City of Fire

by Thomas Fitzsimmons

The rough streets of the south Bronx. Home to countless gangs, pimps, and hustlers. A land where a gunshot is as common as a baby crying. A place where a day without a murder is an oddity. But this place is home to many, and it's where ten-year police veteran Michael Beckett has spent most of his time. Beckett has policing in his blood. He's from a long line of New York City cops, and knows no other life. That is, until he by chance lands a walk-on role on a popular network cop show. After that his vision changes. He thinks he can give up his days of chasing down the rapists, drug dealers, and murderers on the streets for a new life in front of the camera and with the young and hot writer on the show, Solana Ortiz. But when Solana's neighborhood in the south Bronx starts being the target of a string of arsons, Beckett must put aside the caviar dreams and do what he does best--police work. With the help of his mercurial partner, Vinnie D'Amato, Beckett unlocks a heinous scheme that reaches into the deepest pockets of power and greed in New York City, and into the path of an old friend that Beckett will do almost anything to forget.

Genres: Mystery

308 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 3, 2009

About the author

Thomas Fitzsimmons doesn’t write crime fiction from imagination—he writes it from memory. A real-life private investigator, celebrity bodyguard, and former NYPD officer, Fitzsimmons has lived the kind of gritty, high-stakes New York stories most authors research from behind a desk. His background reads like a pulp novel with a twist of Hollywood: Navy veteran, Ford model, soap-opera actor, NBC television personality, and trusted confidant to the rich and infamous. Raised in a tight-knit Irish Bronx neighborhood and born into a family of career cops, Fitzsimmons enlisted in the Navy after high school, serving aboard a guided missile cruiser during the Vietnam War. The experience sparked a lifelong commitment to public service, leading him to the NYPD, where he spent a decade patrolling the notorious precinct immortalized in Fort Apache, The Bronx. His arrest record included armed robbers, drug lords, and arsonists—his off-duty hours, meanwhile, were spent in front of cameras.
Discovered by Ford Modeling Agency legend Joey Hunter, Fitzsimmons transitioned from street patrol to studio lights, landing modeling gigs and eventually co-hosting NBC’s magazine-format show Now. When the entertainment world came calling, he traded his badge for a SAG card and never looked back. He went on to star in over 150 commercials, appear in soap operas like One Life to Live and Texas, and become a fixture in the fashion and television industries.
But Fitzsimmons never strayed far from his roots. Drawing on his NYPD experience and global law enforcement connections, he became a top-tier security consultant to A-list celebrities, earning recognition as a trusted expert on shows like Good Morning America. His writing—three noir crime novels, a slew of short stories, and a blisteringly candid memoir—channels the raw tension, dark humor, and moral ambiguity of a life lived on both sides of the velvet rope.
His latest work, Thomas Fitzsimmons – The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, is already stirring controversy and buzz. If you’re looking for fiction with bite, memoir with muscle, and storytelling that walks the beat between grit and glamour—Fitzsimmons delivers.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A policeman lands a job as a consultant on a cop show, and even gets a walk on part. He's even trying to start a little something with one of the show's writers, maybe even retire.

Unfortunately, there's a string of arson around, and idiots burning buildings. The writer sees something, and the cop gets involved.

A bit overwrought, but a good first effort.

[Richard Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it takes a cop to truly appreciate police stories/thrillers like those written by Ed McBain & Joe Wambaugh. I'm a retired cop and just finished City of Fire by Thomas Fitzsimmons; a terrific page turner written by a NYC cop with a fresh voice. I hope he has more books in him.

[Larry H]

Good, not great. I picked this book up at an airport because I needed something to read when my flight was delayed. It was a fairly quick read, but I felt like I knew where the whole book was going from the beginning, save one thread of the story. Honestly, I know that corruption exists in police forces, but do I have to read another book about corrupt cops led around by power-hungry figures taking advantage of the cops' weaknesses?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good book

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining. I love to read books that were written by cops. Just adds extra flavor.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I've read anything by this author, but I thought it was a page turner. It had very little romance in it, but it still worked.

[jp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining, but not a literary achievement by any means.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book is CITY OF FIRE. The ISBN brings it up in Goodreads as "Confessions of a Catholic Cop".

[Penni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read, a bit predictable.

[John Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

good mystery

[Anthony Messina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short, a little disjointed, but valiant effort at a cop thriller. Not sure I liked it enough to pursue anything else by the author though.