Book
With an extreme burning.
"Dix Mallory, a professor in northern California is attempting to deal with the recent death of his wife, Katy, in a fiery car crash. More deaths and threatening phonecalls compound the mystery." Pronzini is best known for his extraordinary craftsmanship. The characters are believable, the setting is real, and the confusion and terror are palpable. Even the conclusion, although somewhat disconcerting, makes sense in this world of Court TV and tabloid journalism.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780786701391
- ISBN: 0786701390
- Physical Description: p ; cm.
- Edition: 1st Carroll & Graf ed.
- Publisher: New York : Carroll & Graf, 1994.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | California, Northern > Fiction. Detective and mystery stories. Psychological fiction. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at BC Interlibrary Connect.
- 1 of 1 copy available at Fort St. James Public Library. (Show)
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort St. James Public Library | PRO (Text) | 35196000074182 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 1994 October
~ Three weeks after his wife Katy's death in a fiery car crash, the harassing phone calls Bay Area history teacher Dix Mallory has been getting take on a much more sinister tone: The caller boasts that he had been Katy's lover for three years before she died. Dix isn't the only one getting the frightening calls. Realtor Cecca Bellini, Katy's old friend, dreads answering the phone for fear it will be the man taunting her with questions about just where her teenage daughter Amy is and just what she's doing. In a tight little community like Los Alegres, it isn't long before Dix and Cecca have confided in each other and started wondering which of their close friends (somebody who knows an awful lot about both of them, though nobody who matters much to the reader) is sadistically tormenting them, and why. But it isn't until a second suspicious accident--the fatal fire in another friend's vacation cabin when a propane tank conveniently blows up--that they look more closely into a previous auto accident Katy narrowly escaped four years ago, an accident finally as devastating as the one that eventually claimed her life. The first, grief-soaked half is less florid and more quietly affecting than most of Pronzini's Nameless Detective books (Demons, 1993, etc.), though the story kicks into autopilot with the unmasking of the revenge plot against Katy and her friends. Copyright 1999 Kirkus Reviews - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 1994 October #4
The most intense writing in Pronzini's new novel is the title, which refers to a series of deaths by fire caused by an unknown villain in a California town. The story itself is mostly a lackluster working out of whodunit. Dix Malory begins to suspect that his wife Katy's death in a car crash was no accident only after he starts to get phone calls from a man who, disguising his voice, says that he was her lover. Soon Dix learns that his friend Cecca also has been getting calls, these making sexual threats against her daughter, Amy. When the cops prove little help, Dix and Cecca turn sleuth, doubling their efforts after more friends die by fire. Several suspects are set up, but the killer's motivation, when revealed, comes nearly out of left field, making the choice of villain seem arbitrary. Pronzini avoids tarting up potentially lurid scenes, most notably those concerning the kidnapping of Amy, but the suspense builds unevenly, leading to a windswept, cliffside climax that is muted in a message-like wrapping. This latest is no match for even a middling entry in the author's Nameless Detective series, to which he should return, pronto. (Dec.) Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information.
