Vertical Burn

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: As always...Earl Emerson wrote another mystery with finesse.

Can hardly wait for the next novel.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting book to read.....
Review: Being a diehard Earl Emerson fan, I looked forward to this book with both avid anticipation and some measure of doubt. Anticipation, because Emerson is a born storyteller/writer and student of human nature--his series characters (Thomas Black and Mac Fontana) are completely believable and engaging, unlike so many mystery book characters who are promoters of the plot, not 'living' people involved in it. Doubt, because VERTICAL BURN is a stand alone book, and I feared that characterization might suffer in favor of action/thriller themes. No need to worry on that score--the lead characters in VB are drawn with Emerson's fine artist's hand, and you come to care about their lives and situational hazards almost immediately. That Emerson is a 24-year veteran of firefighting lends veracity to the plot and action--this writer KNOWS his stuff, and carries you with him into the most terrifying and tension-filled treatment of firefighting I've **ever** read. That the end highrise fire immediately brings to mind the tragedy of 9/11 is both disconcerting and fascinating; I feel now that I understand so much more about what happened in the WTC towers on that awful day. But VB is NOT based on 9/11 (was written long before)and reveals WHY every fireman's worst nightmare is battling a highrise fire. I promise--VERTICAL BURN will have you trembling with tension, and if you can sleep peacefully after completing it, you will have managed the aftereffects better than I. This is a terrific book. You'll be scrambling to find other Emerson books and, like me, you'll be eagerly awaiting his next!

Rating:
Summary: Long on Action Short on Plot
Review: Earl Emerson is the author of the Shamus Award winning Thomas Black detective series. This is a series that concentrates quite heavily on the characters in the story and their development throughout the series as well as providing well-plotted mysteries. With VERTICAL BURN, Emerson has gone for a more action-oriented story, relying on his intimate knowledge of the fire brigade and fire fighting to enthuse his audience. To a large extent it works, the adrenaline charged brushes with death while combating a fire provide the story's high points, no questions asked.

The story's protagonist is John Finney, a fireman of considerable experience with the Seattle Fire Department. The book gets off to a furious start when Finney's company is called out to a fire and when they arrive they are faced with a large building full of smoke with the possibility of victims trapped inside and no backup because all other crews are busy, called out to various alarms, both real and false. During their search of the building, Finney and his partner become trapped by a collapsed wall with the final result seeing Finney barely escape with his life, but his partner dying in the fire.

The fallout from this tragedy is substantial for Finney both emotionally and physically. Apart from losing his partner and mentor, he suffers some pretty serious burns from the fire, but worse, he knows that in the eyes of his fellow firemen he is to blame for his partner's death. Due to memory loss thanks to the smoke inhalation he suffered, he can't be sure himself whether or not he was to blame.

A second fire results in a similar outcome to the first. This time Finney is certain that facts are being fabricated by the fire investigators that make Finney look, at best incompetent and at worst, criminally negligent. It gets to the point where it looks very likely he is going to be accused of arson. It suddenly dawns on him that there is a serious conspiracy taking place from within the department. What also becomes very obvious is that he is being set up as the fall guy for this conspiracy and the frame is working disturbingly well.

Left with very few allies in the department, he feels his only course of action is to start his own investigation. He aims to get to the bottom of why these fires had been set and how he might be able to convince the department chiefs of his innocence. It's this investigation that the storyline hinges with the action sequences merely a background setting.

The story climaxes with a massive high-rise building fire that requires Finney to act as the hero in a bid to rescue over 200 people who are trapped. Although far-fetched in many aspects, not the least of which is how he came to be at the fire in the first place, these are scenes of pure entertainment as feats of super-human strength and astounding ingenuity take over.

I enjoyed the breathless action sequences that came about each time a fire was fought. The fear and confusion felt during a fire was described by Emerson in such a way that it was obvious that he had experienced these feelings first hand. These sequences were strong and compelling.

The focus is so much on the action sequences and the intricate details of fire fighting that the characterisation and the interaction between characters suffers somewhat. I felt the dialog didn't ring true and the reasons that prompted the conspiracy were so incredibly weak as to be non-existent. It was the conspiracy that really drove the whole storyline and when that disappeared, the whole story lost it's credibility in my mind.

I also had a real problem with the inconsistent reactions of Finney. He swung from submissive yes-man to a take-charge action hero within a page time and again and this not only became confusing, I also found it incredibly frustrating, particularly whenever he was faced with some pretty hefty and occasionally outlandish accusations and decided to say or do nothing about them.

For all out action with raging infernos as the focus, this is quite a thrilling book and certainly achieves that purpose. However, I thought it was hampered by the lack of believable storyline that is needed to give the book its substance.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting book to read.....
Review: I have been a Earl Emerson fan for many years, reading his Mac Fontana series, and his latest one Vertical Burn.

His ability to describe the events and happenings around a fire scene and the Fire House are uncanny. Being in the Fire Service as well, it is almost like I was part of the Engine Company Crew. I also like his ability to simplify terms and actions of Firefighters to someone who may not have first hand experience. I would recommend this book to anyone to enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I won't send you to this novel because of the plot, which is certainly strong, though fanciful. And I won't send you because of the characters, also strong and fanciful. I will send you to the book because it is filled with action and packed with fascinating details about firefighting and fire-related risks. "Vertical Burn" is a spellbinding experience and an excursion into a world which few of us know much about. It's a fascinating reading experience and I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN...
Review: In a departure from his two ongoing series (Thomas Black - Seattle detective and Mac Fontana - rural Washington fire-chief), Earl Emerson has come up with a top-notch mystery thriller. (Though some aspects of the fires and characters did borrow from similar ideas originally in the Fontana books.)

Again the scene of the action is set in Seattle. A fire breaks out in a warehouse and musicians are supposedly trapped inside. For some reason most of the fire companies are answering false alarms and nuisance calls, so the fire fighters are seriously short-handed. The fire gets out of hand while Jack Finney and his partner are still searching for the victims. A wall falls on the partner and the lack of air and the heat force Finney from the building. Outside of the room where the partner is trapped, Finney runs into the chief and another firefighter. He tells them where his partner is before he is forced from the building. But the partner is never discovered until after the building has burnt to the ground.

Six months later, Finney is still haunted by the fire especially since everyone blames him for leaving his partner to die. He has scoured the ruins of the warehouse repeatedly and studied all aspects of the official details on the fire. His suspicions grow that the fire was not an accident ... and fears that something worse is yet to come.

Don't read this book before bed, because you'll never get to sleep! I couldn't put it down. Emerson's detailing of the fires and the heroes who risk their lives fighting them is superb. He knows the territory first hand and his writing puts you on the fire trucks and in the heart of the inferno! I liked his series books, but VERTICAL BURN is in a class by itself. It earned my *****+ rating, and I recommend it to all of you.

Rating:
Summary: A little disappointing
Review: John Finney, the main character in Vertical Burn, is rather flat. The plot plodded along at a pace that barely kept me interested. I probably wouldn't have finished it if not for the fact that I'm a loyal Emerson fan. The book's highly detailed accounts of firefighting were obviously written by a pro in the field, but this was done at the expense of the phenomenal storytelling Emerson is so capable of. I wanted to get lost between the pages like I've done so many times with Thomas Black and Mac Fontana. This didn't even come close to happening as I read Vertical Burn.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Good
Review: This is the first novel that I have read by this author, and I have to say that it is pretty darn good!! The suspense in this book is plenty, and it really keeps you guessing what is going to happen next with the characters. I have found that I have become somewhat concerned for the characters in this book, this is how real the author makes it sound. Excellent book to read on those cold nights with the fire roaring.

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: This was my first Earl Emerson book. I come from a fire fighting family and that is what caught my eye. As far as the fire fighting stuff it was very well done. You get caught up in "what will happen next" mode and it is hard to stop reading. They only thing that was a little disappointing was the ending. The last chapter just sort of bluntly ends the story and there was alot more that could have been added. With every other chapter he goes into great detail about all the fire fighting aspects of it but in the end it is just done. Otherwise a great book, I am now ordering more of Earl's books to check them out as well.