Infernal

This is one of those great books that I had to know what was going to happen next with each turn of the page. I think I zipped through this in about 2 or 3 days.

I love the Repairman Jack series and this story is no exception. Some people do not like that he doesn't do any significant fix-its in this one and that is true. However, I do not mind the diversion where he gets to know his brother. There is no icky bug in this one and the Lilitongue hardly qualifies for icky bug status. However, the story was quite entertaining. It gives us another aspect of Jack's life. I would be inclined to call this story character development. The only thing I wondered about was the lack of resolution with the terrorists. I am hoping that will be resolved in the next installment. Overall, this is a good continuation of the series and though it is a departure from the "formula," it is not such a departure as to make it a bad read. Highly recommended.

I read this in one day, but I almost couldn't finish it through my tears. This is only the second Repairman Jack novel I've read: I read the first one (The Tomb) and this is like, the ninth, I think, so obviously a whole lot has gone on that I don't know about yet and there are lots of references to the past, but I got the gist of what had gone on before. This one is a real angst-fest. If you're not familiar with the character, Repairman Jack is, as the name implies, a repairman. He doesn't fix appliances, though, as some people assume. No, Jack fixes situations. Basically, he's the guy you call when someone has done you wrong and the law can't do anything about it. And he's good at his job. I can't say much about the plot without giving too much away, but it involves Jack's brother Tom. What a piece of work he is. Due to tragic circumstances beyond Jack's control, he is forced to call his brother back to New York to take care of some business for him. Unfortunately, this leads to Tom tricking his little brother into an outrageous treasure hunt. What they find isn't much of a treasure, however, and leads to one gut-wrenching nightmare that disrupts (and endangers) not only Jack's life, but the lives of his girlfriend Gia and her daughter Vicky as well. The ending is a tiny bit Deus ex Machina, but it's sort of plausible in the context of the world Jack lives in. I'm left wondering if we'll see any more of Tom in the future - see if he cleans up his act. This one is a fast-paced, non-stop tear-jerker that I highly recommend.

I have read all of the books in this series and I have to totally disagree with the poor reviews. I thought it really added a lot of depth to all of the characters, most especially Gia. I don't understand why others didn't like it, but I have to totally disagree with their opinions. I'm sorry I listened to them, because I didn't buy the book until now, and that was really stupid. I missed a great story for a long time. I won't repeat that mistake.

Being a gun collector, one of the first things I usually find to dislike in a mystery novel is their lack of understanding about guns. In this case, Mr. Wilson has the guns down pat. There's a terrorist incident at the airport. The bad guys use Tavor-2's as their guns. What? Tavor-2? Yes, Tavor-2 is the brand new Israli weapon designed to replace the M-16 and Galil guns now in use. Then in another situation the hero grabs a revolver and holds on for dear life keeping the cylinder from rotating and thus preventing a revolver from shooting. Yup! That would keep a revolver from shooting. As you pull the trigger the cylinder turns to bring a cartridge into position. If you hold on tightly, it won't shoot. Anyone who writes of things that well makes me tend to want to like the book. After that, there's Repairman Jack and the rest of his world. I realize that this is fiction, but his living off to the side where no one even knows his real name is quite interesting. Whenever he does anything, he has to keep in mind that his ID is not real. He has to be careful around everyone he knows, even his own family. The story is a blend of action, adventure and just a touch of the occult. A most plesant way to spend a few hours.