With his novel City of Fire, Robert Ellis debuted a dynamic new character in Los Angeles detective Lena Gamble, but also captured a vivid picture of the city of Los Angeles. Readers and critics made City of Fire an instant phenomenon, as the book became a Los Angeles Times bestseller and was named a top summer read by People magazine, USA Today, and The New York Times.
Now Lena Gamble is a cop held in disgrace by department higher-ups for the explosive way the Romeo case played out, though she’s still hailed as a hero by her colleagues for catching the killer. For her punishment, she hasn’t handled a real murder investigation in eight months. When the chief finally tosses her a case, she’s thrilled until she gets a look at the scene and realizes he’s probably setting her up to be exiled once and for all: The victim is unidentified, and there are no witnesses, and no leads. Just the body, chopped into pieces and dropped in a Dumpster—gruesome enough to ensure that once again the media will be following Lena’s every move.
Robert Ellis delivers another high-speed, commercial, powerful read, featuring one of the most engaging and vibrant police characters on the shelf today.
Starred Review Fans of Michael Connelly and T. Jefferson Parker will relish Ellis’ second crackling thriller featuring Hollywood robbery-homicide detective Lena Gamble. On the outs with her department after the volatile outcome of her last case, shrewd, moody Detective Gamble is given a final chance to prove herself by solving the grisliest of homicides: a beautiful young woman chopped into pieces and dropped in a dumpster. Early clues reveal the victim, Jennifer McBride, as a prostitute. But as the investigation deepens, Gamble becomes convinced McBride was nothing of the sort. At the same time, Detective Gamble grows wary that she’s being set up to fail by a vengeful chief of police and his minions. With the help of a handful of officers she trusts, Gamble sets out to untangle a web of lethal secrets and lies. Among the players: a corrupt pharmaceutical executive, a sleazy senator, and an American soldier turned sinister by tours of duty in Iraq. The body count climbs as Gamble inches closer to the culprit. Can she put the final elements in place before more blood is spilled? Movie director, producer, and novelist Ellis (City of Fire, 2007) serves up a killer crime tale with riveting characters and relentless twists. --Allison Block
Description:
With his novel City of Fire, Robert Ellis debuted a dynamic new character in Los Angeles detective Lena Gamble, but also captured a vivid picture of the city of Los Angeles. Readers and critics made City of Fire an instant phenomenon, as the book became a Los Angeles Times bestseller and was named a top summer read by People magazine, USA Today, and The New York Times.
Now Lena Gamble is a cop held in disgrace by department higher-ups for the explosive way the Romeo case played out, though she’s still hailed as a hero by her colleagues for catching the killer. For her punishment, she hasn’t handled a real murder investigation in eight months. When the chief finally tosses her a case, she’s thrilled until she gets a look at the scene and realizes he’s probably setting her up to be exiled once and for all: The victim is unidentified, and there are no witnesses, and no leads. Just the body, chopped into pieces and dropped in a Dumpster—gruesome enough to ensure that once again the media will be following Lena’s every move.
Robert Ellis delivers another high-speed, commercial, powerful read, featuring one of the most engaging and vibrant police characters on the shelf today.
From Publishers Weekly
In this suspenseful sequel to City of Fire, LAPD detective Lena Gamble is assigned to investigate the gruesome killing of a local prostitute who has been dismembered and left in a Dumpster. The chances of solving the case look hopeless—until a mysterious witness sends Gamble critical evidence, thrusting her into a quagmire of corruption and danger. Eanna Hurst delivers an excellently paced reading, shifting between pitched gun battles, contemplative musings and simmering suspense. Her focused performance brings Gamble to life, allowing the author's flawed and fully rounded character to emerge. A good listen that will scintillate thriller fans. A St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 1). (Mar.)
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From Booklist
Starred Review Fans of Michael Connelly and T. Jefferson Parker will relish Ellis’ second crackling thriller featuring Hollywood robbery-homicide detective Lena Gamble. On the outs with her department after the volatile outcome of her last case, shrewd, moody Detective Gamble is given a final chance to prove herself by solving the grisliest of homicides: a beautiful young woman chopped into pieces and dropped in a dumpster. Early clues reveal the victim, Jennifer McBride, as a prostitute. But as the investigation deepens, Gamble becomes convinced McBride was nothing of the sort. At the same time, Detective Gamble grows wary that she’s being set up to fail by a vengeful chief of police and his minions. With the help of a handful of officers she trusts, Gamble sets out to untangle a web of lethal secrets and lies. Among the players: a corrupt pharmaceutical executive, a sleazy senator, and an American soldier turned sinister by tours of duty in Iraq. The body count climbs as Gamble inches closer to the culprit. Can she put the final elements in place before more blood is spilled? Movie director, producer, and novelist Ellis (City of Fire, 2007) serves up a killer crime tale with riveting characters and relentless twists. --Allison Block