Playing With Fire

by Scott Lazenby

It rains a lot in Trillium, Oregon, but not enough to douse the political, personal and literal fires that surround the man in the hot seat, Ben Cromarty, Trilliums city manager.A suburb of Portland in the shadow of the snowy Cascades, Trillium has come a long way from its sleepy days as a sawmill town. The population is bursting. High-tech businesses are moving in. And the citizens are getting cantankerous.A proposal to reorganize the fire department quickly escalates beyond a dry policy debate. It divides the community, pitting council members against each other, the firefighters against the city, and business against business.In the middle of it all is Ben Cromarty, struggling to keep the city from consuming itselfand to keep his job. The conflict over the fire departmentand over Trilliums futureplays itself out in political intrigue, legal wrangling, personal vendettas and sundered friendships. Before it is over, the citys troubles are splashed across front pages, its political structure is shaken to its core, Cromartys family faces danger, and a self-inflicted assault on Cromartys marriage threatens to pull his personal life into the public crisis.

396 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2001

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even thought it wasn't a a required reading for a college course not a bad book. If you want an inside fictionalized look at local politics recommended

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really love this book - mainly, because I can nerd out as a local government wonk. This book is often assigned in master of public administration programs given its very well done true-to-life municipal government situations it describes. Lazenby clearly wants to be to local government novels what John Grisham is to law. The writing is not quite as compelling as Grisham; the love conflict is downright trite but overall, I really enjoyed the book. I hope it can catch the interest of readers outside of municipal work but that might be a far reach. I do hope he continues to write more.

[Smoellering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book day book 2019! This book provided an interesting look at the life of a City Manager. Sometimes it felt like unnecessary scenes were included just to show what city managers do, but it was neat to see nonetheless. I only wish the affair had been left out. Not my favorite plot line. All in all, an okay read.