Overview
No one writes with the power, authority, and poetry that Earl Emerson has demonstrated in his action-packed novels about fire and the people who make their living fighting it. In Firetrap, Trey Brown is a man tormented by race, by family, and now by a political firestorm that has erupted because fourteen people died in an illegal Seattle nightclub . . . and someone must take the fall.Captain Trey Brown is a black man in a Seattle fire department where the color of his skin keeps him largely on the outside looking in. As a child, Trey was adopted by a white family whose children were bred for wealth and power–but now Trey simply does his job, rides his Harley, and lives in bitter solitude. Then the Z-Club goes up in flames, killing more than a dozen people, all of them black, and the city's African American community demands to know: Did these people die because of their skin color?
Jamie Estevez, the beautiful, ambitious reporter who becomes Trey's partner in the investigation, is everything Trey is not. Outgoing and gregarious, she tries to bring the lone-wolf fireman back into the world. But as their relationship heats up, Trey is forced to relive a painful episode from his past, when he was accused of a horrible crime and shunned by his adoptive parents. Suddenly, two mysteries–one of passion and family, the other of fire and murder–are unraveling around Trey. But so is everything he has done to protect himself. . . .
Firetrap is vintage Earl Emerson: a gritty, emotionally charged novel set in a world of camaraderie and urban chaos, where one man has been a hero, a villain, and a victim–and hasn’t even faced the deadliest danger yet.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
No one writes with the power, authority, and poetry that Earl Emerson has demonstrated in his action-packed novels about fire and the people who make their living fighting it. In Firetrap, Trey Brown is a man tormented by race, by family, and now by a political firestorm that has erupted because fourteen people died in an illegal Seattle nightclub . . . and someone must take the fall.
Captain Trey Brown is a black man in a Seattle fire department where the color of his skin keeps him largely on the outside looking in. As a child, Trey was adopted by a white family whose children were bred for wealth and power–but now Trey simply does his job, rides his Harley, and lives in bitter solitude. Then the Z-Club goes up in flames, killing more than a dozen people, all of them black, and the city's African American community demands to know: Did these people die because of their skin color?
Jamie Estevez, the beautiful, ambitious reporter who becomes Trey's partner in the investigation, is everything Trey is not. Outgoing and gregarious, she tries to bring the lone-wolf fireman back into the world. But as their relationship heats up, Trey is forced to relive a painful episode from his past, when he was accused of a horrible crime and shunned by his adoptive parents. Suddenly, two mysteries–one of passion and family, the other of fire and murder–are unraveling around Trey. But so is everything he has done to protect himself. . . .
Firetrap is vintage Earl Emerson: a gritty, emotionally charged novel set in a world of camaraderie and urban chaos, where one man has been a hero, a villain, and a victim–and hasn’t even faced the deadliestdanger yet.
From the Hardcover edition.
Publishers Weekly
This uneven stand-alone suspense novel from Seattle fire lieutenant Emerson (The Smoke Room) opens promisingly with the gritty first-person narration of Capt. Trey Brown, a Seattle firefighter, touching on past trauma that led to his estrangement from his family. Brown, one of the few African-Americans in the department's leadership, has just survived a fatal fire (with echoes of the Bronx's Happy Land tragedy) that has sparked citywide riots incited by suspicions that African-American victims were left to die by the Seattle Fire Department. Unfortunately, Emerson switches narrators, most often alternating Brown's perspective with that of Jamie Estevez, the gorgeous local TV journalist who's independently investigating the city's response to the blaze. The predictable romantic tension between Brown and Estevez doesn't generate much heat, and the revelations of the forces behind the loss of life will surprise few. Still, the strong first chapter should reassure longtime fans and convince new readers to give Emerson another chance. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewSeattle Fire Department lieutenant and veteran suspense author Earl Emerson turns up the heat this suspense thriller about a deadly fire at an African-American nightclub and the social and political chaos that follows…
When a suspicious fire rips through the Z-Club in downtown Seattle, leaving 14 people dead -- 13 black civilians and one white firefighter -- the Fire Department is accused of racism and criminal negligence. Tensions are running high; and with the threat of riots looming, the mayor of Seattle, along with other community leaders, spearheads an "unbiased" investigation into the fire. Popular television news reporter Jamie Estevez is hired on to lead the inquiry. Fire Department captain Trey Brown, an African-American who helped battle the Z-Club blaze, is pressured into helping her. But as numerous clues are slowly uncovered through a series of interviews (political improprieties, code violations, etc.), so too is Brown's intimate -- and shocking -- past history with the mayor. Can Estevez and Brown get to the bottom of the Z-Club fire, or will those in power cover up the scandalous truth?
Like Emerson's other novels (The Smoke Room, Pyro, Into the Inferno, et al.) this taut whodunit is a work of first-rate suspense that offers readers an insightful glimpse into the dedication, passion, and courage it takes to be a firefighter. Paul Goat Allen
From the Publisher
Praise for Earl EmersonThe Smoke Room
“Thrilling . . . Emerson depicts [the] dangerous but alluring world of firefighting [with] skill and verve.”
–The Seattle Times
“Scarily authentic and utterly captivating . . . easily one of the most compelling books you’ll encounter this year.”
–Mystery Scene
Pyro
“Emerson’s a pro at leading his fictional firefighters and readers through crackling, smoking rooms, dodging fiery death at every blind turn. . . . His short, punchy chapters keep the pages turning at a blistery pace.”
–The Oregonian
“A fast-paced, smoke-filled, gripping story loaded with plot twists, snappy and graphic dialogue, and firefighting lore.”
–Publishers Weekly
From the Hardcover edition.