Review: Nine One One by Scarlet Blackwell

Author: Scarlet Blackwell

Pages/Word Count: 76 Pages

At a Glance: Oh god, talk about bringing out the tissues

Blurb: Damon can’t forget 9/11 and all the precious things he lost…

It’s ten years after the horror of 9/11. Former NYPD cop Damon Summerfield was there. He lost his firefighter partner, Justin, in the collapse of the Twin Towers and fled to Canada to attempt to rebuild his shattered life. Now he is back in New York for Christmas with his family for the first time since his loss.

Still deep in mourning with no end in sight, he visits Justin’s favorite bar near Ground Zero and there meets Simon, a firefighter with the FDNY and a fellow survivor of 9/11. Simon is smitten by him from the start, but despite feeling the same way, Damon can’t bear to give them a chance, not when he thinks Simon’s job will tear them apart someday too…

Review: I’m sort of a die-hard fan of Scarlet Blackwell’s work. But unfortunately, she can occasionally miss with me too. In this case, however, Nine One One is what I enjoy most about her writing—when she can make a deep impact with her words.

Mixing fact with fiction, I was able to finally read about this tragic event in our history without slamming the book shut, and like me, ten years later her characters in Nine One One also are still feeling the horror and pain of that day. Nine One One is about how they’ve managed to cope with their losses.

Damon, who breaks my heart, is still grieving for his lost partner, Justin, and can’t quite let him go. He’s never even looked at another man, until Christmas Eve after visiting the memorial. He decides to visit Justin’s favorite bar and comes across Simon, who has stirred an interest that he hasn’t felt since Justin’s death. Eventually, Simon comes over and introduces himself, and the two get to talking. It’s when Damon mentions that he’s a cop that Simon tells him he’s FDNY. It’s at this point that Damon asks, “Were you there?”

Oh god, talk about bringing out the tissues as the two talk.

Okay…moving on. Damon hearing enough, decides he needs to get away and make a run for it. He can’t deal with another firefighter, especially one who was there. And, since I believe in karma, fate, and coincidence, I’m not surprise that these two keep bumping into each other. I don’t want to go into further explanation about how these two eventually get together. But let’s just say that the last sentence in Nine One One gave me hope that something good could came out of this real life tragedy.

Call me too sensitive, but this is the first book I’ve been able to read on the subject of 9/11. Did I burst into tears a few times because of the facts? Oh yes, I did! But, because it’s also fiction, I really wanted to find out if Damon was able to overcome his grief, so I was able to finish it.

Lots of tissues later.

Oh, Scarlet Blackwell, you do know how to bring out my emotions! All I can say is Nine One One is a tough book to recommend, and I’m going to leave it at that.