Burn

This worthy effort by Doolittle is good, just not great. He spins a good yarn, but there is just too much happening offstage in this book to cause confusion. I found myself having to stop periodically and refresh my mind on just who's who and what's what. Lot of characters -- good characters, with good dialog and good action -- but just a lot of characters, enough to keep me slightly confused throughout. I mean, I had to work to make the connections of each with the plot and the other characters. Sean Doolittle is probably getting better with each book. I anticipate I'll be reading him again.

Elmore Leonard does it best, but this author is on the right track. I'll look for his other work.

Fans of offbeat, fast-paced crime fiction will devour BURN, the latest from the author of DIRT. Doolittle's coming into his own as a novelist, and here he shows why: a body discovered in the aftermath of an LA forest fire sets off a chain of events involving private eyes, thugs, arsonists, and celebrity workout trainers. Doolittle juggles a large cast here, but keeps everything focused tightly, and the plot rips right along.One of the most impressive things about BURN is how Doolittle perfectly captures the narcissism and weirdness of LA without resorting to the standard expected Hollywood-bashing we've seen elsewhere (such as Elmore Leonard's GET SHORTY). Doolittle stakes out his own territory here, and wise readers can trust him as they careen toward a funny and dark destination.

This is Doolittle's second novel, after the enjoyable "Dirt." The action is set in southern California, with the Santa Ana winds providing fans for the flames of sporadic wild fires. A very satisfying mystery - a body discovered in the brush in the path of the flames, ostensibly a traffic accident, is identified as a murder victim. His tissues, blood, and brain matter are found in the trunk of his car, making it impossible for him to have driven off the cliff.Acting on a tip, police visit a beach house where Andrew Kindler is staying. From here, Doolittle begins a wonderful study of the consequences of the choices we all make in life. For reasons he has difficulty articulating, Kindler has left his life in the Eastern US, and is pondering the options open to him now. A parade of uninvited persons begins to show up at his beach house, drawing him unwillingly into the mystery of the dead man near the damaged car.Doolittle holds a wicked mirror up to some California stereotypes, creates a very appealing group of other characters - a hard working police detective, the owner of a chain of exercise studios, a lovely young woman yearning for news of her twin brother, and assorted cousins, evidence technicians, and security guards.Don't miss this one! Doolittle is an author to watch!

This was a superb book. The second from this new author (the first was DIRT, and was also great). It opens with the discovery of the body of a fitness guru and leads to the back door of protaganist Andrew Kindler. Kindler is on the run from his past and hiding out in his cousin's beach house. Trouble comes knocking and seems to follow him everywhere.This book captures the feeling of Southern California and is so similar to Ross MacDonald it's scary. A terrific read and a page turner to the end.Jon Jordan