medic unit, good firefighter, crew cab, hose line, bearer bonds, smoke room, drill school, watch office, burn barrel, bunk room, garbage sacks
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Lieutenant Sears, Robert Johnson, Arch Place, Chief Abbott, Iola Pederson, Ted Tronstad, Lieutenant Muir, West Seattle, Beach Drive, Charles Scott Ghanet, Sonja Pederson, Heather Wynn, Engine Twenty-nine, Jesus Christ, Sweeney Sears, Bernard Pederson, California Avenue, Hobart Avenue, Jason Gum, Bonair Drive, Chief Polson, Land Cruiser, Puget Sound, Admiral Way, Bob Oleson
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