Hard Freeze

Joe Kurtz, the anti-anti-hero of Dan Simmons' latest crime novel, "Hard Freeze," is one tough ..... If you've read "Hard Case," Simmons' first foray into the hard-boiled world of crime drama, you know a little of what to expect from Kurtz and company this time out-but only a little, because Simmons has truly outdone himself with "Hard Freeze." If "Hard Case" was a cool little jazz combo swinging away for all it was worth, its sequel is a speaker-blowing blast of rock `n' roll that's guaranteed to hit you where it counts. And hit you hard."Freeze" begins shortly after "Case" left off, with the ex-con, ex-P.I. Kurtz on the run from the Farinos, an upstate New York crime family eager to get him back behind bars-or better yet, in the ground. Kurtz must also face an adversary even more threatening than the family's cut-rate wise guys (who admittedly aren't all that wise): winter in Buffalo. It's one of the coldest in history, and even the most stoic Buffalonians are admitting it's a little cool out. If that's not enough, the city has also decided to condemn the abandoned porno shop Kurtz and his secretary have been using as a base of operations. So, when all of the elements conspire against him, what's an ex-con to do?Kurtz keeps himself busy. While avoiding the Farinos and a pair of crooked cops on his tail, he soon becomes entangled in the dealings of a white-collar child molester/serial killer who might very well be hiding behind a prominent false identity. In the process of bringing the killer to justice, Kurtz must avoid being squashed like a bug between the greasy wheels of city politics and organized crime. He must also make sure not to loose his footing in a deadly dance of power he's fallen into with the shrewd, estranged daughter of the Farino family, the beautiful Angelina Farino Ferrara. Both Kurtz and Ferrara are out to use the other for their own purposes, while trying not to get used up themselves. It's all very romantic, in a cold-blooded sort of way.Simmons has managed to create something intriguing and vastly entertaining in the character of Joe Kurtz. Kurtz is like a great white shark, long acclimated to the icy depths of his own solitary world: he's compelled to move forward in order to survive, and is ready to devour anything or anyone that obstructs his path. And yet, from page one, he's got the reader's sympathy. There's something about his amoral lack of guile that's kind of endearing.With his second Kurtz novel, Simmons has honed his ability to write in the hard-boiled genre to a dog-bothering pitch. "Hard Freeze" is lean and mean, with nary an ounce of excess fat. Even if you're not a fan of the genre, you can't help but be carried along by the sheer force of Simmons' vigorous storytelling. He creates tension and suspense and moves his characters about with the able, foresighted dexterity of a grandmaster sitting down for a game of chess.Simmons has deservedly won high accolades and praise for his writing in many styles and g

He's eating hot dogs again and killing the three stooges before the first chapter is over.This is a freight train of a read. You can turn the pages, fast as you can read, because it's that compelling, or slow down and look in the box cars. This is like taking a class from the best professor you ever had, it's loaded with stuff, some subtle, some not.If I didn't slow down, I would have missed the cannoli. Movies, mobsters,serial killers, crooked cops, Russian novels, Robert Parker, cars, moral development and Harvard professors, are just some of the elements.At the finish, you congratulate yourself for seeing what you saw and wonder what you missed. This was fun. ...

See storyline above.Every time I see Dan Simmons name on a book, I'm going to read it. Joe Kurtz returns as the somewhat noirish hero. An ex-detective who has spent some 12 years in prison. The rapid pace of the story and the gripping narrative will keep you glued to the pages. A serial killer heads up the bad guys. A killer who has slain more than twenty children in the name of religion. There are a wide assortment of characters that round out this very satisfying thriller, including subplots that involve crooked cops and the mafia. A sometimes graphic portrait of a protagonist that's not worried about the law.Highly recommended.

I was actually praying last year that Dan Simmons would write a follow-up novel to his excellent "private eye" thriller, HARDCASE. Think of the early "Burke" novels by Andrew Vachss, and you have an idea just how dark, violent, suspenseful and entertaining this debut series is. When I found out that a new "Joe Kurtz" novel was in the works, I jumped up and down, singing praises to the gods above, wondering if I could hang in there till the book was published. Well, I made it, and HARD FREEZE is finally out. That's not all, either. Not only is HARD FREEZE better than the first "Joe Kurtz" novel (if that's even possible), but Mr. Simmons is now working on a third book in this fabulous series about an ex-P.I./ex-con who's hard as nails, yet has a code of honor reminiscent of the Japanese samurai. This time around, Kurtz has to do battle on several fronts. First and foremost, there's a contract out on him. Stephen "Little Skag" Farino, who's still in Attica, wants Kurtz dead because the P.I. knows too much about the Farino family business, especially with regards to the deaths of his father and older sister. Little Skag has his younger sister, Angelina, hire the necessary killers to take Kurtz out, but they prove to be no match for our dark hero. When Angelina sees just how good Kurtz really is, she decides to use him to kill mobster Emilio Gonzaga, who's trying to take over the Farino business, and to neutralize her older brother, who's due for parole in a few months. As if this wasn't enough to deal with, Kurtz is also being followed by two cops who want a little helping of revenge for the death of Detective Hathaway six months before. While Kurtz is trying to stay alive, his homeless friend, Pruno, gets him to help a dying concert violinist, John Wellington Frears, hunt for a serial killer that murdered his daughter. But wait, that isn't all. Kurtz is also keeping an eye on Donald Rafferty, the legal guardian of Rachel Fielding (the daughter of Kurtz's dead partner, Samantha). He's afraid that something bad is going to happen to Rachel and is ready to kill Rafferty, if it does. On top of everything else, Kurtz's secretary, Arlene, is pushing him to help find some new office space and to come up with $35,000.00 to start a new Internet business. Last but not least, Buffalo, New York is having the worse snowstorm of its history, and when the snow finally melts, there's going to be a dozen dead bodies scattered around the city for the local police to deal with, compliments of Joe Kurtz. HARD FREEZE is an intensely dark and utterly violent novel with touches of humor mixed in and a hero that isn't always the most likeable person in the world. It starts out at a brisk pace with the Three Stooges (three ex-cons from Attica) trying to take Joe Kurtz out and doesn't let up till after the final battle at the end when Kurtz will have to tangle with one of the most deadly serial killers around and a skilled martial arts expert that makes Br

Man it must be hard living Joe Kurtz's life! First, in Hard Case, he was released from prison to find his life not only forever changed but in danger. Looks like things haven't changed much since we last saw him. Only this time around, the stakes are much higher and the finale much more satisfying.Everyone wants a piece of Joe Kurtz. First, there is the Italian mob family that served such an important purpose in the first novel. Then, there is also a man pretending to be a cop who will do everything in his power to protect his false identity. When Kurtz is hired by a man to investigate a crime that has been commited a long time ago, he will have to ally himself with some of his enemies in order to get rid of his other foes. The stakes go higher and higher, to end up in one big great finale that you will not soon forget. Always tense, always action-packed and incredibly witty, Hard Freeze is a great read that takes you back to the very best years of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard. This is crime noir at its best. What's even more surprising is that this installment in Simmons's new noir series is actually better than its predecessor.I had a blast reading this book. It is often funny, very dark and brilliantly plotted. Hard Freeze is exactly what all crime fiction should be; fun, entertaining and gripping.