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The Smoke Room: A Novel of Suspense
Earl Emerson
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0345462912
Release Date: 2006-04-25 |
Book Description
From the terror of a lightless, smoke-clogged building to the secrets kept by the men and women who trust their partners with their lives, Earl Emerson knows the world of firefighting like no other author–and writes about it with passion and piercing honesty. In his remarkable new thriller, Emerson fuses together a gripping drama with unforgettable scenes of peril that, in this realm, can explode at any second.
Jason Gun, a risk-taking rookie firefighter who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, has found in his firehouse the family he never had as a child. Then, in one ill-fated turn of events, it all begins to go wrong.
A bizarre accident brings a thrill-seeking woman into Engine Company 29–and into Jason’s life. Suddenly, his future on the job is at risk. Two fellow firefighters know that he missed a call because of some sexual heroics at the wrong time and place. Now, deeply in their debt, he will find out what kind of men his partners really are.
When these two firefighters come upon a fortune in missing bearer bonds–money found in a dead man’s house–Jason is forced to become an accessory to their crime. And when evidence of their greed, foolishness, and thievery begins to emerge, Jason is witness to an even darker deed.
Suddenly, the twenty-four-year-old, who only wanted to do the right thing, is trapped behind a wall of silence. Trying to undo his mistake, Jason moves further into the darkness, where a beautiful young woman might just be his emotional rescue–or yet one more very wrong move. Unfortunately for Jason, the worst isn’t behind him. Like a fire hit by wind, the killing has raged out of control.
Capturing the thin line that separates a hero from a criminal, and an enemy from a friend, Earl Emerson’s new novel is a gripping tale of a man’s dangerous fall from grace–and of his fierce battle for redemption.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Praise for Earl Emerson
Into the Inferno
“Emerson doesn’t allow the pace to flag for a page. . . . [He] uses his expertise to good effect.”
–The Orlando Sentinel
“As always, [Emerson] presents the firefighter’s world with authority and understated iconoclasm.”
–The Seattle Times
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.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome New Discovery!.......2006-02-01
Earl Emerson has been around for a while, apparently, writing both a detective series and several stand-alone novels that revolve around the world of firefighters in Seattle. Which isn't surprising, since Mr. Emerson IS a firefighter in Seattle. I hadn't heard of him before til I picked this book up off the dollar stack at the used book store. I read the first few pages and was thoroughly hooked. But how can you go wrong with a book that begins with a pig falling out of an airplane into a house?
The Smoke Room is one part Elmore Leonard, one part Carl Hiaasen, and maybe a dash of James Cain, telling the story of naive firefighter Jason Gum, and the royal mess he ends up in, starting with the night of the fateful pig drop. That night he meets a very seductive older woman, whose shenanigans with him lead him to make a mistake that fellow firefighters on his crew cover for him. So he feels he owes them when one of those firefighters drags him into a scheme involving stolen bearer bonds "liberated" from the scene of a dead body call. Gum wants no part of the stolen bonds but also doesn't want to rat out his buddies. But as he dithers, others begin to suspect the scheme and suddenly there's a body count involved. How can he save his career, his butt from prison, and possibly his life from his increasingly ruthless co-workers?
The caper quality and the ever-racheting suspense is what brings Elmore Leonard to mind; the frequent humor in both ridiculous situations and the interplay between the characters is what reminded me of Hiaasen. However, the details of fires and firefighting that become an integral part of the story are unique to Emerson, and one of the things that made this book much better than average. He knows how to provide inside detail and at the same time make the calculations and considerations of a fire scene understandable to a lay reader.
I could not put this book down. Sometimes I wanted to hug and comfort Jason Gum, sometimes I wanted to shake him for his obtuseness, but I had to know what happens to him in the end, even if it meant losing sleep. Well worth checking out.
I found another Emerson book, Pyro, on the same discount stack and it is next in my to-be-read pile!
Great Plot.......2005-09-11
I just started reading Earl Emerson's books, which involve Firefighters and I became immediately hooked. His books are real page turners, with lots of plot twists. The characters are realistic with their human flaws. Earl Emerson's books are well written and entertaining and I enjoy the fact he always has a Female Firefighter in them :)
Very good!.......2005-07-28
With a smashing beginning, literally, Emerson has written a very effective tale of a young man whose passivity costs others their lives and nearly destroys his own. At the same time, he is caring and heroic and what he lacks in decisiveness, he makes up for in convection. Jason is a fully drawn, very human character, and it's interesting watching his growth. A diverse supporting cast, and good dialogue and suspense enhance the story, which is also a study of the power of greed. I stopped reading Emerson for a while, as I wanted him to give me more from his writing. This definitively puts him back on my author list.
Gritty, authentic and captivating.......2005-07-22
Some mistakes cost you nothing, while others may cost you everything. Rookie firefighter Jason Gum commits an error in the latter category when he misses a call because he's in the middle of a sexual encounter with Iola Pederson, an older married woman he just met, in the weight room of the firehouse. Because two fellow firefighters help him conceal his indiscretion, he feels obligated to turn a blind eye to their activities when they subsequently violate department policy by removing three garbage bags full of bearer bonds from the scene of another call where they discover the body of an old man. Gum learns the painful truth that lies often breed more lies, and that some lies can lead to murder.
The Shamus Award winning author of the Thomas Black detective series (The Portland Laugher is a high point in that eleven book saga), Emerson has in the last few years penned several novels set in the world of firefighting, The Smoke Room being his fourth such effort. As filtered through the perceptions of the naive yet oddly appealing Jason Gum, Emerson's latest plunges readers into that dangerous world, into a perilous milieu where you're as likely to be killed by comrades as by the dangers inherent in firefighting. Scarily authentic and utterly captivating, full of numerous twists and turns, The Smoke Room is an engrossing tale of deceit and danger, cowardice and courage, easily one of the most compelling books you'll encounter this year.
five alarm winner.......2005-06-01
Twenty-four years old Seattle firefighter Jason Gum and others from Engine 29 race to the scene of what has been described as an explosion at the home shared by forty something Iola Pederson and her daddy. Jason helps get Iola out of the house while daddy had already evacuated the house. Investigators conclude that the "bomb" was an award winning hog "jumping" from a plane at an estimated 11,000 feet.
Three weeks later Iola visits the fire station to personally thank Jason for her rescue. She seduces him in the back room while his team goes out on a fire call without him. His mate Ted Tronstad leaves behind Gum's gear so that the firefighter can arrive on his own and thus lesson the dereliction of duty penalty. Ironically Gum becomes a hero though the couple he rescues fails to survive. Not long afterward, Tronstad has sacks filled with bearer bonds that he pulled from a fire. Tronstad, driver Robert Johnson, and Gum argue when Captain Sears catches them with the loot and threatens to expose them. Now they must rid themselves of Sears, but Johnson hesitates while Gum wants no part of the bonds except Tronstad blackmails him into either participating or at least remaining silent.
THE SMOKE ROOM is an exhilarating suspense thriller that twists and turns in ways readers will never suspect until the spin occurs as Jason understands but seems to never learn that his using the wrong head is destroying his morals. Readers will wonder what the key firefighting characters and Iola will do next and how likable Gum, who narrates the tale, will extract himself from his spiraling out of control woes. Earl Emerson provides the audience with a five alarm winner.
Harriet Klausner
Amazon.com
Smokey Dalton is a man on the run, and he's got something to hide. In her second Dalton novel, author Kris Nelscott takes these invitations to cliché and instead crafts a refreshingly straightforward thriller that moves adroitly through the sweltering heat and simmering racial tension of the summer of 1968, when the Democratic National Convention came to Chicago.
In A Dangerous Road, PI Smokey became the unwitting protector of a 10-year-old boy who had witnessed Martin Luther King's murder--and who knows that James Earl Ray was the fall guy for a government-mandated assassination. Now, several months later, Smokey and Jimmy have taken refuge with friends in Chicago. Just as he's letting go of the reflex to look over his shoulder, Smokey hears that neighbors have seen someone watching him. But when he tries to find out who the stranger is, he gets sidetracked by a plea to find a missing 14-year-old boy who has disappeared without a trace. When the body of another neighborhood child appears on Smokey's doorstep, bearing the traces of torture administered by a pro, the investigator knows that the shadows of Memphis have lengthened and darkened--and that they may stretch all the way back to his own military past. To save Jimmy from their pursuers, Smokey will have to swallow both personal and professional pride, forming uneasy alliances with Laura, an ex-almost-lover, and with the Chicago police.
Nelscott is interested in delineating the ordinary rather than the extraordinary: the novel's plot is well-articulated and suspenseful, but even more rewarding are its glimpses into the social constraints and preconceptions that surround Smokey (whose rusted Impala and skin color combine to form "a neon sign advertising trouble"). This is a solid follow-up effort that should have fans looking forward to a third appearance. --Kelly Flynn
Book Description
It's a long, hot summer in 1968. After escaping Memphis with Jimmy, a ten-year-old boy who witnessed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and saw the face of the true murderer, P.I. Smokey Dalton hopes to start a new life in Chicago. Their new beginning is shattered by the events leading up to the Democratic National Convention, where violence and paranoia have replaced political protest. Smokey does all he can to protect Jimmy from the police and his nagging fear that a rogue FBI agent is following them. But when a neighborhood boy disappears, and the body of another is found tortured on his doorstep, Smokey knows that he cannot run any longer. Only by diving headlong into the underside of the 1960s can he and Jimmy hope to stay alive....AUTHORBIO: KRIS NELSCOTT lives and writes on the Oregon coast.
Customer Reviews:
Picks right up where "A Dangerous Road" left off.......2006-07-17
This is a good, but not great sequel. In fact, it seems like the first and second books were written as one. As a stand-alone, without having read the first book, the story isn't captivating. Nevertheless, I continue to admire the original voice of Nelscott's Smokey Dalton. He's a fish-out-of-water in this book, which takes place in Chicago rather than Memphis. Smokey and twelve-year-old Jimmy have been on the run, since Jimmy witnessed the assassination of Martin Luther King. Finally settling on Chicago to take refuge, they stay with one of Smokey's good friends until they learn that someone has been following them. Unknown to them, they have gone from one volatile situation to another: the 1968 Democratic Convention. With the swarm of protesters, the Federal agents and police have increased their presence and undercover cops now patrol black neighborhoods looking for signs of trouble. As a precaution, Smokey has Jimmy stay with his white, rich friend, Laura Hathaway. Then Smokey discovers the dead body of a twelve-year-old black boy outside their apartment complex. To Smokey, it can only mean one thing: "We've found you!"
Nelscott brings nice insight to Black History.......2002-02-14
This book picks up where "A Dangerous Road" left off, and continues the excellence! Nelscott brings unique perspectives of the Black experience during the turbulent 60's. She does it while weaving a tale of mystery, intrigue and double dealing. This is the start of, I hope, a series of Smokey Dalton novels. Maybe Nelscott could have Smokey meet Tamara Hayle in Newark, N.J.
Back For More.......2001-12-15
I inadvertently reviewed "A Dangerous Road" in this space earlier. But now I've read "Smoke Filled Rooms." I had braced myself for the possibility of a let-down because, after all, I felt that "Road" was a hard act to follow. Not to worry: Nelscott has done it again, and in spades. Nelscott's Smokey Dalton character has all the layers of an onion:there's always another layer for Nelscott to peel away and surprise the reader with more of Smokey's past, more mysteries within mysteries, more bad stuff from more bad guys, more pain for Smokey who just, really, wants to find a quiet place to live and be left alone, preferably back in Memphis although that seems increasingly unlikely. Then, Nelscott has me wondering if there ever will be such a place for Smokey.
Arriving in Chicago, Smokey is having a tough time adjusting but thinks that he and Jimmy are, at least, safe. And now he's learning just how wrong he is as trouble prowls after him in the forms of Northern-style racism, gangs, undercover police, yippies and hippies, an old love and an old enemy, a serial killer, missing children, the fears and worries and events from Memphis that remain alive and well and real and bring more danger than ever, and the riots of the 1968 Democratic Convention. "Smoke Filled Rooms" continues where "A Dangerous Road" left off but can stand alone, although I would encourage reading them in sequence because, after all, this is a series.
Nelscott successfully imbues her second Dalton novel with the same suspense, surprising plot twists, sense of dread, real horrors, historical realism, character development, and the all pervasive, weary sadness of a reluctant hero who rejects the idea of heroism that made the first novel such a joy to read. And I am not ashamed to say that, like "Road", there are passages in this book that require me to force back tears while reading it during my train commute back and forth to work. Sometimes it seems that Nelscott spends an entire chapter setting the reader up to have the button of emotion punched with a single, simple, devastating sentence. There are scenes of such mundane horror that I am tempted to close the book and put it away for awhile, but I can't because I have to know what is going to happen next. And she presents me with a dilemma: I can hardly wait to get to the end of the story to learn the answers that Nelscott makes available but I know that I will regret it very much when the story is done. Book two in this series confirms to me Dalton's role as a tragic figure even as I am permitted to learn that Dalton, through training, experience, and his own intelligence, is, once again, the right man in the wrong place at the right time. And again I find myself cheering Smokey on, hoping that he will find a happy ending that his entire life mitigates against or, at least, win a defining battle that will allow him a respite from the nightmares he has lived. But, as Nelscott reminds the reader, that's not really the way life is. Is it? At least, not Smokey's so far.
Nelscott doesn't have any minor characters in these books. Each one carries a significance that pushes the plot or the mood forward. I really admire that ability to breathe life into each character, whether they appear only to speak one sentence or appear in every chapter as a vital element of the story. Look at Mrs. Richardson's disbelieving grief, the unnamed doorman at Laura's apartment building, Duffy, Detective Johnson, David LaVelle, Laura Hathaway's brief but pivotal appearances, Marvella, Jack Sinkovich's wife who never says a word, both Franklin and Althea Grimshaw, the patrolman who realizes who Mrs. Richardson is, Grace Kirkland and each of her two boys, and, of course, Jimmy. These are all, each and every one, recognizable people who, for whatever amount of time they do appear, walk strongly off the page into the reader's mind and make an impression that does not fade easily or soon.
I have only one criticism which may have nothing to do with Nelscott: I was distracted by the presence of annoying spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors in this edition of "Smoke Filled Rooms." That having been said, I eagerly look forward to the future installments in the Dalton series. Maybe Nelscott will give Smokey a break soon. Or not.
While Waiting For Easy..........2001-11-08
While waiting for the return of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins and the ultimate fate of Mouse, I've been looking for some stand ins and found more than I was looking for with Kris Nelscott's "A Dangerous Road" and the introduction of Smokey Dalton, a getting-along private detective in Memphis in 1968 who describes his profession as "doing odd jobs", and the jobs are, indeed, odd.
This book is more than the sum of its parts: Nelscott's writing takes the book far beyond the typical detective mystery;the plots turn in upon themselves and, even when the mystery of Laura Hathaway is solved, the subplots draw the reader on in pursuit of other mysteries and to surprises that could not have been imagined earlier;and the characters are drawn so finely that they are all familiar,sympathetic or dispicable but known from personal experience. Each character, no matter how minor, has a well-defined human face that is recognizable. This is a book that entertains, educates, reminisces, and touches the heart in ways that one will only understand at the last page. Nelscott's Dalton is a childhood friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but Nelscott manages to treat that relationship as, remarkably, incidental to Dalton's own tragedy filled life and the mysteries he is trying to unravel about his client, himself, and the child alter ego he is trying to protect, thereby avoiding what might have been a predictable plot of a detective trying to change history.
The pain of waiting for Easy has been eased considerably by Nelscott in her first book. Bring on "Smoke Filled Rooms", Dalton's second outing. I can hardly wait for Smokey's return even though I suspect that his heart will, again, be more broken than healed at the end. And Dalton is a character one can only hope the best for while knowing the best is unlikely to happen to him. Perhaps the best Dalton can hope for is survival. I gave this debut novel five stars. I wish I could give it more.
Fine novel, great character, exciting period.......2001-08-25
Smokey Dalton has fled Memphis with Jimmy, 10-year-old witness of the Martin Luther King assassination. The man Jimmy saw kill King was not the man the police arrested and Smokey knows that Jimmy's life is in danger. Unfortunately for both, Smokey chooses Chicago as his hiding place. The 1968 Democratic National Convenction in Chicago makes that city a dangerous place for a man on the run. If someone has spotted Smokey and Jimmy, they are in danger and Smokey knows he must get to the bottom of it. Yet what can he do against the forces of the FBI and Chicago police? Author Kris Nelscott does a fine job with Smokey's complex character, the feeling of a city careening toward its date with destiny, and the complex relationships between white and black. Smokey's ambivalent feelings toward Laura, an anglo woman whom he must ask for help, stand in microcosm for the entire world he lives in. Nelscott has written a novel that uses the big historical events (and conspiracy theories) of a critical period of U.S. history, but this story is intensely personal. Smokey and Jimmy are what matter, not some amorphous ideal. Perhaps this is why this novel works. Highly Recommended. BooksForABuck.com I appreciate your 'helpful' vote.
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Tiger's Blood: The Tiger's Apprentice, Book Two (The Tiger's Apprentice)
Laurence Yep
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0060010185
Release Date: 2006-05-09 |
Book Description
Ever since Tom became the apprentice to Mr. Hu, the Guardian of the phoenix egg, his life has been a whirlwind. Now Mr. Hu is weak after saving Tom's life in battle, and the two must flee with their motley crew of friends to the dragon kingdom, far below the ocean's surface. While Tom waits for Mr. Hu to recover, he realizes that even the dragons cannot promise safety. And as an unstoppable evil advances, Tom must find the strength within to protect the egg by himself.
Customer Reviews:
A delight to the minds senses........1999-06-11
I've never had an author make feel so much like I was actually in story
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New blood.(Seat Time) : An article from: Bass & Walleye Boats
John, Jr. Tiger
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B000FBHQEW
Release Date: 2006-04-06 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Bass & Walleye Boats, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2006. The length of the article is 975 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: New blood.(Seat Time)
Author: John, Jr. Tiger
Publication:
Bass & Walleye Boats (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 13
Issue: 4
Page: 14(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Bass & Walleye Boats, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1827 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Signs of life! Part III: with the structural repairs complete, we get to work on the wiring and plumbing to pump some blood into our project boat.(PROJECT BUDGET BASSER)
Author: John, Jr. Tiger
Publication:
Bass & Walleye Boats (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 14
Issue: 5
Page: 58(8)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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- Who I Am and What I Want
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