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connie575's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
abibliofob's review against another edition
4.0
I've had this on my tbr for some time and now it's time to read the Tim Rackley series. Starting with The Kill Clause by favorite author Gregg Hurwitz. What would you do if your child is murdered and the murderer goes free due to some technicality? This is a really good book, well written and with a great story. The characters are superb and I will go to book two directly, because I want to know what will happen with Tim and Dray, and Bear of course. I can see where the seed to Orphan X comes from but this is more down to earth. If you like me has missed this series I recommend that you get started. It is really good.
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
Really liked the main character - Tim Rackley, a U.S. marshal who finds his life turned upside down after his daughter is murdered. Gregg Hurwitz did a great job writing this guy and really showed the range of emotions in him. One of my favorite things I liked about him was he was willing to change his stance on some things after other things came to light. It made him human. Good plot all around, I thought, with rich characters and lots of action.
whaney's review against another edition
3.0
This was not one of Hurwitz better books. It started out fairly good, but a bit slow. It wasn't the usual can't put down book. Late in the book it took a unexpected surprise and then I couldn't put it down, yet it also seemed to wrap things up into a nice little package too quickly at the end.
bookhawk's review against another edition
2.0
I expected this book to be very good based on the quality of the Orphan X series but it just did not deliver for me. The plot had some major holes, the action scenes were hard to follow and the book seemed to vacillate between an action thriller and an emotional sob story. I hesitate to read the next book in this series.
achoward's review against another edition
2.0
Had I not started reading Hurwitz until the Orphan X books, I would likely have stopped after (or during) the Tim Rackley books, of which Kill Clause is the first.
Tim (a US Marshal) and Andrea Rackley's (a local sheriff's deputy) only daughter is kidnapped, raped, and then dismembered. The book opens with the Rackley's best friend telling them of their daughter's death. The perpetrator is tracked, and Rackley heads over to the house. There are no detectives, crime scene tape, or anything else: other law enforcement personnel are waiting for him to dispense some vigilante/grieving father justice. Except he doesn't, and the perp is hauled off.
Later, Rackley and other members of the Marshal's arrest team take down a drug dealer and some of his cronies. Rackley winds up shooting one suspect who fled, on the street, in the back, as he was reaching for his gun to fire at some LAPD officers. Internal affairs is not pleased, the prosecutor is not pleased, etc. - no one is pleased, although Rackley's superior doesn't think anything was wrong with the shoot. Rackley ends up resigning, and is recruited by the Commission.
If you've seen/read The Star Chamber, Death Wish, or Magnum Force (although the latter had on the job cops doing the deed), you know what happens: the Commission deals out justice to those the legal system has let slip by via loopholes.
That we are expected to believe that Rackley, who loves his job, and who did not kill the man responsible for the death of his daughter when not a single soul would have turned him in it for it, would join up with a group of people deciding the guilt or innocence of people and deeming them worthy of execution is simply ridiculous. Rackley even has his doubts about the two ex-cops from Detroit in the very first meeting.
There is a lot of soul searching by Rackley, the requisite nod to a marriage falling apart because of the death of a child (but not a big nod; Tim and Andrea only have one big blowout scene, with the rest of their time together in the house seeming like they are more angry with one another than grieving). There's the tough but fair supervisor, the loyal friend, the fellow deputy who wants Andrea, and so on.
The action scenes are decent, and the writing is ok - not as good as in the Orphan X books, but I chalk that up to practice, practice, practice. Writers should get better the more they write.
Overall, if you're looking for something to read and don't mind really descriptive passages about gore, this is worth a couple of hours of reading time. Just suspend your disbelief at some of the occurrences here and you'll be ok.
Tim (a US Marshal) and Andrea Rackley's (a local sheriff's deputy) only daughter is kidnapped, raped, and then dismembered. The book opens with the Rackley's best friend telling them of their daughter's death. The perpetrator is tracked, and Rackley heads over to the house. There are no detectives, crime scene tape, or anything else: other law enforcement personnel are waiting for him to dispense some vigilante/grieving father justice. Except he doesn't, and the perp is hauled off.
Later, Rackley and other members of the Marshal's arrest team take down a drug dealer and some of his cronies. Rackley winds up shooting one suspect who fled, on the street, in the back, as he was reaching for his gun to fire at some LAPD officers. Internal affairs is not pleased, the prosecutor is not pleased, etc. - no one is pleased, although Rackley's superior doesn't think anything was wrong with the shoot. Rackley ends up resigning, and is recruited by the Commission.
If you've seen/read The Star Chamber, Death Wish, or Magnum Force (although the latter had on the job cops doing the deed), you know what happens: the Commission deals out justice to those the legal system has let slip by via loopholes.
That we are expected to believe that Rackley, who loves his job, and who did not kill the man responsible for the death of his daughter when not a single soul would have turned him in it for it, would join up with a group of people deciding the guilt or innocence of people and deeming them worthy of execution is simply ridiculous. Rackley even has his doubts about the two ex-cops from Detroit in the very first meeting.
There is a lot of soul searching by Rackley, the requisite nod to a marriage falling apart because of the death of a child (but not a big nod; Tim and Andrea only have one big blowout scene, with the rest of their time together in the house seeming like they are more angry with one another than grieving). There's the tough but fair supervisor, the loyal friend, the fellow deputy who wants Andrea, and so on.
The action scenes are decent, and the writing is ok - not as good as in the Orphan X books, but I chalk that up to practice, practice, practice. Writers should get better the more they write.
Overall, if you're looking for something to read and don't mind really descriptive passages about gore, this is worth a couple of hours of reading time. Just suspend your disbelief at some of the occurrences here and you'll be ok.
wulfhorstmom's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Violence, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, and Blood
vanna's review
It’s just really dark. I kept getting the characters mixed up. A lot of the characters’ actions and feelings didn’t ring true. I’ve heard his Orphan X series is really good so I might give that a shot but just can’t with these.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, and Child death