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Earl Emerson has been a firefighter in Seattle for 25 years. He brings this to his books. Although many of us prefer his Mac Fontana series (only five books) or his Thomas Black PI series (11 books), we must be satisfied with standalone thrillers for a while. Unlike other series authors who have switched to writing thrillers, Emerson does a fine job. Each of his standalones features a different firefighter facing outlandish situations, but all are true to his love for his chosen profession. PYRO, the third standalone, features Lt Paul Wollf, a second generation firefighter. Twenty years early, his firefighter father had been killed in an arson blaze. Left with two young boys to raise, Paul and his older brother Neil, Emma Grant Wolff finds herself unable to cope. After a series of minimum wage jobs, she turns to crack and alcohol and to unsuitable boyfriends. Finally, one night, Alfred, Emma's current boyfriend, kills Emma. Paul and Neil kill Alfred, but only Neil is imprisoned for the crime. Paul goes on to become a firefighter. Wollf is finally assigned to his father's old company, Ladder 3. There is an arsonist working the area. Wollf's superior is trying to find a reason to get Paul fired. Paul is given a Native American female rookie to supervise. He is told to write reports that say she is not fit to be a firefighter. On the contrary, she is an excellent firefighter and Wollf refuses to diss her in the reports. One of the superior officers appears to be attempting to sabotage the fire scenes. Despite all this, Wollf does his job, while searching for the arsonist who killed his father The most exciting scenes in this book, as in all Emerson's book, are those in which the men and women are actually fighting the fires. He also does a good job in depicting departmental rivalries and ways in which the veterans haze the rookies. This is not a polished literary work. It is a book written by a firefighter who loves his job.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, April 2004
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