City of Fire (Lena Gamble Novels)

From Publishers Weekly Through the literal and metaphorical fog of a forest fire that rages through much of Ellis's tense third thriller (after Access to Power and The Dead Room ), LAPD detective Lena Gamble investigates a string of gruesome murders, the first of a pregnant woman, while trying to follow the convoluted thinking of "Romeo," as the serial killer has been dubbed. The search becomes more complicated and personal when the body of the best friend of Gamble's dead brother, David, is found, apparently another Romeo victim. Through Gamble's nicely framed reminiscences by her pool, we learn of David's unsolved death by gunshot, five years earlier. There's clearly some connection, but Gamble can't tie Romeo to David, a sensitive soul and a rock musician of some renown. The pieces of the case fall into place a little too neatly, and there may be a few too many words on L.A. driving, but the story is tight, the characters alive and the Rambo-like assault at the end refreshingly uncharacteristic of female protagonists. Author tour. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Five years ago, Los Angeles police officer Lena Gamble's brother was gunned down on a dark Hollywood street. The chilling case remains unsolved. Now, the newly promoted homicide detective is pursuing a psychopath who sexually assaults his victims before stabbing them to death. But the mystery of her brother's death is never far from her mind. Who snuffed out the life of the talented musician who became her best friend after their parents' early demise? As time passes, Lena suspects that the LAPD colleagues she has come to trust and admire are conspiring against her in the interest of closing a troubling case. Though his attention to grisly detail may be too much for some, Ellis ( Access to Power, 2001) vividly evokes Hollywood as a place of burning desires, where the boundaries between good and evil are blurred beyond distinction. Ellis' prose is crisp, and his plot moves at a good clip. His characters are credible and complex: a cadre of flawed cops, a strong-willed young woman seeking answers, and a serial killer hell-bent on revenge. Allison Block Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Advance Praise for City of Fire “This book pumps your blood, keeps you racing through the night, with a cast of characters at full throttle.” --Mark Moscowitz, director of the award-winning documentary Stone Reader Praise for Robert Ellis “Ellis writes in crisp, punchy prose, mirrored by the novel’s short, sound bite--like chapters, which are skillfully woven to form an absorbing narrative.”-- Publishers Weekly on Access to Power “A page-turning potboiler. We like this book. The tone is a fusion of James Ellroy and James Carville.” -- Philadelphia Daily News on Access to Power “Robert Ellis can hold his own with any of the heavy hitters who write suspense.” --Robert K. Tanenbaum, author of Counterplay , on Access to Power From the Inside Flap When a vibrant young woman is found in bed by her hotshot businessman husband, carved from belly to throat with a very sharp knife, the elite Robbery-Homicide division of the LAPD responds in full force. Best-case scenario for lead Detective Lena Gamble: Nikki Brant’s husband killed her, case closed, and on to the next crime scene before the ravenous Hollywood media can get their lurid tabloid machinery up and running.Unfortunately for Lena, though, she knows that best-case scenarios only happen in the movies. The murder is the first in a series of brutal crimes against beautiful women thought to be perpetrated by the same man, a killer dubbed Romeo in the press. It’s the case of a lifetime, and promises to either elevate Lena to the upper echelons of a publicity-hungry department in need of heroes, or bring about a very public and painful fall from grace. Lena has been in the public eye before, on the night her rock-star brother was gunned down on a dark street in Hollywood---an unsolved murder so grisly she’s never recovered. She knows the score when the press and the LAPD collide.As the investigation plays out and a massive forest fire blankets the city with acrid smoke, a cloud of conspiracy descends on Lena’s investigation, and she knows she’ll have to grind this one out . . . because Nikki Brant’s death just breathed new life into more than one closed case . . . because the web of conspiracy is spun more intricately than she can possibly imagine . . . and because Lena knows there’s only one rock solid rule to murder in L.A.: The bigger the spectacle, the deeper the horror. Advance Praise for City of Fire “This book pumps your blood, keeps you racing through the night, with a cast of characters at full throttle.” --Mark Moscowitz, director of the award-winning documentary Stone Reader Praise for Robert Ellis “Ellis writes in crisp, punchy prose, mirrored by the novel’s short, sound bite--like chapters, which are skillfully woven to form an absorbing narrative.”-- Publishers Weekly on Access to Power “A page-turning potboiler. We like this book. The tone is a fusion of James Ellroy and James Carville.” -- Philadelphia Daily News on Access to Power “Robert Ellis can hold his own with any of the heavy hitters who write suspense.” --Robert K. Tanenbaum, author of Counterplay , on Access to Power Robert Ellis began his career as a writer, producer, and director in film and TV, winning the New York Film Festival for his work with National Geographic . He is the author of two previous novels, Access to Power, and The Dead Room . Born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania, Ellis lived in Los Angeles for sixteen years and now spends his time between Los Angeles and Connecticut. Visit him online at www.robertellis.net. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One She rolled over in bed, nudging the corner of the pillow with her cheek and burrowing in. Dreaming. Sleeping. Searching out cool spots with her legs and feet beneath the clean sheets and extra blanket. She could hear the curtains moving somewhere in the foggy haze at the edge of her dream. Moist, chilly air filtering in through the open window from the ocean. The promise of sunshine burning the clouds away sometime tomorrow afternoon. It was April in Los Angeles—Nikki Brant’s favorite month of the year. And things were good right now. Better than they had ever been before. She groped in the darkness for a second pillow and drew it closer, snuggling with it and pretending that she wasn’t alone. She was dreaming about her secret. Her special secret. The one her doctor told her just after lunch. The one that began with a single word. Congratulations. Nikki didn’t really hear the rest. Nothing registered after that word. She couldn’t concentrate because her heart was beating so fast—everything streaming by in a joyous blur. It began the moment her doctor stepped into the examination room and flashed that smile. The moment she caught the glint in her doctor’s eye. But her doctor was only confirming it for her. Deep inside she already knew. She stirred and cracked her eyes open, sensing that someone had entered the bedroom. It was James, home from another late night at work. She could see his figure in the darkness, the rim of light from the clock radio behind him outlining his body in neon blue. It seemed as if he was staring at her from the foot of the bed as he got out of his jacket and loosened his tie. A dog started barking somewhere in the distance. She guessed it might be that small, white terrier three doors down the street, but she wasn’t exactly sure. Her doctor had given her something to help with the nausea, saying it wouldn’t hurt but might make her feel drowsy. When the dog quieted, Nikki glanced at James’s figure and lowered her head—drifting off again—her body weighted down in the ecstasy of fatigue. They had met three years ago after being introduced by a mutual friend in graduate school at the University of Oregon. James was high-strung and hard to read at first. He was in his last year at the Lundquist College of Business. She was finishing her dissertation in art history and had already been hired by a small college in Pasadena to begin teaching the following year. At the time, it seemed as if they were from two different planets spiraling in opposite directions. But James was persistent, and after a while he began to grow on her. There was something about his smile. Something about the way he made her feel when he told one of his corny jokes and looked at her with those big brown eyes of his. Within six months they were living together. On the first anniversary of their meeting, they were married. Forget the honeymoon—they were too busy packing. They found a house in West L.A. and would be living within walking distance to the beach. But when should she tell him her secret? She opened her eyes again. James remained at the foot of the bed. She wondered how long she had been asleep but couldn’t see the time because he was still blocking the clock radio on the dresser. After a moment, he pulled his shirt out of his trousers and began unbuttoning it. When should she tell him? That was the big question. She wanted the moment to be just right. For the past ten days James had been working until dawn, only coming home to grab a few hours’ sleep before showering and changing and heading back to work again. He was the chief financial officer for a small company merging with a larger one. A young man in an even younger company that no one thought would end up being a company at all. James was overseeing the audit before the deal was finalized. Even though he told her that the merger was friendly, he seemed nervous about it, even grumpy. She knew that he was trying to prove himself. That he was hoping he would still be needed when the two companies eventually came together as one. She eased her way back to the surface. Peeking over the blanket, she watched him toss his trousers on the chair and step out of his boxer shorts. As he peeled off his socks, he lowered his head and the clock finally came into view. It was early. Only 1:30 a.m. When he called to check in at ten, he told her that he would see her in the morning. She couldn’t make out his face in the darkness, but it looked as if he was smiling. Maybe they decided to take the night off. Or just maybe the audit was finally done, and they could have their lives and marriage back again. She wanted to say something to him but was afraid he might guess her secret by the tone of her voice. She wanted to sleep with her secret. Revel in it on her own for a night or two or even longer until she picked exactly the right time. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. She also knew that James wouldn’t be as happy about the news as she was. A couple of times last week she’d given him hints—tried to feel him out—but the whole thing turned into one big argument. A horrible fight that lasted longer than all the others and ended in a torturous day of the silent treatment. Why couldn’t he understand why this was so important to her? That stupid dog started barking again. Louder this time, and at a higher pitch. She sensed James moving toward her in the darkness. He pulled away the second pillow and slipped beneath the covers on her side of the bed. He kissed her on the lips, deeper than she expected. Harder than she was used to. As he rubbed up against her, she realized that he wanted to make love. She smiled and sighed and kissed him back with her eyes closed, wishing she hadn’t taken that damn pill. He stroked her chin with his finger. She could smell all over his skin the scent of the soap they used at the office. It was laced with cocoa butter, reminding her of suntan lotion and days spent lazing side by side on the hot sand at the beach. On a chilly night in April, the fragrance seemed so out of place. He rolled over her leg, finding the center. As he entered her, she wrapped her arms around him and held on as well as she could. Drifting. Sleeping. Keeping her secret locked away in her dreams. She was glad that he’d come home early tonight, glad they were together. This was the way things were supposed to be. James and Nikki Brant together. Funny, but she didn’t remember hearing his car pull into the drive, or even the sound of the front door, which always seemed to open with a deafening creak. . . . Copyright © 2007 by Robert Ellis. All rights reserved. Read more