PRAISE FOR THE LOST WITNESS

    "Scorching. Deliciously twisted. Nothing is what it appears to be. Ellis succeeds masterfully in both playing fair and pulling surprise after surprise in a story that feels like a runaway car plunging down a mountain road full of switchbacks."

                - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

   "Fans of Michael Connelly and T. Jefferson Parker will relish Ellis' second crackling thriller featuring Hollywood robbery-homicide detective Lena Gamble. Ellis (City of Fire, 2007) serves up a killer crime tale with riveting characters and relentless twists."

                - Booklist, Starred Review

"Certain powerful and corrupt individuals, some of them with the LAPD, arrange an efficient murder. Then, curiously, the department assigns the case to a detective whom they think will mess up the investigation. Two problems emerge: Robbery-Homicide Detective Lena Gamble (City of Fire) has no intention of failing, and there is an unknown witness helping her. Doggedly, Lena cuts through all the corruption, defies her superiors’ orders, and, of course, puts herself in danger repeatedly. Ellis’s elaborate puzzle is a nail-biter to the final page. Great LA settings enhance this high-speed thriller. Recommended for all popular collections."

                - Library Journal

"Ellis writes well and has a good sense of pace and timing. Once you start "The Lost Witness," you'll stay with it through those zigs and zags. And even when you finish the book, it'll spring up like a side effect each time you see those pharmaceutical commercials on the network evening news."

                - St. Louis Dispatch

"Ellis piles on the Hollywood atmosphere and procedural detail, and the end revelation is expertly timed and genuinely shocking."

                - The Guardian (UK)

"The Lost Witness is a tough thriller that makes Ellis a name to watch."

                - The Evening Telegraph (UK)

"The Lost Witness is another gripping story by a writer who knows the seamy L.A. underworld well."

                - Toronto Sun

"City of Fire, the first in the Lena Gamble series, was good, but this second installment, The Lost Witness, is better. Nothing is as it seems in this unputdownable thriller which stars a woman of uncommon courage."

                - The Kingston Observer

"Our staff is very much in agreement that THE LOST WITNESS may very well be one of the best thrillers that you will read in 2009."

                - Joe Drabyak
                   Chester County Books & Music Company, West Chester, PA

"One of the first things noticed when reading Ellis´s latest (The Lost Witness), much like his first, is the realistic and fantastic job he does with his approach to this high octane tale from a female´s perspective. With not too much, and not too little, his creation of a female heroine comes off with just the right amount of bravado and sensitivity to convince even the most discerning of readers. And to top that off, while the story starts off with an even and steady tone, its steady but ever-increasing pace heads towards the explosive ending like a firecracker; one that explodes with more force and surprises than ever expected. And it´s in reaching this unexpected ending and finding out finally who done what and why that makes this read top-notch; there´s much more here than meets the eye. Filled with greed, big money, family loyalty, and things best left to the reader to discover on their own, this is one that comes highly recommended."

                - New Mystery Reader

PRAISE FOR CITY OF FIRE

"Los Angeles, under a cloud of acrid smoke ... Robert Ellis´s City of Fire is a gripping, spooky crime novel."

                - Janet Maslin
                   The New York Times
                   NEW YORK TIMES "HOT LIST" PICK

"City of Fire is my kind of crime novel. Gritty, tight and assured. Riding with Detective Lena Gamble through the hills of Los Angeles is something I could get used to. She´s tough, smart and, most of all, she´s real."
                - Michael Connelly

"I just discovered this guy. The book is terrific."

                - Janet Evanovich
                   People Magazine

"City of Fire by Robert Ellis is a no-holds-barred, barnburner of a thriller that blends Los Angeles-style crime fiction a la Michael Connelly with pulse-pounding Dean Koontzian psychological suspense. With a Southern California increasingly threatened by Santa Ana-fueled wildfires as backdrop, the emotionally supercharged story line centers on a killer who terrorizes west Los Angeles ... like Connelly´s gritty Bosch saga, City of Fire features a tough but deeply flawed protagonist, a tantalizingly complex plot, fully realized -- and realistic -- characters and, most of all, a palpable intensity. And if that weren't enough, the bombshell plot twist at the novel's conclusion makes this an absolute must read for thriller aficionados."

                - Paul Goat Allen
                   Chicago Tribune

"Ellis nicely depicts how the unsolved murder of Lena´s musician brother casts a specter over her life and work. But City of Fire is ... about its propulsive plot: the ins and outs of police investigation and how the growing horror of a mad multiple murderer loose on the fiery streets of Los Angeles leads to unexpected decisions, layers of betrayal and a scorcher of an ending."

                - Sarah Weinman
                   Baltimore Sun

"Robert Ellis' brisk, complex City of Fire is hot stuff. Ellis excels at vivid writing and the expert plotting keeps the reader off-kilter. Ellis takes the police procedural and makes it a tale of personal corruption and desire, where right and wrong overlap. Here, the answers aren't easy as Lena wonders about 'blowback ... what the truth could do to a soul.' L.A., which is written about so often, seems fresh in the hands of an original storyteller such as Ellis."

                - Oline H. Cogdill
                   South Florida Sun-Sentinel
                   BEST MYSTERIES OF 2007

"With City of Fire Robert Ellis joins the elite company of California crime writers like Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, Don Winslow and T. Jefferson Parker. City of Fire captures the L.A. landscape with a crackling good story, great character development and solid writing. Robert Ellis is a writer to watch. City of Fire is sure to please."

                - Barry Martin
                   Book´em Mysteries, Pasadena, CA

"This books pumps your blood, keeps you racing through the night, with a cast of characters at full throttle. Ellis´s prose has the visceral punch of the best Ellroy. And his heroine, Lena Gamble, is the most complex, tightly wound detective in years. She´s strong, smart, uncompromised, and I´d follow her anywhere."

                - Mark Moskowitz
                   Director of the award-winning film Stone Reader

"Ellis vividly evokes Hollywood as a place of burning desires, where the boundaries between good and evil are blurred beyond distinction. Ellis´s prose is crisp, and his plot moves at a good clip. His characters are credible and complex."

                - Booklist

"This potboiler dishes it out. This book is fast. Ellis makes it easy to be terrified. Recommended for popular collections."

                - Library Journal

"Through the literal and metaphorical fog of a forest fire that rages through much of Ellis´s tense third thriller (after Access to Power and The Dead Room) ... the story is tight, the characters alive ... and the end refreshingly uncharacteristic of female protagonists."

                - Publishers Weekly

"An LAPD detective goes out on an emotional limb chasing a violent serial killer. Lena Gamble and her new partner, Hank Novak, are called to an early morning crime scene in a small house near the Pacific Coast Highway ... A complex portrait of the flawed but righteous Lena by Ellis (The Dead Room, 2002, etc.) makes this sure-footed police procedural something special."

                - Kirkus Reviews

"City of Fire begins like a roller coaster, building tension, anxiety and fear. Then it plunges at full speed, spiraling and twisting through scenes that will have hearts pounding and fingers flying through the pages. But there is no smooth braking to a stop in this book. It careens to the end and then flies off the rail with a shocking twist that will leave readers stunned. Robert Ellis is a master of suspense."

                - Mystery Scene Magazine

Praise for Robert Ellis

"Ellis spins a potent political thriller that deftly conveys the superficiality and shrewdness on Capitol Hill. Ellis writes in crisp, punchy prose, mirrored by the novel´s short, sound bite-like chapters, which are skillfully woven to form an absorbing narrative. A side story involving a romance is a pleasing touch, and Ellis´s painstaking attention to character development, pacing and detail will ensure that this hard-hitting debut will leave conspiracy buffs hungering for more."

                - Publishers Weekly on Access to Power

"A page-turning potboiler. We like this book. The tone is a fusion of James Ellroy and James Carville."

                - Philadelphia Daily News on Access to Power

"A political thriller that packs a powerful punch. Ellis weaves an intriguing tale."

                - National Journal Hotline on Access to Power

"Robert Ellis can hold his own with any of the heavy hitters who write suspense."

                - Robert K. Tanenbaum
                   Author of Counterplay, on Access to Power

Web Reviews

"The Dead Room is a fast paced, brisk novel with an engrossing plot and well-developed, well-placed characters."

                - themysteryreader.com

"Teddy Mack is heroic and likable. Down to earth and pragmatic, Mack comes across as a person who is all-human. The Dead Room is a superb suspense mystery."

                - rebeccasreads.com

"I just finished an ending that blew me away. What Ellis does so wonderfully well is engross the reader in the narrative and make it impossible to put the book down. The Dead Room will leave you shaking your head in amazement."

                - iloveamysterynewsletter.com

"Not only is Robert Ellis´s writing excellent, but his characters are well thought out and his plot is first-rate. The Dead Room is truly a one of a kind find."

                - horrordvdreviews.com

Reader Reviews

"Every once in a while you come across a new talent that makes you glad you still read books. The Dead Room was a thrill to read, and as soon as I finished, I shared it with my friends. The book ends with a gripping twist of events that will surprise even the most jaded readers."

                - Customer Review, Amazon.com

"In this excellent thriller from Robert Ellis, The Dead Room, you will be reminded of the best of Thomas Harris and even Michael Crichton. I am amazed at the breadth of Ellis´s writing skills."

                - Customer Review, BarnesandNoble.com

"This kind of storytelling is like word candy. The track the story races down in fast and furious. And Access to Power is loaded with plenty of juice for the ride."

                - Customer Review, Amazon.com

"Robert Ellis´s novel is a wide open window into the inner workings of the political machine wrapped around a taut tale of murder, double crosses, and sex. Ellis doesn't miss a beat."

                - Customer Review, BarnesandNoble.com