From Booklist
A rash of arsons in Seattle's Central District pits Lieutenant Paul Wolff against the craven pyromaniac who just may have been responsible for the death of his father, also a fireman, years ago. More distressing than the pyro, a puerile cross-dressing perv who tells his own inarticulate tale, are the various ineffectual, corrupt, and malign authority figures who repeatedly lose their cool in the heat of battle. Much of this illwill lands on Cynthia Rideout, the rookie firefighter who watches as the lone Wolff, haunted by a violent past and troubled with fits of homicidal rage, wavers between hero and antihero. The roving viewpoint fails to add much psychological depth to workaday prose ("You're a barely controlled volcano, aren't you?" asks the love interest), but fresh alarms keep the action racing toward the final conflagration. With plenty of interesting background detail, Seattle firefighter Emerson's third stand-alone thriller reads like James Patterson decked out in fire gear and should appeal to a wide swath of suspense fans. David Wright
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved