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johnnyb1954's review against another edition
4.0
Good, solid story - excellent for first in a series. Rane’s back story didn’t take up too much of the book. Ex-police detective helping an old friend in trouble with drug dealers and crooks. It’s familiar but in a good way. Well paced. I’ll read more of the series.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Hmmmmm.
I really liked this book. It’s a great first novel and I promise to read more Wallace Stroby.
Thing is, I wanted to like this book more. But it leans one some of my least favorite tropes in male-written crime fiction.
The first chapter is one of the best first chapters I’ve read in a crime novel. It does a great job of introducing setting, protagonist and problem. Right away, I was pulled into its bleak, lower-class Jersey shore atmosphere. The dialogue was finely tuned and I was ready to fall in.
And the story kept building and building until…
Sigh. White Knight-ism.
Look, there’s frequently a certain degree of white knight-ism in male written fiction when a woman is romantically involved. Especially if she’s romantically involved with the Bad Guy.
But ugh, it sidetracked what I thought was about to be a firecracker of a crime novel.
And once it focused on that angle, it didn’t let go. Not only that, but it revealed some of the books bigger weaknesses: stock characters, predictable plot, recycled tropes (though he sidesteps making the protagonist an alcoholic).
So it’s still good, it just had the chance to be so much more.
Nevertheless, for a first novel, Wallace Stroby knows what he’s doing. A former journalist in Jersey, he has his turf down cold. I’m glad he branched out to other things besides just publishing this series over and over again (there’s only one other Harry Rane novel). So I’ll definitely read more. I just hope he takes a broader view of his plots in future books.
I really liked this book. It’s a great first novel and I promise to read more Wallace Stroby.
Thing is, I wanted to like this book more. But it leans one some of my least favorite tropes in male-written crime fiction.
The first chapter is one of the best first chapters I’ve read in a crime novel. It does a great job of introducing setting, protagonist and problem. Right away, I was pulled into its bleak, lower-class Jersey shore atmosphere. The dialogue was finely tuned and I was ready to fall in.
And the story kept building and building until…
Sigh. White Knight-ism.
Look, there’s frequently a certain degree of white knight-ism in male written fiction when a woman is romantically involved. Especially if she’s romantically involved with the Bad Guy.
But ugh, it sidetracked what I thought was about to be a firecracker of a crime novel.
And once it focused on that angle, it didn’t let go. Not only that, but it revealed some of the books bigger weaknesses: stock characters, predictable plot, recycled tropes (though he sidesteps making the protagonist an alcoholic).
So it’s still good, it just had the chance to be so much more.
Nevertheless, for a first novel, Wallace Stroby knows what he’s doing. A former journalist in Jersey, he has his turf down cold. I’m glad he branched out to other things besides just publishing this series over and over again (there’s only one other Harry Rane novel). So I’ll definitely read more. I just hope he takes a broader view of his plots in future books.
harmless_old_lady's review against another edition
3.0
Good solid thriller, happy ending, but otherwise true noir. Lots of action.
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
Harry Rane is in deep shit. His friend Bobby is in debt to the mob and Harry, former ex-state-cop, widower and old friend decides to help him get out of the obligation. Unfortunately things begin to go bad when Harry meets Catherine, Nick Fallon's wife, and former girl friend of Harry's. (It's a small NJ world, apparently.) The guy that Bobby had made the drug deal with turns up dead in the trunk of a car at the airport, and Fallon discovers Harry is making it with his wife. Whew.
Some bizarre reviews out there. One, on Amazon, said he liked the way Rane took several beatings, and another compared the book unfavorably to the Sopranos (a TV series) and a Bruce Springsteen song. I mean, WTF?
Compelling story even if Harry does occasionally act dumber than a post.
Some bizarre reviews out there. One, on Amazon, said he liked the way Rane took several beatings, and another compared the book unfavorably to the Sopranos (a TV series) and a Bruce Springsteen song. I mean, WTF?
Compelling story even if Harry does occasionally act dumber than a post.
guiltyfeat's review
3.0
I went back to Stroby's first character after reading the Crissa Stone books. It's fairly standard noir stuff: injured ex-cop, withdrawn from society, gets re-energized by involving himself with criminals for what seem like noble reasons and ends up in over his head. As usual with these kinds of things there are a whole lot more dead bodies by the end than there probably would have been if he'd just minded his own business. Still, it was perfectly engaging and entertaining and I have the next Harry Rane already lined up.
aerinfirehair's review
3.0
No frills thiller, picked it up from the lending library in work cafeteria. The writing is not remarkable, but it gets the job done. Basically a former cop reaches out to help out a friend in need, said friend having invested his money unwisely with unsavory types. Just when it seems they are clear of trouble, the trouble starts. These are recognizable character types, not as well drawn as in Mystic River, but no sudden unbelievable character transformations either. The writer generated just enough interest in them for me to make it to the end of this book.
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