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The premise of this book drew me in. Victims are being burned to death in their co-ops. What is the link between all the victims is not apparent at first. It is up to Detectives Ben Stack and Erica (Rica) Lopez to find this out. When they arrive at the first murder scene, both detectives feel there is no reason for this be a homicide, until the fire department expert explains that the victim had been tied up, had accelerant poured on him, and then lit up. Why didn't the sprinkler system work, it did, but the victim was covered by an umbrella, as the murderer, later dubbed The Torcher, watched him die. Several more people are burned as the investigation continues. Using flashbacks, the author details why the Torcher is burning certain people. The reader is not aware of these connections until the end. However, as I read it, the plot wore thin, and the obvious criminal became apparent halfway through the book. This is where I lost it, when a victim of a fire died while trying to recover his belongings dies, and his spouse just watches in shock as he falls from a fourth story window. Meanwhile, the police cannot understand the connection between all the victims. The author played fair, and it does become clear at the end who the Torcher is. But to throw the reader off, the author puts in a subplot about a arsonist who is New York to burn down a business, so the owner can claim his insurance, and start over. The Edgar nominations for Paperback Originals must have been weak this year for this to be nominated. As John Lutz writes decent mysteries, but this one failed. The plot was thin, the characters did not come to life for me. I knew who the Torcher was halfway through the book, and why these victims were being chosen. Mr. Lutz should go back to writing his series, the Fred Carver p.i. set in Florida, and Alo Nudger set in St. Louis, those are his best works in my opinion.
Reviewed by Steven M. Sill, April 2003
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