Incinerator

Simeon Grist Mystery #4

by Timothy Hallinan

On the trail of "the Crisper"--a criminal who douses homeless men with gasoline as they sleep on the streets and then sets them on fire--Simeon Grist becomes the Crisper's reluctant Father Confessor. 35,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

268 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

I'm a thriller and mystery novelist with 22 published books in three series, all with major imprints. I divides my time between Los Angeles and Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand, where I've lived off and on for more than twenty years. As of now, My primary home is in Santa Monica, California.

I currently write two series, The Poke Rafferty Bangkok Thrillers, most recently FOOLS' RIVER, and the Junior Bender Mysteries, set in Los Angeles, Coming up this November is NIGHTTOWN. The main character of those books is a burglar who works as a private eye for crooks.

The first series I ever wrote featured an overeducated private eye named Simeon Grist. in 2017 I wrote PULPED, the first book in the series to be self-published, which was actually a lot of fun. I might do more of it.

I've been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the Shamus, and the Left, and won the Lefty in 2015 (?) for the Junior Bender book HERBIE'S GAME. My work has frequently been included in Best Books of the Year roundups by major publications.

Reviews

[Lawrence FitzGerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good prose, good characterization, good world building, decent story, and a theme. Read Hallinan's preface for his theme; read on for mine.

Another good character in Annabelle Winston. I failed to mention Grist's Goddaughter Jesse in Everything But the Squeal who was a breath of fresh air. So I'll mention her now.

Annabelle Winston is a wonderful character and provides my theme. Some would say there is no magic in the world and some would be wrong. Annabelle Winston is a sorcerer (okay -ess if you insist). She casts spells; she is Destiny. And she does it with her fine intellect, forceful character and a magic ingredient. Money is magic and those who have it lead different lives than those without. It seemed to me this theme is more deeply woven into Hallinan's novel than his own.

[Wyckliffe Howland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone is torching sleeping homeless folks with gasoline and wooden kitchen matches. Simeon is hired by a wealthy heiress to find the incinerator as she has no confidence in the police. Her father was among the ones killed. He reluctantly agrees, and coordinates with the police and a profiler psychologist. The incinerator contacts Simeon personally. Somehow they are connected from the past. Visceral, tense, great ending.

[Jim Willse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I liked the Simeon Grist series better. Hallinan has a ton of talent, and while I don't much care for his Poke Raferty series, I love the Junior Bender books and want to be a fanboy for Grist. The series is derivative to a degree -- noirish LA, requisite psychovillian committing unspeakable acts, dumb but loyal cop buddy, flawed PI with fetching girlfriend -- but there are some unusual elements as well, chief among them the notion that protagonist Grist is a PhD in literature who now patrols the hard streets rather than the groves of academe. The problem I've had with Incinerator and The Bone Polisher is that they don't build on the Grist character -- what he thinks, how he feels -- and, in Incinerator, he's kind of a dope. And the plot is riddled with improbabilities -- a few are okay, but the number of these are in the red zone.

[Glen U · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timothy Hallinan's fourth addition to his Simeon Grist series, while an adequate PI novel, was not up to the previous books about the Phd detective. The writing was good, a noir type of novel set in Los Angeles, but the main appeal of his previous novels, the characters, especially Simeon, were just not as entertaining as before. They were almost caricature like in this book. The semi-hard boiled private investigator with four degrees in literature and religion, the almost alcoholic police detective going through a rough divorce, the psycho arsonist with a clubfoot, and the beautiful Asian sometimes girl friend who was our heroes sounding board. Maybe for a Netflix detective series on TV it would work but Hallinan is too good an author to resort these writing devices. Perhaps because his works are critically well thought of but not in the monster best seller ranks, Hallinan's publisher wanted a more mass appeal type of story. Here's to hoping we get the old Simeon Grist back in the next episode/novel.

[Will Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fair thriller with a PI spin that didn't quite stack up. I had a hard time relating to the main character and forget the supporting cast. Oops, I already did. There was so much disconnect between the reader and the characters that it just never came together. I couldn't shake the feeling that this one was written just to sell with little thought going into the actual story. Sorry.

[Araych · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simeon Grist #4. A firebug is burning people alive and Simeon is hired to find and stop him. I'm a fan of everything Hallinan has written ( Simeon Grist series, Poke Rafferty series and the Junior Bender series) and this story is extremely scary and suspenseful. I really liked it -- 5 stars.

[Paul Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

funny descriptions, not bad

[Ekaser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great outing with Simeon Grist! A series of homeless people are being burned alive, and the latest victim turns out to be a wealthy businessman who's been suffering from advanced dementia. Simeon is hired by the businessman's daughter to track down and catch the killer. When the going gets tough, Simeon gets going, and trust me: the going gets VERY tough for Simeon.

This is one of the best of the "hard-boiled" school of detective/mystery series, and shouldn't be missed by any aficianados!

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simeon always the hero but a little too full of himself. He takes the fate of 5000 all upon himself. Simeon is the poster child for gun control because he can't keep his gun in his hands and out of the hands of the criminal.
I rate the 4th story in the series, Incinerator, 2.5 stars. NO more Eleanor, please!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grist

The plot of this novel was Someone trying to find a person who was burning up bums. He got one that was connected to wealth and he got his paycheck. Of the four novels of Mr Hallinan, this one was allright, where the others I thought were great!

[Brucie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Completely adequate thriller. Compared to other Grist stories, this is a paint-by-number fill-in-the-blank episode without outstanding charm or significant insight but told with too many words. Still way better than most misfit/detective + police + psychopath murder mysteries.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to more Simeon Grist

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever and cutting, this book delivers!

[Carol Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED it! A fascinating combination of mythology and murder, it kept me waking up and turning on my booklight throughout the night, until I found out who and why. Very well done (so to speak).

[Pat Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Hallinan book. But I only have two left to finish all the series. Tim needs to get another one out quickly!