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More About This Book

Overview

Six months after firefighter John Finney fought his way out of a burning Seattle warehouse to get help, no one remembers him giving the directions that pinpointed his partner’s position inside. No one can remember anything about Finney except that he left his friend to die. But Finney doesn’t believe the fire was an accident. And he doesn’t believe the campaign against him is one either. Trying to reconstruct the events from that tragic day, Finney uncovers suspicious actions by men at the scene. With only one person on his side—a female firefighter who is herself an outcast in the department—Finney begins to piece together an astounding conspiracy that will turn friends into suspects and every man inside the department into a potentially deadly enemy. And the most horrific fire is yet to burn.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Earl Emerson is a lieutenant in the Seattle Fire Department, so perhaps it's not surprising that the Shamuse Award–winning author has crafted a searing thriller about a Seattle firefighter falsely charged with arson. Devotees of Emerson's Thomas Black detective series will recognize the vivid characterization and sly plot shifts. The fire scenes, though, will still take your breath away.
Publishers Weekly
Seattle fireman Emerson, of Shamus Award$winning Thomas Black detective series fame, returns with his 12th novel"a tale of arson, intrigue and sublimated rivalries among Seattle firefighters. John Finney, son of a retired fire chief and brother of a 21-year veteran, is haunted by the fire that killed one of his colleagues and placed him under departmental suspicion. Finney thinks the fire was arson, but can't prove it"until two other fires erupt under even more suspicious circumstances, killing another one of his partners. In short order, the mistrust of Finney's colleagues flares dangerously close to criminal prosecution, while a mysterious rogue fire engine tries to run him down. Finney starts up his own investigation of the fires, and even manages to spark up a romance with Diana Moore, the department's only female firefighter. But when Finney's amateur sleuthing turns up a crooked business tycoon and an arson insurance scam involving Seattle's tallest tower, Emerson turns up the heat. The novel is, as expected, long on details of firefighting and its incipient hazards, though there is little mention of the real and enduring conflicts between the investigative arm of firefighters and law enforcement. Newcomers to Emerson's work who enjoy thrillers like Suzanne Chazin's The Fourth Angel should find little to complain about; as an example of the genre, however, in plotting and dialogue ( I ain't seen nothing but this goddamn smoke. Thought maybe my first wife was in there cooking dinner. ) this is at best a two-alarmer. Major ad/promo; 10-city author tour. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Library Journal
Emerson's 24 years as a Seattle firefighter and the assurance gained from writing 11 previous novels merge into a complex tale of smoke, flame, and murder. After John Finney, a second-generation Seattle fireman, leaves his injured partner in a smoke-filled warehouse to seek help, he finds himself suspected of cowardice. When he believes he has uncovered a large-scale internal plot to divert the city's 200 firefighters to various false alarms in order to torch a major skyscraper, even his crew mate doubts his sanity. Emerson vividly portrays the physical hardships of racing fire and heat while encased in cumbersome protective garments and carrying 50 pounds of gear. He develops both male and female characters well, writes with assurance, and skillfully juggles a complicated plot. This departure from his previous two series, one centering on Seattle P.I. Thomas Black (Million-Dollar Tattoo) and the other featuring arson investigator Mac Fontana (Morons and Madmen), should appeal to anyone wanting a good mystery plus a painless inhalation of a great deal of firefighting lore. Recommended for public and academic fiction/suspense collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/02.] Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Time was when veteran Seattle firefighter John Finney was unequivocal about his feelings for his job. He loved climbing on Engine 10, loved the ever-dependable rush he got from anticipated danger. He prided himself on being a natural, the way his father had been before him. All that changes, though, inside the building on Leary Way. At first glance, the blaze appears no more menacing than thousands of others Finney has fought. The fire, while fierce, seems readily manageable-until Finney and Captain Cordifis go in and are suddenly engulfed. A sound like a gunshot tells them walls are collapsing, one of them half-burying Captain Cordifis. Barely functional, staggered by smoke inhalation, Finney knows he has to find help, and he feels certain before losing consciousness that he's succeeded. Yet somehow Captain Cordifis isn't rescued. What went wrong? Finney asks himself obsessively in a painful aftermath that sends his career to the ashes. It takes hard sleuthing, but by following the money he eventually uncovers an ugly conspiracy of fire department people in high places, ruthless people intent on discrediting him and his investigation. Soon enough, however, he realizes the conspirators have focused on a new objective: to silence him any way they can. Emerson, himself an experienced firefighter, is a veteran storyteller as well (Catfish Cafe, 1998, etc.). His charismatic protagonist is both believable and admirable, and if he's also a tiny bit predictable, no matter: you'll root for him anyway.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780345445902
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 2/4/2003
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 416
  • Sales rank: 702,202
  • Product dimensions: 6.88 (w) x 10.92 (h) x 1.14 (d)

Meet the Author

Earl Emerson is a lieutenant in the Seattle Fire Department. He is the Shamus Award—winning author of the Thomas Black detective series, which includes The Rainy City, Poverty Bay, Nervous Laughter, Fat Tuesday, Deviant Behavior, Yellow Dog Party, The Portland Laugher, The Vanishing Smile, The Million-Dollar Tattoo, Deception Pass, and Catfish Café. He lives in North Bend, Washington.

Read an Excerpt

I WAKE UP SCREAMING

When the lights came on, John Finney found himself admiring the arch of Diana’s lower back through her ribbed undershirt, adjusting her supple thigh muscles as she swung her legs over the edge of the bunk, and the way two hours of sleep had frizzed her chestnut hair. Her back was to him as she stepped into her boots and pulled her pants up over blue silk running shorts.

It was 0304 hours, June 9.

On their way out of the bunk room they passed evidence of Engine 10’s earlier departure: twisted blankets, pillows darkened with swirlies of drool, a set of reading glasses askew on a Fire Engineering magazine. Finney always turned his pillow over when they got a run in the middle of the night. He reached the hole just as Moore grabbed for the thick brass pole. In a voice husky with sleep and as rough-edged as Rod Stewart’s, she said, “I guess this is the most dangerous thing we’ll do all night, huh?”

“It’s a long drop,” he joked.

She wrapped herself expertly around the pole and vanished. They’d been bantering back and forth all evening, flirting really, and she was teasing him for warning her about the long drop at Station 10. Finney cautioned everyone. Two years earlier a sleep-addled firefighter let go of the pole ten feet too soon and woke up screaming.

By the time the bearlike captain lumbered around the front of the rig and climbed into the high cab, Finney had fired up Ladder 1’s diesel engine and turned on the department radio. Reidel, the tillerman, checked in through Finney’s headset. “Ready to rock ’n’ roll, boss.” Reidel kept at his fingertips an ample supply of the worst action movie lines. Finney grinned.

“How the hell could we possibly be the first-in truck all the way out on Leary Way?” asked Captain Cordifis.

“I don’t know,” Finney said. But it had surprised him, too. There were thirty-three engine companies and eleven aerial truck companies in Seattle, and at least five of those truck companies should have been dispatched ahead of them.

As they traveled north through downtown on Third Avenue, the electronic whoop of the siren reverberated off the tall buildings. Finney heard the familiar clinking of the alarm bells on the MSA air masks Moore and Baxter were donning in the crew cab behind him. Then, from the east shore of Lake Union on Westlake, he saw smoke in the northern sky. Lots of smoke. They had a good one. This was what Finney was bred for, fighting fires.

He glanced at Cordifis, who was putting a piece of chewing gum into his mouth. Bill Cordifis had been to the Ozark Hotel fire, where they lost twenty-one civilians. He’d been at the Villa Plaza apartments, where eight hours of fire burned more than two hundred people out of their homes. He’d seen a woman jump six hundred feet off the Space Needle. Smoke in the sky didn’t bother Cordifis any more than it bothered Finney.

Engine 22’s radio report came over the air. “Engine Twenty-two at Leary Way Northwest and Eight Avenue Northwest. We have a three-story warehouse approximately seventy by fifty. Constructed of tilt-up concrete. Heavy black smoke coming from the rear of the building. Engine Twenty-two laying a preconnect and establishing Leary Command.”

Captain Vaughn was riding Engine 22 tonight, and if Cordifis didn’t take command from him, he would be the Incident Commander until a chief showed up.

The building was set back from the north side of Leary Way, a couple of blocks north of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in a neighborhood that was evenly divided between residential and commercial properties. When they got close, the smoke in the street forced Finney to slow to a crawl. He didn’t want to run over anybody.

Then the wind shifted, and it became clear that Vaughn had under- estimated the size of the building by at least half. In front were several moving vans parked close enough to the loading dock that radiant heat would ignite them should the fire grow worse. But it wasn’t going to grow worse. They would go inside and put it out just like they always did.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 7 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 12, 2006

    Suspenseful

    This is the first book that I read by Earl Emerson and found it extremely enjoyable. The writing style was smooth and the characters were well developed. The plot was never boring and gave you a better appreciation for what firefighers must endure. There was suspense, mystery and yes even romance encompassed within this novel. There were many twist and turns and leaves you wanting to know more about what happens to the relationship between John and Diana.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 11, 2006

    Outstanding and Making you want more

    This story is a heart-pounding story that won't let you put the book down until you've read it to the very last page. Emerson does a outstanding job of making it seem as if you were in the story with Finney and Diana. He makes you believe that you are a fellow firefighter in the story standing next to the fantastic duo. When you read the book it makes your heart race like crazy and it makes you get chills down the back of your spine. The hair on the back of your neck will stand up when you read this story. It is Emersons' best yet.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 27, 2004

    FROM VERTICAL BURN TO REAL EXPERIENCE

    I STUMBLED UPON THIS BOOK MY ACCIDENT AND WHAT A WONDERFUL SUPRISE IT TURNED OUT TO BE. AS A FIREFIGHTER I COULD NOT RELATE MORE TO THE IMAGES HE PUTS IN THIS BOOK . HIS DISCRIBES NOT ONLY THE VISUAL EFFECT BUT THE EMOTIONAL EFFECT AS WELL. I BECAME COMPLETELY INVOLVED WITH THIS BOOK.I NEVER WANTED IT TO END.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 10, 2002

    EXCELLENT TWISTS AND TURNS

    Although the first some odd pages of the books starts off a little slow, it quickly picks up speed. After about 20 pages it was impossible to put the book down and stop reading... you will want to read till the end! The polt twists and turns in every direction making it sometimes impossible to predict what the outcome would be. Not only was the polt excellent the vivid image of fighting fire and the fire itself was extrodinary. It was as if i was there fighting fire with John Finny. A must read for the lazy summer days.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 27, 2002

    one of the best firefighting thrillers in several years

    In Seattle, veteran firefighters John Finney and Bill Cordifies are searching for trapped people inside a nasty fire at Leary Way when a wall collapses. Bill is pinned under a segment of the wall so John goes after help. He finds Fire Chief Charlie Reese and firefighter Robert Kub. They follow John¿s directions, but return empty-handed. Afterward, Charlie tells the press that John panicked and said zilch to him about deserting his partner leaving him behind to die.

    John is ostracized by just about everyone while Charlie is a hero. Every day for the next several months, John goes over what happened in that inferno and what he could have done differently. He concludes he did nothing wrong, and that the odious Charlie used the chaos at the scene to further his own career perhaps at the cost of Bill¿s life. Unless he can break Robert, John knows his chances of proof are slim while the odds of his remaining a pariah to his peers are a sure thing.

    When VERTICAL BURN follows John and Bill into the fire and its aftermath on the former, the novel is one of the best firefighting thrillers in several years. However, a well-written subplot involving a conspiracy slows down the insightful prime theme. Still John is a hero struggling with vindication for his character reminding the audience of a merging of the two brothers in the movie Turk 186. Earl Emerson is the duke of this sub-genre and his latest thriller proves how regal a writer he is.

    Harriet Klausner

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 9, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 25, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

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