Rating: 
Summary: A First-rate Mystery
Review: I was looking for a good summer read when a review oh Flashover, by Suzanne Chazin, caught my eye in my local newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book sounded so unique and interesting I went out and bought a copy. I loved it! This is a first-rate mystery with all the elements--an intriguing plot, an authentic sense of place--New York City--and most of all, realistic and sympathetic characters. Georgia Sheehan is a fantastic heroine. She's smart, tough, and yet full of human failings that make her come right off the page! I love the relationship between Georgia and Mac Marenko. The story was so exciting, I ended up reading the book in one sitting! Now, I'm going out to buy the first book in the series--The Fourth Angel.
Rating:
Summary: A very timely book
Review: I'd always loved Suzanne Chazin's articles in the Reader's Digest and missed her when she stopped writing for the magazine. But now I can see that she did the right thing. Flashover is spectacular -- even better than her first novel, The Fourth Angel. Maybe I'm responding so positively to this book because, since 9/11, I have a greater appreciation of the heroism that is part of the daily life of those in the New York Fire Dept. Whether it's because this is so timely or simply because it's a good story, her characters drew me into their lives. They feel like real people to me, their struggles with the day-to-day problems of their ordinary lives against the backdrop of their extraordinary profession ring true. I look forward to the next Chazin book.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertainingly different
Review: Mystery writers have gone after all sorts of occupations for their heroes and heroines, but author Chazin has opted to go into territory she knows well: arson. Her heroine, Georgia Skeehan, is a New York fire marshal. Her investigation of an horrific apartment fire is described in harrowing detail from the point of view of the victim. The next fire scene is breath-stoppingly real, primarily because of the inability of Georgia and her partner to do anything whatsoever to help the victim trapped in his garage but must, like the reader, remain on the outside, watching in horror.There are great descriptions in the book--of the vast substructure beneath Grand Central Station, of a number of fires--particularly the toxic warehouse fire that is at the root of this book's narrative. The protagonist(s) are fairly obvious from about the halfway point but, to the author's credit, she none the less manages to make the events sufficiently compelling to keep one reading. The firefighters and their families are well drawn--real people doing real jobs; particularly appealing is Grandmother Ida with her garish wardrobe, and Georgia's son Richie. Georgia is feisty, determined and resourceful: a worthy heroine. One minor quibble: just about every character sighs--often. However, it doesn't detract from the entertainment value of Flash Over. Recommended.
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