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Burn Patterns
To her clients and colleagues, Iris is a therapist in a city psychology practice. But to the police and fire services, she is the Fire Lady – a profiler of arsonists.After a troubled young man burns down her office, Iris just wants a quiet life. But her peace is shattered when a bomb goes off at a local school. Called in to help, Iris meets James, delusional and dangerous, and Chuck, a lone investigator tracking a serial arsonist he calls Zorro.As public attacks become more orchestrated and brazen, Iris is soon embroiled in the investigation – as a profiler and as a suspect, and in serious doubt about her own sanity.
- GenresCrime
320 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 17, 2016
In BURN PATTERNS, author Ron Elliott has Australia's answer to popular international female crime fiction protagonists such as Kay Scarpetta, Tempe Brennan, and Sara Linton to name a few in Iris Foster aka The Fire Lady - a therapist in a city psychology practice who aides the police and fire service profiling arsonists.
BURN PATTERNS pits Iris against a serial arsonist determined to ruin lives of the vulnerable by targeting schools, zoos and churches all filled to capacity. It's a classic race against time crime thriller that blinds the reader in a smokey haze of misdirection as things aren't what they seem. I found myself questioning Iris' mental health and motives on a couple of occasions based on her risky take charge manner and equally haphazard judgement calls - all for the betterment of the story.
"There were always people who visited their damage on others. If the damage involved fire, Iris would keep trying to put them out."
Iris is the kind of flawed character I like to read about and is perfect for this kind of semi procedural crime. I hope to see her in many installments to come.
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
BURN PATTERNS pits Iris against a serial arsonist determined to ruin lives of the vulnerable by targeting schools, zoos and churches all filled to capacity. It's a classic race against time crime thriller that blinds the reader in a smokey haze of misdirection as things aren't what they seem. I found myself questioning Iris' mental health and motives on a couple of occasions based on her risky take charge manner and equally haphazard judgement calls - all for the betterment of the story.
"There were always people who visited their damage on others. If the damage involved fire, Iris would keep trying to put them out."
Iris is the kind of flawed character I like to read about and is perfect for this kind of semi procedural crime. I hope to see her in many installments to come.
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
August 8, 2017
Partly a story around Iris Foster, partly a story around arson, BURN PATTERNS puts a complicated woman at the heart of a story about complicated offenders. Known as "The Fire Lady" Foster is a psychologist with a messy past that she's tried to put behind her. Until mid consultation with patients nothing to do with fires, she's hauled out by the police and taken straight to the site of a bomb planted at a local school. It doesn't matter how hard Iris tries to step away from her role as "Fire Lady" she's dragged back in - particularly as the initial bomb explosion leads to a range of other dangerous situations behind which there seems to be a serial bomber / arsonist.
Goodness knows why, but authors seem inclined to shy away from creating complicated, flawed characters in local crime fiction, as here Iris Foster proves what fertile, and discomforting territory they can be. BURN PATTERNS is as much about her as it is about the serial arsonist she pursues, and her characterisation is undoubtedly the great strength of the novel. A disconcerting one no doubt as Foster battles with her working past and present, her relationship with the emergency services and her status as the Fire Lady, and doubts and insecurities about her marriage and relationship with her daughter. Given her profession, she's oddly passive about all her problems and doubts, choosing to internalise much, which makes her a particularly interesting character to read about. She's not immediately likeable and in fact can be quite off-putting.
Around Foster's personal problems there swirls a complicated plot of arson, bomb attacks, a delusional patient and a lone fire investigator. Plot, unfortunately is sometimes sacrificed to the struggles of character however, and it often requires some Herculean efforts of concentration to keep track of who does what when and to who. Which to be fair, goes well with the overwhelming feeling of just about everybody hanging on by their fingertips within the narrative itself. That sense of barely managing to keep it together goes with the ending which is somewhat rushed, although you could also describe it as unexpectedly restrained. It feels like a lot remains unanswered just as a lot of what's really going on with Foster remains unanswered for most of the novel.
BURN PATTERNS was a most unusual reading experience. Bet you any money, it leaves as many readers unsatisfied, as it does those keen for more.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
Goodness knows why, but authors seem inclined to shy away from creating complicated, flawed characters in local crime fiction, as here Iris Foster proves what fertile, and discomforting territory they can be. BURN PATTERNS is as much about her as it is about the serial arsonist she pursues, and her characterisation is undoubtedly the great strength of the novel. A disconcerting one no doubt as Foster battles with her working past and present, her relationship with the emergency services and her status as the Fire Lady, and doubts and insecurities about her marriage and relationship with her daughter. Given her profession, she's oddly passive about all her problems and doubts, choosing to internalise much, which makes her a particularly interesting character to read about. She's not immediately likeable and in fact can be quite off-putting.
Around Foster's personal problems there swirls a complicated plot of arson, bomb attacks, a delusional patient and a lone fire investigator. Plot, unfortunately is sometimes sacrificed to the struggles of character however, and it often requires some Herculean efforts of concentration to keep track of who does what when and to who. Which to be fair, goes well with the overwhelming feeling of just about everybody hanging on by their fingertips within the narrative itself. That sense of barely managing to keep it together goes with the ending which is somewhat rushed, although you could also describe it as unexpectedly restrained. It feels like a lot remains unanswered just as a lot of what's really going on with Foster remains unanswered for most of the novel.
BURN PATTERNS was a most unusual reading experience. Bet you any money, it leaves as many readers unsatisfied, as it does those keen for more.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
March 8, 2017
This book has an interesting premise. A complicated middle aged woman, with a lot of personal issues to contend with, profiles arsonists in order to assist the fire service and police. The story has a lot of dramatic events and characters that drive it along at a good pace, but at times I found my concentration straying as I tried to connect some of the action with the characterisations. This book is typical of those where a great story is affected by over-complication and occasional obscurity in the context. It makes little use of location to tell the story, even though on the cover the publisher states "40 years of publishing uniquely West Australian stories". The climax in which the perpetrator of the main arson event was unexpected, but flat and there was far too much left unexplained.
I don't wish to give the impression it was a disappointing book - it wasn't - but parts of it were just too complicated and obscure to render it any more than three stars.
I don't wish to give the impression it was a disappointing book - it wasn't - but parts of it were just too complicated and obscure to render it any more than three stars.
October 3, 2022
Lots of good things about it with an interesting, clever, respected female main character.
Profiling, psychology, psychiatry all roles into one with suspense until the end.
A bit far fetched, though extra points for the Australian references.
Profiling, psychology, psychiatry all roles into one with suspense until the end.
A bit far fetched, though extra points for the Australian references.
May 23, 2017
A great, engaging read that keeps you guessing!
March 8, 2019
This was a novel and suspenseful story with a main character as flawed as some of the people she treats.
June 10, 2024
A bit of a slow burn at the start but the depth the author goes to, to create well written and lifelike characters is worth the read. Things heat up towards the end.
February 2, 2017
Burn Patterns is written in a cinematic style and the plot fairly hums along, but what ultimately elevates this is the protagonist, Iris. Her career is in tatters, her husband is cheating on her, she's a suspect in a case involving a number of arson attacks, and yet she manages to come through in the end. This novel managed to do something to me that few novels did these days, which is surprise me. Some of the twists along the way were quite fascinating and well thought-out. Impressive work.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews