City of Fire
"… very enjoyable and easy to read…"
Synopsis:
When a businessman arrives home to find his wife in bed, carved open from stomach to neck by a very sharp knife, the elite Robbery Homicide Division of the LAPD responds in full force and Detective Lena Gamble prepares for her first major case.
At first all fingers point towards the victim's husband but case scenarios only happen in films, and it soon transpires that this murder is one of a series of brutal crimes against women and the work of a killer dubbed 'Romeo' by the Ravenous Hollywood media.
Lena is all too aware of the peril of the public eye - she has found herself in it before, on the night of her rock star bother's unsolved murder five years ago. And now she risks a far more dangerous fame - as a cloud of conspiracy descends on her investigation and she edges into Romeo's deadly line of sight…
Whilst a massive forest fire blankets the city, the murderous trail moves far too close to him and past and present horrors seem to be colliding in a single nightmare. Lena must catch this psychopath before she becomes his next victim.
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Review:
Robert Ellis introduces a new character in his first series of novels, Lena Gamble. Plenty of background has been given on Gamble, with no gaps in her history, leaving the reader feeling they know this character very well. All the characters featured in the story have been well drawn and, even though you are aware of the killer well before the end of the book, there is plenty of information given which may also throw you off the scent. I found this book very enjoyable and easy to read, and while some of the outcomes may have been a little expected, there were still a few surprises along the way to compensate for this. It will be interested in reading the next novel in this series to see where the character of Gamble will be heading.