Rating: 
Summary: The Final Pellam Novel Is Great!
Review: "Hell's Kitchen" is Jeffery Deaver's last novel in the John Pellam series. "Shallow Graves" and "Bloody River Blues" were the first two in the series. "Hell's Kitchen" is not a re-published novel like the other two, it is brand new novel, published in 2001! It was my second favorite novel out of the three. John Pellam is in Hell's Kitchen, New York, making a documentary about the people there. He meets many interesting people including Ettie Washington. Ettie agrees to meet with John again for another interview, but when John gets to her apartment building, a fire erupts out of the basement. John, Ettie, and the other tenants barely escape in time. The police and fire marshal believe that Ettie hired someone to burn down the apartment building because of Ettie's new insurance policy. Ettie goes to jail. The arsonist is on the run burning subway trains, hotels, hospitals, stores, lawyer firms, killing many people in his way. John Pellam must capture this crazy arsonist and prove Ettie's innocense with the help of gang members, punks, and powerful construction builders, before Hell's Kitchen burns into hell. If you read the first two Pellam novels, then you cannot miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: The Final Pellam Novel Is Great!
Review: "Hell's Kitchen" is Jeffery Deaver's last novel in the John Pellam series. "Shallow Graves" and "Bloody River Blues" were the first two in the series. "Hell's Kitchen" is not a re-published novel like the other two, it is brand new novel, published in 2001! It was my second favorite novel out of the three. John Pellam is in Hell's Kitchen, New York, making a documentary about the people there. He meets many interesting people including Ettie Washington. Ettie agrees to meet with John again for another interview, but when John gets to her apartment building, a fire erupts out of the basement. John, Ettie, and the other tenants barely escape in time. The police and fire marshal believe that Ettie hired someone to burn down the apartment building because of Ettie's new insurance policy. Ettie goes to jail. The arsonist is on the run burning subway trains, hotels, hospitals, stores, lawyer firms, killing many people in his way. John Pellam must capture this crazy arsonist and prove Ettie's innocense with the help of gang members, punks, and powerful construction builders, before Hell's Kitchen burns into hell. If you read the first two Pellam novels, then you cannot miss this one!
Rating: 
Summary: What a great read this was!
Review: Combines the right mix of imagery, character building, ... everthing. Descriptions of arson fires is spooky. A great ending. This is my first book by Jeffery Deaver, or William Jefferies - whoever he is. It won't be my last.
Rating:
Summary: What a great read this was!
Review: Combines the right mix of imagery, character building, ... everthing. Descriptions of arson fires is spooky. A great ending. This is my first book by Jeffery Deaver, or William Jefferies - whoever he is. It won't be my last.
Rating:
Summary: A roaringly flammable mystery!
Review: Deaver, or in this case Jefferies, is a consistently good writer. His mysteries always give the benefit of the doubt to the reader assuming that we will be intelligent enough to follow along with the story, even if it takes bends that we might not foresee. This time he delves into the interesting history of Hell's Kitchen in New York city from the viewpoint of a black woman who has lived there all her life. As someone who has done geneaology and appreciates the need for visual and verbal histories, this was an extremely interesting book. The background and the history of the area could definitely make a book of its own, but of course the mystery is what draws the major attention here. Once again, I tend to shudder lest some wacko reads the book and takes ideas from the author's well-done plot, but I am well aware that much of this information can be found by anyone who really wants to find it. We just have to hope no one does exactly that.The information on arsonists and fire fighting was interesting. Since Deaver has written more in-depth mysteries, this one was not as deeply involved as it could have been. It was an extremely enjoyable read though. Karen Sadler Science Education University of Pittsburgh
Rating:
Summary: A roaringly flammable mystery!
Review: Deaver, or in this case Jefferies, is a consistently good writer. His mysteries always give the benefit of the doubt to the reader assuming that we will be intelligent enough to follow along with the story, even if it takes bends that we might not foresee. This time he delves into the interesting history of Hell's Kitchen in New York city from the viewpoint of a black woman who has lived there all her life. As someone who has done geneaology and appreciates the need for visual and verbal histories, this was an extremely interesting book. The background and the history of the area could definitely make a book of its own, but of course the mystery is what draws the major attention here. Once again, I tend to shudder lest some wacko reads the book and takes ideas from the author's well-done plot, but I am well aware that much of this information can be found by anyone who really wants to find it. We just have to hope no one does exactly that. The information on arsonists and fire fighting was interesting. Since Deaver has written more in-depth mysteries, this one was not as deeply involved as it could have been. It was an extremely enjoyable read though. Karen Sadler Science Education University of Pittsburgh
Rating: 
Summary: Not Like the Rest
Review: First let me say that I am a huge Jeffrey Deaver fan. He is definitely one of the top three in my eyes but this book left a lot to be desired. It was a struggle to get through it and it was way too predictable compared to his other novels that have trademark twists and turns. I did appreciate the historical nature of the novel and learning more about Hell's Kitchen. However, I was overall disappointed with the novel's content.
Rating:
Summary: Not Like the Rest
Review: First let me say that I am a huge Jeffrey Deaver fan. He is definitely one of the top three in my eyes but this book left a lot to be desired. It was a struggle to get through it and it was way too predictable compared to his other novels that have trademark twists and turns. I did appreciate the historical nature of the novel and learning more about Hell's Kitchen. However, I was overall disappointed with the novel's content.
Rating:
Summary: A novel read with an enigmatic character
Review: For the last eight years, John Pellam has worked as a Production Scout for film companies. However, in the last three months John has rented an apartment in the east Village and is filming his first documentary centering on Ettie Washington. John visits Ettie in Hell's Kitchen, but when he arrives he finds her trapped by a fire. She manages to escape through a window and gets to he hospital, but soon the police and fire marshal arrest her believing she is a serial arsonist trying to defraud the insurance company. The police know the arsonist leaves a trademark signature and enjoys his work. They want Ettie to confess, but she insists she is innocent and never took out an insurance policy. John, who has become quite fond of Ettie, begins investigating the crime, a decision which places him in danger. Jeffrey Deaver, writing as William Jeffries, shows a different side of his abundant talent as he concentrates more on the characters than the action thrillers. He captures the essence of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen inside a fast-paced suspense novel. The relationship between John and Ettie is interesting, but the ending blind sides the reader who should have known that a Deaver by any other name is still a Deaver, which means a great reading experience. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Will keep the reader up late at night
Review: Jeffrey Deaver is a bestselling author of detective thrillers. His most famous creation is Lincoln Rhyme the quadraplegic detective. He is highly acclaimed and very well established. Therefore, it is a bit of a surprise to find him nominated in the best paperback original category. This category usually consists of either authors just establishing themselves or those that cannot get a hardback contract for whatever reason. Jeffrey Deaver comes out with at least one bestseller a year. His work is, typically, a high octane thriller in which the action doesn't let up. This work is quite different from what he usually writes. In some ways it is superior.
John Pelham is a filmmaker who has decided to film a documentary on the residents of Hell's Kitchen, a tough neighborhood in Manhattan. He chooses Ettie Washington, an elderly black woman living in a tenement, as being his eyes and ears. He interviews her and invests hours of taping. AS he goes to interview her one last time, an explosive fire rages from the basement of the tenement. Both Pelham and Ettie barely escape with their lives. Ettie, incredibly, becomes a suspect on hiring a professional to set the fire for insurance purposes. However, it soon becomes apparent to both the police and Pelham that a serial pyromaniac is on the loose with the stakes going up with each successive fire.
Jeffrey Deaver has changed his writing style from his other books. This is a much more introspective work. The plot moves along at a much more lugubrious fashion. Characters are more well rounded than a typical Deaver novel. However, the style of writing remains superior and the plot is certainly compelling enough to keep the pages turning but not compelling enough to keep the reader turning the pages late at night in lieu of sleep. A solid nomination.
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