The Fire Fighter by Francis Cottam


The Fire Fighter
Title : The Fire Fighter
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0099286408
ISBN-10 : 9780099286400
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 234
Publication : First published January 1, 2001

Set in WWII London, in the last months of 1940 when the Blitz and destruction and firebombing were at their worst and morale was at its lowest. A young man, Jack Finlay, is called back from the African front to mastermind the firefighting in a small but crucial area of the City of London, looking after 5 rather mysterious buildings in particular. In the pre-war period he was a legendary firefighter, though his past is rather murky - poor Liverpool Irish Catholic, sent to Borstal for fighting, and generally suspect because of his unnatural interest in fires, thought to be an arsonist. His father was a WWI hero - and one of the beautifully handled themes of the novel is the effect of that war on those who survived to fight another so soon after, and on their sons. Our hero finds himself a pawn in an Intelligence game, and in British Intelligence's attempts to feed false intelligence to the Germans at a crucial point in the war. He falls in love with a young woman who's the curator of one of the buildings which was built by her German (disgraced) architect father - she to is being manipulated (or is she?) and the crisis comes when she is caught in the burning building. With its brilli

The Fire Fighter Reviews

  • Peter

    Set during the Nazi Blitz on London in late 1940, this 2001 novel is very realistic with vivid descriptions of the destruction and terror as well as a fine evocation of the fear of not knowing if an invasion and defeat was imminent. A fire fighter is dispatched from the Western Desert to London to advise a mysterious military committee on the precautions necessary to save five buildings apparently vital for the war effort. Intrigue as to the reason why adds to a compelling narrative even if the love story doesn’t ever convince. 3.5 stars

  • Caroline

    I have been meaning to read this for quite some time as I have read all of the authors supernatural novels, which he writes as F.G Cottam.
    The Firefighter is not a supernatural tale, although a ghost does feature briefly. This is a story of one man's struggle as a firefighter during the blitz.
    Well written, it is a poignant tale of resilience and courage.

  • Amelia

    Revolving around ex-firefighter Jack Finlay being pulled from army lines during the Blitz and brought back to London for his fire fighting expertise. He's quickly assigned to look after 5 specific buildings although it soon becomes clear that there's more to his mission then meets the eye.

    The story is told in a style I'm not familiar nor entirely comfortable with but as it goes on the reader gets pulled into the story as it jumps around the place and they find themselves just as eager to finally understand what is happening as Finlay does. In the end that aim is achieved even if it is slightly lackluster.

    All up a short interesting read.

  • JLN

    I found this an unusual story in the fact that I've never read a book laid out quite like this before. Jack Findley is fighting in WW2 and is called back to London to be a firefighter. The men he speaks with are not overly forthcoming with any information and one wonders what exactly is going on. So many characters with an air of mystery - are they really who they seem to be? And, of course, a love interest. His past hanging over his head through the whole story. A very dark and complex plot but I really didn't want to put the book down as I was trying to figure out what would happen next and why things were happening the way they were.

  • Sandra Stolz

    It was alright. I felt it lacked something - not enough to really "sink one's teeth into". I would not read it again.

  • Kate Millin

    I do love book crossing as without it I would never have picked up this book to read. It is a thought provoking story about a chief fire officer in London during the heaviest bombing early I the 2nd world war. It gets across the impact of this combined with the legacy of the 14-18 war on him and the people around him.