Fireman

by Stephen Leather

Young, talented, in love with life - why should Sally have thrown herself 15 floors to her death? But as suicide is the verdict of the uncompromising Hong Kong authorities, Sally's brother, a London-based crime reporter, begins his own investigations. As he delves into the details of Sally's unaccountably opulent lifestyle and her mysterious work as a journalist, he is forced to recognise a very different girl from the fun-loving kid sister he remembers. He uncovers a trail that leads him through the decadent haunts of Hong Kong ex-pat society, the ruthless wheeler-dealing of international big-business and the violent Chinese mafia underworld - to an ultimate, shocking act of revenge.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Crime

323 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. For much of 2011 his self-published eBooks - including The Bestseller, The Basement, Once Bitten and Dreamer's Cat - dominated the UK eBook bestseller lists and sold more than half a million copies. The Basement topped the Kindle charts in the UK and the US, and in total he has sold more than two million eBooks. His bestselling book The Chinaman was filmed as The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan and grossing more than $100 million.

Reviews

[Gauri Kulkarni · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was dragged too much and nothing really happened. Not gripping as a crime thriller novel is expected to be.

[Maria Ange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen Leather is one of my go-to writers for thrillers and action stories. The Fireman was deceiving, it had nothing to do with fighting fires, sirens and trucks. I will leave it at that to avoid giving too much away.

He got one fact wrong, either that or he had the unfortunate experience of meeting the wrong Filipinos. I'm from the Philippines, and generally speaking, we don't smell bad. Filipinos are very clean and even those from the poorest sectors of life showers often. In the book, he said Filipinos smell. Not cool, mate.

Typically, Stephen throws in useful trivia that only someone who had been a journalist knows. Kudos to him. It made for interesting reading.

Recommended for slow days.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early novel by Stephen Leather, largely set in Hong Kong. Despite the family tragedy which the lead character seeks to unravel, he is not a very sympathetic character - makes it difficult invest in his search fro the truth

[Murray George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Love the humour.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

According to the book mark that's sitting between the pages of 58 and 59, I've apparently started reading this. Unfortunately I don't know when I started The Fireman..so I guess that means a re-read.

Fireman is book 2 of a series, which I didn't realise.

I got just under 30 pages and noticed this book has no chapter titles, just scene breaks.

Reading this felt a bit odd. Almost as if I, the reader was the character. Maybe it helped that the story was in first because but the story mostly just felt like a thought bubble and rather than a crafted story.

One thing that icked me about this story is how sally's brother described her. Your sisters in the morgue and your describing her pubes and the way her breasts look!? Than later your saying which sex positions she liked. The fk!?

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this case "fireman" is not someone who pours water on a burning house, but a reporter who is sent to churn fast stories on breaking news for a newspaper. At least Leather got rid of the tongue in cheek style of his first novel and settled into what later became a more mature thriller style, though not much of it is evident in the this book.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took a long time to read this book. I did enjoy it, but it seemed to be quite slow for a considerable amount of time.

It started speeding up about two thirds of the way through where it then became quite fast and pacey. The story was good, with a very unexpected ending. I didn’t know much about journalism until reading this. Not one of Stephen’s best, but a good book all the same.

[Mrs A. J. Turbfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best stories I have read by this author. The ending making it a very worthwhile read.

An excellent tale and a must for Mr Leather fans. It is gripping from the beginning to the very end.

[Adrian Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best Stephen Leather book ( having said that not a fan of the Spider Shepard series either) a lot of his other stand alone books ( The Vets, Solitary Man, Hungry Ghost, Double tap, Long Shot and so on ) all really good.

[Vicky Boyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator is slightly annoying but the descriptions of Hong Kong are well written and enjoyable to read. The mystery plods along quite slowly until the end when all is solved in a few chapters.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed the hong kong setting, book was exciting and kept my interest.

[Elizabeth Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of his first books. A slow starter, 74% read before the action started, but enjoyable.
His books have evolved with time.
I've read several but not in any sequence. Good author.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit of a slow start, but turns into a mad dash and then saunters over the finish line...

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure how this book got away from me for so long. As far as I know, it's a stand alone thriller which is set in the UK, Hong Kong and China, along the lines of The Hungry Ghost. Stephen shows a lot of first-hand experience from his travels in the descriptions and the story, written in the 1st person, is quick-paced and never bores.

I heard the Audible version narrated but Paul Thornley, and was totally engrossed from the start. This is quite an old one from what I can gather and although I do like a lot of Leather's more recent books, there's something about the writing style, and the dialogues here that has not been matched so often in his latest publication. What with Paul's fantastic narration and some witty, sarcastic dialogues, I was reminded of the Jack Nightingale series which I enjoyed as much as this one.

For me, this deserves my five-star rating not necessarily because it's such a great book, but more so because it has definitely stood the test of time and was a thoroughly interesting 'journey' as the pieces of the puzzle came together. Good work, Stephen, and well read, Paul!!!

[Rajnish Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A racy account of investigation , pursued by brother to find the reasons of fall of his sister ,from.15th floor , Quite revitting and engrossing ,detailing the buearoucracy , topography, and mindset of people , fear and expected repurcussions falling out as the results of Honkong being taken over by China,
Stephen Leather has a knack of giving unusual metaphor in the course of conversation of characters,,,

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, but perhaps a little too long. There is one particular fight scene that goes on for about 20 pages. But all in all, Joe Hill is his father's son and a great story teller! He even gives a couple of hat tips to the old man, if you know where to look for them. The ended left little too unknown and made me wonder if there may be a sequel in the future....I'll be on the look out for it!

[Kimberlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent story. great deal of intrigue and excellent flow of language.

[Stuart Haining · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/10 12%

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow...