by Jerry Hollifield ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 2014
A thriller that’s rigorous and efficient, much like its professional protagonist.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
In Hollifield’s debut action-thriller, an assassin’s involvement with the widow of his latest target takes an unexpected turn when other hired killers target him.
Thavian Harrison is a simple man who keeps to himself, enjoys the opera, and kills people for a living. He compromises his steadfast professionalism when he becomes consumed with finding the link between his most recent hit, Alan Clarke, and his client, Emmanuel Brightman. He approaches Clarke’s widow, Becky, while pretending to be an insurance consultant, and quickly has his answer: Emmanuel is Becky’s father. That should have been the end of it, but then would-be muggers attack Thavian and Becky in a restaurant parking lot. When Thavian’s houseboat, the Halfgalleon, is later rocked by a full-on assault of armed thugs, there’s no doubt that someone’s put a hit on the hit man. The story diligently establishes Thavian from the start as a meticulous killer who avoids attention as much as possible. Like any hero in an unscrupulous line of work, he has his own brand of ethics: He refuses to perform hits based on pure vengeance. Hollifield portrays many other characters as clear-cut villains, such as Clarke, whom readers eventually learn was an abusive husband. The novel is short, but gives ample space to Thavian and Becky’s relationship, although their leisure time on the Halfgalleon goes on a bit too long, bringing the story to a grinding halt. There are a few sturdy action sequences, but none tops a scene on the houseboat involving a cache of artillery. Overall, the story reveals little about Thavian; it doesn’t fully address his apparent emotional connection to Becky, for example. However, the character has a bluntness that’s not without its charm, which leads to the book’s best line, in which he explains why revenge is never a factor in his trade: “It’s expensive, dangerous, pointless, and it upsets my stomach.”
A thriller that’s rigorous and efficient, much like its professional protagonist.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499670080
Page Count: 124
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
Share your opinion of this book
More by J.D. Salinger
BOOK REVIEW
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Share your opinion of this book
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.