Scan barcode
geekwayne's review
4.0
A man and his wife are targeted by a killer and left for dead. He survives and decides to extend the illusion that he's dead, and to use his skills to track down the people who did it. Along the way, he makes uneasy friendships that may or may not help him out.
Arthur Cathcart is aided by his sister. He keeps up a series of disguises and meets with FBI agents and reporters and gangsters. There are some great characters in the book. My favorite was a Bosnian gangster named Little Boy. It's all a little over the top, but not completely unbelievable. There were times when I wasn't sure which way the story was going to go.
Chris Knopf writes a tight thriller that kept me turning pages and wondering what was going to happen next. I've always like a good heist or con man story, and while this isn't either, it had the same feeling of a protagonist that manages to stay one step ahead of the game. It was a lot of fun to read.
Arthur Cathcart is aided by his sister. He keeps up a series of disguises and meets with FBI agents and reporters and gangsters. There are some great characters in the book. My favorite was a Bosnian gangster named Little Boy. It's all a little over the top, but not completely unbelievable. There were times when I wasn't sure which way the story was going to go.
Chris Knopf writes a tight thriller that kept me turning pages and wondering what was going to happen next. I've always like a good heist or con man story, and while this isn't either, it had the same feeling of a protagonist that manages to stay one step ahead of the game. It was a lot of fun to read.
jen_is_booked's review
3.0
From Goodreads:
Imagine this: You have a nice life. You love your beautiful, successful wife. You're an easygoing guy working out of your comfortable Connecticut home. The world is an interesting, pleasant place.
Then in seconds it's all gone. You're still alive, but the world thinks you're dead. And now you have to decide. Make it official, or go after the evil that took it all away from you.
Arthur Cathcart, market researcher and occasional finder of missing persons, decides to live on a fight, by doing what he knows best - figuring things out, without revealing his status as a living breathing human being. Much easier said than done in a post- 9/11 world, where everything about yourself and all the tools you need to live a modern life are an open book. How do you become a different person, how do you finance an elaborate scheme without revealing yourself? How do you force a reckoning with the worst people on earth, as a dead man?
My Thoughts:
I liked this book quite well, it was quick to get rolling and dive into the action. I enjoyed the characters well enough, the ones you got to know anyway. I also like that you start to like people you probably shouldn't, that is always fun for me. I will probably continue with the series at some point, but don't feel the need to rush right in.
Imagine this: You have a nice life. You love your beautiful, successful wife. You're an easygoing guy working out of your comfortable Connecticut home. The world is an interesting, pleasant place.
Then in seconds it's all gone. You're still alive, but the world thinks you're dead. And now you have to decide. Make it official, or go after the evil that took it all away from you.
Arthur Cathcart, market researcher and occasional finder of missing persons, decides to live on a fight, by doing what he knows best - figuring things out, without revealing his status as a living breathing human being. Much easier said than done in a post- 9/11 world, where everything about yourself and all the tools you need to live a modern life are an open book. How do you become a different person, how do you finance an elaborate scheme without revealing yourself? How do you force a reckoning with the worst people on earth, as a dead man?
My Thoughts:
I liked this book quite well, it was quick to get rolling and dive into the action. I enjoyed the characters well enough, the ones you got to know anyway. I also like that you start to like people you probably shouldn't, that is always fun for me. I will probably continue with the series at some point, but don't feel the need to rush right in.
beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
Arthur Cathcart comes home to find a strange man sitting in the living room. He has a gun on his wife. He hands Arthur’s wife a slip of paper and asks her to write something on it. After she hands the paper back, the man shots both Arthur and his wife in the heads. Arthur wakes up in the hospital. He formulates a plan to fake his own death and go after the man responsible for shooting him.
I thought this book was intriguing. It was on the gritty side, which I did like. Of course, all of the actions that Arthur took to get revenge were not uncalled for. This was a fast paced book and I liked Arthur and his ingenuity however, my problem was that I found most of the other characters boring. So even though I flew through this book, on the other hand it made it seem like the book was slow. After a while, I did skim through some of it to get to the last third of the book to see how the ending went. The ending was alright.
I thought this book was intriguing. It was on the gritty side, which I did like. Of course, all of the actions that Arthur took to get revenge were not uncalled for. This was a fast paced book and I liked Arthur and his ingenuity however, my problem was that I found most of the other characters boring. So even though I flew through this book, on the other hand it made it seem like the book was slow. After a while, I did skim through some of it to get to the last third of the book to see how the ending went. The ending was alright.
amandogra's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the way a normal person with some market analysis skills found the murderer of his wife keeping his identity a secret and making some friends/foes along the way.
lizella's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a fun book in the action/thriller genre. It takes a suspension of disbelief, but once you get past that it is fun to see where the characters and action will go. The transformation of a schlubby digital sleuth into fearless vigilante was an interesting take. The story explores how far one man is willing to go to get answers when he has nothing left to lose.
bookwormsub's review against another edition
4.0
It's not riveting reading but very interesting. I really enjoyed it.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
“An exhausting book to read, but only because of how fast it moves and how much the main character, Arthur Cathcart, goes through. He and his wife are victims of an execution style killing, but Arthur survives. And decides to stay dead so he can wreak revenge.
He finds assistance throughout the wreaking, people he trusts. Arthur is intelligent and has a headstart in that he is a thorough researcher and fast learner. He takes on everything with cautious intense zeal to get to the endgame.
I felt like I was reading a high voltage MAN IN THE IRON MASK and it was an excellent ride. Exhausting, but excellent just like a good thriller should be.
Superb!
He finds assistance throughout the wreaking, people he trusts. Arthur is intelligent and has a headstart in that he is a thorough researcher and fast learner. He takes on everything with cautious intense zeal to get to the endgame.
I felt like I was reading a high voltage MAN IN THE IRON MASK and it was an excellent ride. Exhausting, but excellent just like a good thriller should be.
Superb!
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended by Jane T. Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sdead%20anyway%20knopf__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
blood_rose_books's review against another edition
4.0
Chris Knopf brings readers an intelligent thriller, where your life can really change in one second:
Arthur Cathcart, is a market researcher, the finder of information no matter how well hidden it appears or if someone is not wiling to talk; Arthur gets the job done. However, he never expected that his life would be turned upside down in one moment, one moment when everything you have worked so hard for in your life vanished and you yourself should be dead. Arthur makes a difficult decision, he decides to stay dead, and the only person who will still know that he is alive is his sister. Arthur enters a world where he was only on the fringe on before, but the more he uncovers about his wife's execution the more dangerous it becomes for him, but Arthur peruses on as he should be dead anyways, his life is the least of his worries.
I was not sure what to expect from this book as I had never heard of Knopf before, but the premise sounded interesting and something a little different. I was not disappointed and I am very glad that I picked up this book. I think my favorite part within this novel was Arthur. I like his way of thinking, very analytical and seeing things from all angles. I also liked that he had the ability to think outside of the box in order to obtain the information. I did have one issues that he only used Google to find his information, when there are so many other (and better) search engines for some of the type of information that he is looking for; though I did like that he was willing to scroll though the 63 or more pages that Google will give you.
I like that Knofp was aware throughout the book of Arthur's strength and weaknesses especially after the trauma that he suffers. Knofp is very aware that Arthur's strength is in his brain. He is not the most physically fit person before or after the trauma and I like that Knofp does not have him miraculously change when he is getting better into this super human person, which would be completely implausible. However, due to Arthur's lack of physical abilities there are not very many action scenes with guns blazing and fights happening (if you are looking for just that in a book, look some where else) but this is not to insinuate that there is not suspense within the book. There is, it just takes on a different form and more co-insides with the mystery.
I think my one complaint with the novel is there were a few mixed messages. For example after the shooting he does not have a brain for numbers any more, I think at one time he expresses that he feels he is back to only a grade 6 level, yet he able to follow some fairly complex flow of money. I'm not sure, maybe this used a different part of the brain, but I still believe that some sort of accounting math would be involved (which I believe is still higher than what you learn in sixth grade, but that was awhile back for me now, lol).
I was shocked where Knopf decided to end the book the novel, there is a cliff hanger that is for sure but at the same time the reader gets some sort of closer by the end of the book. I know that I would like to read the next book in the series especially as I think that Arthur is one of the most interesting characters I have read in a long time as he is more brains than brawn any day. I liked the intelligence he had and his attempt to rework his brain and life. It was also interesting that due to the fact that Arthur did not have the physicality to achieve the muscle he required (even though he liked to use his Client Eastwood voice) he was smart enough to figure out how to recruit the muscle that he needed.
This is book for those who are looking for an intelligent mystery/thriller where the most well laid path of evidence cannot be taken as our main character is working outside the law. Knopf does a great job of creating a story that keeps you thinking and on your toes at the same time. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading another one by Knopf.
Enjoy!!!
Arthur Cathcart, is a market researcher, the finder of information no matter how well hidden it appears or if someone is not wiling to talk; Arthur gets the job done. However, he never expected that his life would be turned upside down in one moment, one moment when everything you have worked so hard for in your life vanished and you yourself should be dead. Arthur makes a difficult decision, he decides to stay dead, and the only person who will still know that he is alive is his sister. Arthur enters a world where he was only on the fringe on before, but the more he uncovers about his wife's execution the more dangerous it becomes for him, but Arthur peruses on as he should be dead anyways, his life is the least of his worries.
I was not sure what to expect from this book as I had never heard of Knopf before, but the premise sounded interesting and something a little different. I was not disappointed and I am very glad that I picked up this book. I think my favorite part within this novel was Arthur. I like his way of thinking, very analytical and seeing things from all angles. I also liked that he had the ability to think outside of the box in order to obtain the information. I did have one issues that he only used Google to find his information, when there are so many other (and better) search engines for some of the type of information that he is looking for; though I did like that he was willing to scroll though the 63 or more pages that Google will give you.
I like that Knofp was aware throughout the book of Arthur's strength and weaknesses especially after the trauma that he suffers. Knofp is very aware that Arthur's strength is in his brain. He is not the most physically fit person before or after the trauma and I like that Knofp does not have him miraculously change when he is getting better into this super human person, which would be completely implausible. However, due to Arthur's lack of physical abilities there are not very many action scenes with guns blazing and fights happening (if you are looking for just that in a book, look some where else) but this is not to insinuate that there is not suspense within the book. There is, it just takes on a different form and more co-insides with the mystery.
I think my one complaint with the novel is there were a few mixed messages. For example after the shooting he does not have a brain for numbers any more, I think at one time he expresses that he feels he is back to only a grade 6 level, yet he able to follow some fairly complex flow of money. I'm not sure, maybe this used a different part of the brain, but I still believe that some sort of accounting math would be involved (which I believe is still higher than what you learn in sixth grade, but that was awhile back for me now, lol).
I was shocked where Knopf decided to end the book the novel, there is a cliff hanger that is for sure but at the same time the reader gets some sort of closer by the end of the book. I know that I would like to read the next book in the series especially as I think that Arthur is one of the most interesting characters I have read in a long time as he is more brains than brawn any day. I liked the intelligence he had and his attempt to rework his brain and life. It was also interesting that due to the fact that Arthur did not have the physicality to achieve the muscle he required (even though he liked to use his Client Eastwood voice) he was smart enough to figure out how to recruit the muscle that he needed.
This is book for those who are looking for an intelligent mystery/thriller where the most well laid path of evidence cannot be taken as our main character is working outside the law. Knopf does a great job of creating a story that keeps you thinking and on your toes at the same time. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading another one by Knopf.
Enjoy!!!