Tensions explode across Los Angeles as violence ravages the city - an innocent unarmed Black man shot dead by the cops, a little girl caught in gang crossfire, an LAPD officer killed by pre-dawn gunfire in the Hollywood Hills - the first in a string of cop killings that have the force on edge.
Under the sweltering California sun, LAPD cop Tony Calvanese pulls his sweat-stained uniform collar from his neck, surveying the aftermath of these senseless killings rippling through a city primed to erupt. Protestors flood the streets, enraged eyes fixed on the police in the wake of yet more unnecessary bloodshed.
With more officers under fire, it's clear these are not random acts of violence - someone is hunting police officers, meticulously executing them one by one as revenge.
Calvanese's new partner - Ivy League rookie Paul Henderson - shifts nervously in the passenger seat, unable to forget his early morning run through Beverley Hills when he was pulled over by the cops for the color of his skin and pushed into the dirt before he could reach for his badge.
As the body count rises, Calvanese and Henderson are dispatched to stop the cop killer before he can strike again. But tensions within the force threaten to boil over. To do their job, the mismatched partners must confront ugly truths about brutality and racism that run deep. Can they find common ground? Or will the inferno raging in the streets ignite an even greater fire between them?
Skillfully exploring racial divides and what it truly means to protect and serve, City on Fire combines the gritty realism of Michael Connelly with the social commentary of Walter Mosley - a page-turning, thought-provoking and emotional rollercoaster of a read.
Acclaim for Jeff Stetson:
"Oh my heart! it about beat out of my chest! The suspense!! Jeez my heart still pounding! Great book! It had everything!... kept me glued to my Kindle!" Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Loved this!... Was an intense mind-blowing rollercoaster ride I didn't want to get off. Such a brilliant mystery thriller that left me thinking about it for days." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This book was absolutely a psychological mind-blowing thriller, I couldn't stop thinking about this book." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I couldn't put it down...finished it in one night." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Absolutely loved this book. I had to force myself to put it down but still read in less than two days." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Heart wrenching and amazingly well written!!!!! I totally loved this book." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"A rollercoaster from start to finish... will keep you engrossed until the very climactic ending!" Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"A twisting thriller... intriguing and haunting, it's a book you can't put down once you start." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Full of suspense and heart stopping moments... really held my attention...brilliantly written. I loved the pace of the story." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"A rollercoaster ride of a book that grips you from the very first page." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Wow. This is a book you don't want to miss... will stay with me... captivating." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐