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Deuce Mora #3
Burning Rage
POSSIBLE TERRORISM. ARSON. CHICAGO; ALL OF IT.It’s already been a rough year for the Chicago Journal’s first-rate journalistic sleuth, Deuce Mora. After two agonizing investigations – one of which won her a Pulitzer Prize, the other of which forced her to kill a man – she claims she’s sworn off action-packed chases that cause nightmares. Still…from the moment she hears the earliest details of the first fire, her detective-instincts say the pieces don’t fit, and every other instinct tells the hard-hitting reporter she can’t walk away from the story – even though she knows she’ll regret it.
As a series of deadly fires destroys landmarks first, then occupied structures, the body count rises by scores and the city is gripped by terror at Christmastime, adding lost revenue to property damage in the hundreds of millions. Whole blocks of Chicago real estate are falling to an arsonist, but no one knows why and everyone suspects the worst – terrorism.
After the initial tip from the lead arson investigator (aka her boyfriend), Deuce is on her own to solve the mystery. Their relationship could endanger his reputation and his job if he’s even suspected of leaking information to her, so they’ve called a temporary halt. But she’s not exactly lacking for company – her old adversary, FBI agent Colter, has a tail on her, and Colter himself keeps popping out of the shadows. His presence at the crime scene and, even more revealingly, that of an NSA agent point to the suspicion of jihadist terrorism. But no terrorist group has claimed the mayhem.
Heller’s chilling, diabolical plot promises fans of hard-boiled mysteries a substantial feast to sink their teeth into and a knock-your-socks-off ending.
“Good reporters do not always good novelists make, but Jean Heller is both.” -- The Boston Sunday Globe
WHO WILL LIKE Fans of Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Kelly Lange’s Maxi Poole, hard-boiled female protagonists like Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan; and anyone who admires tough-minded women sleuths who’re good in a fight.
As a series of deadly fires destroys landmarks first, then occupied structures, the body count rises by scores and the city is gripped by terror at Christmastime, adding lost revenue to property damage in the hundreds of millions. Whole blocks of Chicago real estate are falling to an arsonist, but no one knows why and everyone suspects the worst – terrorism.
After the initial tip from the lead arson investigator (aka her boyfriend), Deuce is on her own to solve the mystery. Their relationship could endanger his reputation and his job if he’s even suspected of leaking information to her, so they’ve called a temporary halt. But she’s not exactly lacking for company – her old adversary, FBI agent Colter, has a tail on her, and Colter himself keeps popping out of the shadows. His presence at the crime scene and, even more revealingly, that of an NSA agent point to the suspicion of jihadist terrorism. But no terrorist group has claimed the mayhem.
Heller’s chilling, diabolical plot promises fans of hard-boiled mysteries a substantial feast to sink their teeth into and a knock-your-socks-off ending.
“Good reporters do not always good novelists make, but Jean Heller is both.” -- The Boston Sunday Globe
WHO WILL LIKE Fans of Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Kelly Lange’s Maxi Poole, hard-boiled female protagonists like Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan; and anyone who admires tough-minded women sleuths who’re good in a fight.
301 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2018
193 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
About the author
Jean Heller
13 books52 followersMy mother once confronted my husband and me, put her hands on her hips, and asked, “Can’t one of you hold onto a job?”
She was joking – sort of. Both of us were journalists, and we kept getting better jobs, which required moving. A lot. Moving frequently is, I have discovered, a good way to avoid having to clean out the closets, the garage, and the cabinets under the kitchen sink.
Through it all, I have been one thing above all else, a writer.
I started my first novel when I was in the third grade, the story of people living at the center of the earth. I liked the concept, but I really didn’t have a good plot point, and when I discovered what it’s really like at the center of the earth, the project sort of went up in flames, so to speak.
My first complete novel, a thriller called “Maximum Impact,” was published by Forge, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, in 1993. My second, “Handyman,” came two years later. Both received great reviews from critics, and both will be available in Kindle editions in early 2015.
The new one, also a thriller, is called “The Someday File.” It is the first in what will be a series set in Chicago, a city I have loved since I was in college and which I have called home for years. I set it here because Chicago is such a great character in its own right. The stories I can build on these bones – quite literally in the case of “The Someday File” – have infinite possibilities.
_________________________________________________
Jean’s news career included serving as an investigative and projects reporter and editor for The Associated Press in New York City and Washington, D.C., The Cox Newspapers and New York Newsday in Washington, D.C. and the St. Petersburg Times in Washington, D.C. and Florida.
Jean has won multiple awards, including the Worth Bingham Prize, the Polk Award, and is an eight-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.
She was joking – sort of. Both of us were journalists, and we kept getting better jobs, which required moving. A lot. Moving frequently is, I have discovered, a good way to avoid having to clean out the closets, the garage, and the cabinets under the kitchen sink.
Through it all, I have been one thing above all else, a writer.
I started my first novel when I was in the third grade, the story of people living at the center of the earth. I liked the concept, but I really didn’t have a good plot point, and when I discovered what it’s really like at the center of the earth, the project sort of went up in flames, so to speak.
My first complete novel, a thriller called “Maximum Impact,” was published by Forge, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, in 1993. My second, “Handyman,” came two years later. Both received great reviews from critics, and both will be available in Kindle editions in early 2015.
The new one, also a thriller, is called “The Someday File.” It is the first in what will be a series set in Chicago, a city I have loved since I was in college and which I have called home for years. I set it here because Chicago is such a great character in its own right. The stories I can build on these bones – quite literally in the case of “The Someday File” – have infinite possibilities.
_________________________________________________
Jean’s news career included serving as an investigative and projects reporter and editor for The Associated Press in New York City and Washington, D.C., The Cox Newspapers and New York Newsday in Washington, D.C. and the St. Petersburg Times in Washington, D.C. and Florida.
Jean has won multiple awards, including the Worth Bingham Prize, the Polk Award, and is an eight-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 20, 2022
Although there are some engaging and entertaining passages, the pacing of this book is often more methodical - at times so much so that my interest waned. However, that is not the main issue for me, it's the number of questionable occurrences which border on outright mistakes.
In these days of all major cities being inundated with traffic and security cameras it is beyond unlikely that a perpetrator of this magnitude being tracked by the police, FBI and NSA would go unlocated for more than a week or two - most likely even less. Then, to add insult to injury, after an FBI sketch of his image is released, he begins working at a restaurant where he goes totally unnoticed by any of the customers. That is bad enough, but the fact that the protagonist regularly patronizes this restaurant and never notices him is even more ludicrous - especially since her whole life is consumed with finding him!
Finally, near the end, she actually runs into him in a public place, and even with the assistance of security guards, is unable to secure him. Simply a plot vehicle to extend the "drama"!
Ms. Heller, eliminate these unnecessary and questionable elements of your books and work more on your pacing and the next episodes in this series could improve substantially.
In these days of all major cities being inundated with traffic and security cameras it is beyond unlikely that a perpetrator of this magnitude being tracked by the police, FBI and NSA would go unlocated for more than a week or two - most likely even less. Then, to add insult to injury, after an FBI sketch of his image is released, he begins working at a restaurant where he goes totally unnoticed by any of the customers. That is bad enough, but the fact that the protagonist regularly patronizes this restaurant and never notices him is even more ludicrous - especially since her whole life is consumed with finding him!
Finally, near the end, she actually runs into him in a public place, and even with the assistance of security guards, is unable to secure him. Simply a plot vehicle to extend the "drama"!
Ms. Heller, eliminate these unnecessary and questionable elements of your books and work more on your pacing and the next episodes in this series could improve substantially.
May 17, 2022
You'll never see it Coming
Deuce Mora and Mark Hearst are involved in the hunt of a lifetime. Deuce, a journalist for the Chicago Journal and, Mark, an Investigator for the Chicago Fire Department, are dating and are first responders to a fire in an abandoned warehouse.
The job is obviously arson, two bodies are found in the wreckage as well as traces of gasoline. What puzzles the authorities are the cigarette butts left nearby.
As each new fire is found, the death toll skyrockets. FBI agent Ron Colter and NSA consultant Mason Cross make it abundantly clear they believe that the arsonist/s are Islamic Jihadist.
Deuce is caught in the crossfire between the information she gets from Mark and her own sources, and the integrity of her editor, Eric Ryland's concerns. Deuce and Mark agree to stay separate for the duration of the investigation.
The rest of this book is a wild ride, nerve tingling, gasping for air and compulsive page turning plot. You will never, never, see the end coming. I was flabbergasted. I can't recommend this book more highly. Don't miss it!
Deuce Mora and Mark Hearst are involved in the hunt of a lifetime. Deuce, a journalist for the Chicago Journal and, Mark, an Investigator for the Chicago Fire Department, are dating and are first responders to a fire in an abandoned warehouse.
The job is obviously arson, two bodies are found in the wreckage as well as traces of gasoline. What puzzles the authorities are the cigarette butts left nearby.
As each new fire is found, the death toll skyrockets. FBI agent Ron Colter and NSA consultant Mason Cross make it abundantly clear they believe that the arsonist/s are Islamic Jihadist.
Deuce is caught in the crossfire between the information she gets from Mark and her own sources, and the integrity of her editor, Eric Ryland's concerns. Deuce and Mark agree to stay separate for the duration of the investigation.
The rest of this book is a wild ride, nerve tingling, gasping for air and compulsive page turning plot. You will never, never, see the end coming. I was flabbergasted. I can't recommend this book more highly. Don't miss it!
February 26, 2022
Excellent plot, characters, enjoyable presentation
This series almost lost my interest in the first book due to an overwhelming load of meticulous detail. But the plot retained my interest and in the end my curiosity pulled me into the 2nd book. Again, fierce amounts of detail and the topic was as relevant to the world we find ourselves in today as that of the introductory book. This, the 3rd, seemed to ease up on detail, and it has the best story line so far. So... I'm off to book 4.
This series almost lost my interest in the first book due to an overwhelming load of meticulous detail. But the plot retained my interest and in the end my curiosity pulled me into the 2nd book. Again, fierce amounts of detail and the topic was as relevant to the world we find ourselves in today as that of the introductory book. This, the 3rd, seemed to ease up on detail, and it has the best story line so far. So... I'm off to book 4.
January 17, 2025
How can the rage of an adult affect a child?? sometimes very badly as in this book the first I've read by Jean Heller book 3 in her Deuce Mora series Deuce is a reporter in Chicago and covers a string of arsons with a terrible body count as the fires continue Deuce and her boyfriend Fire Marshal Mark have to race to find the answers along with the F.B.I. and Homeland Security and as she gets closer to the arsonist his deadly rage turns more from burning Chicago to permanently silencing Deuce I'm looking forward to reading more of this series and I invite you to come along for the ride
February 18, 2023
Disappointing ending
I have really enjoyed the three books I've read on n this series. Deuce reminds me of the early V. I. Warshawski character, both in her style and her quest to make the world better. I thought the research behind the plot and the way Jean Heller spun it was enticing but the ending was very predictable so a bit of a letdown. Won't stop me from finishing the series, though.
I have really enjoyed the three books I've read on n this series. Deuce reminds me of the early V. I. Warshawski character, both in her style and her quest to make the world better. I thought the research behind the plot and the way Jean Heller spun it was enticing but the ending was very predictable so a bit of a letdown. Won't stop me from finishing the series, though.
October 22, 2020
Duce Mora is back in the thick of things when a serial arsonist is loose in Chicago, burning old and historic buildings. As he escalates the death and injury tole rises and soon Duce is finding herself butting heads with her old nemesis in the FBI and Anti-terrorist squad and finding herself in danger as well.
August 7, 2024
This is an excellent series. Deuce is a columnist who manages to get caught up in a world of trouble while she uncovers the truths that are out there. Her editor is her foil as are the NSA and FBI agents she runs into at every turn. Mark her hunky fire inspector and his sick Murphy the dog bring great depth to the stories.
October 27, 2018
Terrific book!
Wow, this was a winner! I could barely put it down. Well written,lots of background and descriptions. The action was non-stop. I loved it. I'm going to go back and read the first books in this series.
Wow, this was a winner! I could barely put it down. Well written,lots of background and descriptions. The action was non-stop. I loved it. I'm going to go back and read the first books in this series.
August 26, 2020
Another excellent mystery by Jean Heller. With each book, her plots are more complex, her characters more fleshed out, and Chicago more a character in its own right. My only quibble with the Deuce Mora books is the sloppy proofreading and copy editing.
November 29, 2021
My third experience with Deuce Mora and this author. I enjoyed each book more than the
last and I'm looking forward to the next one.
The characters are now a familiar group and Heller's style weaves them together skillfully.
This is a series I will be happy to stick with.
last and I'm looking forward to the next one.
The characters are now a familiar group and Heller's style weaves them together skillfully.
This is a series I will be happy to stick with.
May 12, 2020
Extremely exciting mystery/thriller! And the back story explains a lot. Editing was very good.
October 22, 2024
Great
The author has created a story about an event in the past that continues to the present. Characterization and plot are excellent.
.
The author has created a story about an event in the past that continues to the present. Characterization and plot are excellent.
.
January 12, 2025
I will read anything by Jean Heller. What a fabulous author.
Read
February 10, 2025Read 2/25
February 22, 2025
Fear and fire drive the journalist, Deuce Mora to identify the arsonist. The motivation for the fires in a twisted mind.
October 30, 2020
It has been a while since I visited the Windy City, but I got caught up in the action and felt like I had never left. The plot had me on the seat of my chair, and I thoroughly enjoyed the description and actions of the characters.
March 14, 2024
I like the way Heller writes, although she does too much with her restaurants. :-) A good book about the total devastation & destruction brought to property and human lives by fire and arson in particular. It also points out how constant negativity can influence someone else in ways that are beyond comprehension and common sense.
December 13, 2018
The book is interesting even though we are left until almost the end about the arsonist's motivation. When I found out, I thought it was pretty original. Then the end contains something totally preposterous that it really is ridiculous.
But I liked it.
This is the third book I've read by this author, and her main character, Deuce, is threatening a change in what she does.
We'll see. Read it.
But I liked it.
This is the third book I've read by this author, and her main character, Deuce, is threatening a change in what she does.
We'll see. Read it.
August 28, 2019
Excellent read. Duece Mora is a reporter and has questions about the bodies found in an abandoned warehouse. FBI and other fed alphabet thinks terrorist related after several more buildings are burned. Duese thinks its more and nearly gets killed. Her editor keeps taking her off the story.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews