Vertical Burn - Earl Emerson [160]
She looked into his eyes and kissed him again. “I can think of a couple of things you’d be good for right now.”
“Oh, yeah? You going to show me?”
Kissing the tip of his nose, she said, “I think I just might.”
"EMERSON WRITES WITH THE RICHNESS AND GRACE OF A POET.”
—Robert Crais
"Riveting . . . Far and away his best [novel] yet . . . Guaranteed to scare the socks off us normal citizens. The firefighting setting of Vertical Burn is one that Emerson knows intimately, and he has a gift for painting it. . . . Emerson’s always had a way with spectacular climaxes, and this one, a remarkable eighty-page scene inside a towering inferno, is a doozy.”
—The Seattle Times / Post-Intelligencer
"Earl Emerson’s plotting is original, suspenseful, so well done that the richness of his writing seems almost a bonus. . . . [He] has taken his place in the rarefied air of the best of the best.”
—ANN RULE
"Filled with suspense, action, and derring-do, Earl Emerson keeps the reader thoroughly involved. . . . The characters resonate beyond the pages. . . . In addition to creating a smart, exciting read, Emerson has written a tribute to his profession.”
—Tulsa World
"Catches your attention fast and keeps you all the way to the end. . . . The author turns fire into a living, breathing character.”
—The News Tribune (Tacoma)
"FASCINATING, FAST-PACED . . .
The detail in the lives of firefighters and how they actually fight fires is thoroughly engrossing. This is my first novel by Earl Emerson. . . . I’ve got some catching up to do.”
—Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX)
"Lightning-paced, exciting, and surefooted, Vertical Burn creates and maintains a level of suspense that will keep you on edge right to the end. . . . Emerson continues to turn out exciting and vivid mysteries and thrillers.”
—Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)
"Earl Emerson is a writer’s writer. In every book he tries something new, and he always comes up a winner.”
—AARON ELKINS
"Recommended . . . A complex tale of smoke, flame, and murder . . . Emerson vividly portrays the physical hardships of racing fire and heat while encased in cumbersome protective garments and carrying fifty pounds of gear. He develops both male and female characters well, writes with assurance, and skillfully juggles a complicated plot.”
—Library Journal
"A riveting story of conflict, deceit, murder, and redemption.”
—JOHN SAUL
"VERTICAL BURN SIZZLES WITH EXCITEMENT. . . .
Emerson gives us a ringside seat to firefighter protocol and procedures intermingled with relentless suspense. . . . It’s a convincing tale populated with the courageous individuals who fight fires and the scoundrels who set them.”
—BookPage
"Reads a lot like one of Cannell’s Shane Scully potboilers . . . What’s extra-special about this book is the accuracy and breathtaking elements of the fire scenes. . . . Emerson really bumps it up a couple of notches with his vivid portrayal of the physical hardships in actual firefighting.”
—The Toronto Sun
"Emerson combines an intimate knowledge of fires and firefighting with an intricate plot played out by characters you can love or hate. It’s a thriller that delivers on thrills.”
—Booklist
"Loyalty, greed, conspiracy, and jealousy are the themes that fuel Emerson’s fire here. The result is a hot new book with an engaging main character, an incendiary plot, a sizzling romance, and several explosive action sequences.”
—Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
"[Emerson’s] charismatic protagonist is both believable and admirable . . . you’ll root for him.”
—Kirkus Reviews
From the author of VERTICAL BURN . . .
INTO THE INFERNO
by
EARL EMERSON
Available in hardcover from
Ballantine Books
For an exciting sneak preview of INTO THE INFERNO,
please turn the page. . . .
1. JUNE—NEAR THE END
I’m a mad dog. Mad. Utterly mad.
If you knew my circumstances, you’d trust me when I tell you I’m as crazy as they come. And growing madder by the minute.
Nobody out there in the dark doubts me. I can see a few of the uniforms in the shadows, fingers