City of Fire

Read this book for the subtext--there is a lot more going on here than just great character development and an out-of-control-freight-train of a plot. What Ellis has done is to give us a snap shot of American culture in 2007--complete with a coffee addicted female detective and one sick-sexual-psycho-killer. But wrapped around these unforgettable characters, are layers of information about who we are as a society, how we react, think and manipulate all of our technological devices that enable us to function as higher primates in a modern age. The problem is, we are still animals. Ellis knows this and exploits it to a horrifying degree. On top of the deftly interwoven social commentary, Ellis has rendered a portrait of Los Angeles that literally puts you on the freeway. The sprawling urban environment becomes a major character, indifferent, moody and combustible. Driving in LA is a daily hassle for those living there and absolutely daunting for a visitor in a rental car--but driving in this book--frequently against the clock--can be a matter of life or death. All that is missing here is a road map for the out-of-towners. Down the road. . . City of Fire will serve two purposes. It will always remain a highly entertaining, rip-roaring read. But it will also become a succinct time capsule of our immediate age and how we lived and thought in 2007. The same way Dashiell Hammett's gritty crime novels provide a vibrant window on the 1930s. It is one of the underrated aspects of the crime genre--holding up a mirror to society. With City of Fire, Robert Ellis has earned his place as a true master of crime fiction

Since my mother introduced me to Mary Higgins Clark mysteries, I have been hooked. My recent favorites have been John Sandford's PREY series (Lucas Davenport). But Robert Ellis is onto a captivating style with City of Fire. A young Lena Gamble makes her debut as a tough LA detective, with just the right balance of emotion and intelligence. Each killing connects to her personal side, as she recalls her own brother's unsolved murder five years ago. She stands strong, as she honors her deep sense of intuition, which connects with each new murder. Ellis' keen graphic descriptions reflect the eccentricities of Hollywood's lifestyles. He brings the reader to each gory murder scene, so much so that I locked my windows one night, as I was deep into the novel! The tensions between Lena and her colleagues, her desire to unravel the circumstances surrounding her brother's own mysterious death, and dealing with the realities of department politics leads her on a ghastly investigation she knows will impact her future with the LAPD. Lena Gamble will return for at least two more books. I can't wait! Don't share this book with anyone, as I did with my husband... You won't want to put it down! City of Fire

Raymond Chandler once commented that Hammett, "Took murder out of the Venetian vase and dropped it into the alley..." With _City of Fire_ Robert Ellis takes murder out of the tedious legion of cerebral killers and clever, purse lipped detectives and gives it back to the people who are really good at it... the vengeful and passionate. Ellis' book isn't just a 'CSI' look at a pathological big city police force and it's more than a "never saw that coming" plotted mystery. At its heart, _City of Fire_ is a moral tale of what happens when we can't reconcile our deeds and how betrayal undermines our soul. By turn's grotesque, funny, shocking, poignant and ultimately emotionally satisfying, this is the new standard crime novelists will strive to reach.

It has been several years since we've heard from Robert Ellis. A media consultant, Ellis received critical acclaim for his novels THE DEAD ROOM and ACCESS TO POWER, which combined noir mystery and political elements. CITY OF FIRE, his newly published work, is a bit more personal --- a dark and disturbing journey into the product of a twisted mind. CITY OF FIRE begins with the brutal murder of a pregnant woman in her Los Angeles area home. LAPD Detective Lena Gamble, running a murder investigation for the first time, quickly zeroes in on the victim's husband, and indeed the case against him appears to be open and shut. Gamble discovers, however, that not only is he falsely accused, but that this killing is one in a string of several. She is further unsettled when her investigation suddenly intersects with the still-unsolved murder of her brother that occurred several years previously. The trail of clues leading from one murder to the next is sometimes contradictory at best and seemingly impossible at worst. It is not until Gamble comes full circle, professionally and personally, that she arrives at a solution that challenges everything she previously had known to be true. This is an unrelentingly grim work, a modern classic of noir fiction that takes the reader on a journey into the rarely chartered nether reaches of the damaged soul. Ellis also utilizes a forest fire, stoked by the Santa Ana winds, to serve as a backdrop, metaphor and...something else here, providing a sense of underlying urgency to the proceedings, even as it is clear that the killer will strike again and again. Ellis's graphically phrased prose is memorable in itself, but his main strength is his plotting. As intricate and complex as the story is, Ellis takes great care in leading the reader slowly, so that one never feels lost or hurried even as he pulls his audience closer and closer to the abyss. While one is left wishing that Ellis wrote more often, a five-year wait for a work of this caliber is a fair tradeoff. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Robert Ellis' latest thriller is a powerful story, filled with violence and graphic detail. Ellis builds the tension so high you won't want to read City of Fire late at night, particularly if you're in the house alone. LAPD Detective Lena Gamble is 29, and alone in the world. Her brother, David, had been murdered five years earlier. Lena has the time and willingness to work on the latest horrific crime investigation. She and Hank Novak, her partner on the Homicide Special Squad, are the officers responsible for the investigation into the murder of a woman found in her bed. Although all clues point to the husband, Lena soon realizes there might be a link to a previous murder. As she starts to make the connections, she realizes they're looking for a serial killer, a man soon dubbed "Romeo." As fire season starts in LA, the Santa Ana winds fan the flames, just as Ellis builds the book's tension up so much it's almost unbearable. Lena realizes she's not only looking for a serial killer, but at the same time, she's looking for her brother's killer. And, someone in the police department wants to shut down that case, and label it solved. She no longer knows who to trust, and she doesn't want to become another victim. Pack this book for summer vacation because you won't want to put it down. But don't read City of Fire late at night.