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carolpk's review against another edition
Worthy debut
The Hook 2016 Reading Plan
Mystery Readers Journal, Volume 14, No. 1, Spring 1998 The Big Apple: New York Mysteries II, Article, Red vs. The Blues by Peter Lance
The Line ”The RIVALRY BETWEEN THE NYPD AND THE FDNY RAN broad and deep.”
The Sinker – This simple line I quoted sums up the reason I chose to read First Degree Burn.
This first and from what I can determine, last, Eddie Burke Mystery was a solid debut exploring the two departments and how they work with and against each other. Burke comes from a family of cops so how is it he’s FDNY?
First Degree Burn begins with a raging fire that leaves one woman dead and destroys what could be one of several lost WPA Murals. The mural in question, titled Workers of the World Unite, a two panel piece depicting a pilot, nurse, stevedore, farmer teacher, miner, painted in 1938 is at the heart of the mystery and is what kept me reading. What I learned about fires, the fleshing out of Burke in this first book that must have been planned as a series, and the grittiness of a New York background, are interesting but were not the hook. Of course the WPA Murals (though the mural in the story is fictitious I believe) are real. You can read a bit of the history and find remaining murals in your own state by visiting
WPA Murals
Lance is an Emmy winning investigative journalist. First Degree Burn is now a screenplay. Visit Lance’s webpage for some interesting and updated commentary on First Degree Burn, as well as the Red vs. the Blue article.
Author Peter Lance
The Hook 2016 Reading Plan
Mystery Readers Journal, Volume 14, No. 1, Spring 1998 The Big Apple: New York Mysteries II, Article, Red vs. The Blues by Peter Lance
The Line ”The RIVALRY BETWEEN THE NYPD AND THE FDNY RAN broad and deep.”
The Sinker – This simple line I quoted sums up the reason I chose to read First Degree Burn.
This first and from what I can determine, last, Eddie Burke Mystery was a solid debut exploring the two departments and how they work with and against each other. Burke comes from a family of cops so how is it he’s FDNY?
First Degree Burn begins with a raging fire that leaves one woman dead and destroys what could be one of several lost WPA Murals. The mural in question, titled Workers of the World Unite, a two panel piece depicting a pilot, nurse, stevedore, farmer teacher, miner, painted in 1938 is at the heart of the mystery and is what kept me reading. What I learned about fires, the fleshing out of Burke in this first book that must have been planned as a series, and the grittiness of a New York background, are interesting but were not the hook. Of course the WPA Murals (though the mural in the story is fictitious I believe) are real. You can read a bit of the history and find remaining murals in your own state by visiting
WPA Murals
Lance is an Emmy winning investigative journalist. First Degree Burn is now a screenplay. Visit Lance’s webpage for some interesting and updated commentary on First Degree Burn, as well as the Red vs. the Blue article.
Author Peter Lance
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