Shane StevensRezensionen

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Forord af Erik Thygesen

"Hot tickets?"
"You know. Tits."

Just like the previous book, "Jersey Tomatoes", the crisp banter between Cooper and any/every one had me hooked hard again! Really, the dialogue throughout was just superb and the highlight of this book too! A detective novel, rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, a stripper that wants to be a priest, Samson and Delilah, professional wrestling and Jersey - what more could a guy like me ask for? Actually, what I could ask for is: MORE MALONE BOOKS!!! After all, on the inside back fold of the dust jacket, it does read, "J.W. Rider is at work on his next Malone thriller." That was 1987. Come on Mr. Rider, how about another one next year for the 30th anniversary??? Please?!?!

opening line - "When they sank the Holland Tunnel eighty feet into the Hudson River back in 1926, everybody saw a golden age for New York and Jersey City on opposite ends." 4th and 5th line - "What happened was New York got all the gold and left Jersey City only the age. It just got older."

Well, those lines sank me right in to this book! And the crisp banter between Cooper and Jarrett immediately following had me hooked hard! Really, the dialogue throughout was just superb and the highlight of the book! A detective novel, rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, and Jersey - what more could a guy like me ask for?

"Jersey tomatoes was mob talk for dynamite...", Christians Anonymous, and homosexual hitmen, make this a book to add to your must read list!

I feel like this book started strong, starting with the main character's life in Mississippi and the struggles he and his family faced being black at that place in that time. And I think it still was a good read when they moved on to Carolina and then New York. But I felt like the book started slipping when Marcus visited Florida, and it never did recover. Lots of good stuff about race relations, black vs. white in Harlem, the role of the po-lice and some of the ideas some African American groups had the time. It just wasn't a good "story" to read. Interesting, but not entertaining.

This is one heck of a book! Definitely not for the squeamish, as it is very graphically violent and graphically sexual, even post mortem. The book follows the life of a serial killer, from even before he was born until the climax of the story. And even then, we get confronted with the question of who he really was! Excellent writing, great characters, and amazingly, the author is even able to drum up sympathy for the killer monster that rampages through these pages! Creepy and satisfying!

A gritty, intense night in the lives of four African-American boys. Johnny Apartment, Chester, Wolfie, and Jumper are on the prowl in New York City, looking for a big "score". They are victims of poverty and racism and they want to "take back what has been taken from them". Their night is filled with troubles and violence and their actions do not go unnoticed. But are they the aggressors or the victims? Sort of the nature vs. nature debate, in the big city. A good read, short and wound tightly.

A darn good read! Reminded me of the movie "The Godfather", only grittier and nastier! Charley Flowers and Harry Strega are two young guys trying to make a name for themselves in the mob, run by Joe Zucco. As their tales unwind, we meet a lot of "the gang" and witness some pretty harsh things go down. By the end, I was worn out!

And, an shout out to Stephen King for mentioning this book at the end of his novel, "The Dark Half"! I decided to give it a go, and I'm glad I did! Thanks Uncle Stevie!

If you are a fan (and I use the term loosely) of serial killers such as Edmund Kemper the you will love By Reason of Insanity. The story of mass insane killer Thomas Bishop and the fixation of a young hungry reporter Adam Kenton to find Bishop and bring him to justice. This is a brutal and at times graphic story travelling deep into the mind of a mass murderer as he conducts his war against the world in his attempt to explain and show his hatred of women as he butchers his way across America. If I was to level one small criticism I would question the constant introduction of new characters (some remaining for a very short time) which tends to make the storyline a little over complicated causing the reader to have to refresh his memory on occasions. For a big novel the storyline moves at a frantic pace and makes for a fantastic read with a little unexpected and well thought out "sting in the tail" on the very last page.....I actually rated the book 4.5 stars and have bumped up to 5 stars simply because By Reason of Insanity was first published in 1978 and still has the power to shock and frighten many years later. Some will say this is the book by which all other serial killer novels should be compared and judged and they are not wrong!

procedural but interesting. i really enjoyed it

Présentation de l'éditeur : Thomas Bishop avait dix ans quand il a tué sa mère. Retrouvé au pied du poêle, un bout de chair
carbonisé à la bouche, il a passé quinze ans en institut psychiatrique. Là, il a appris. A mentir. A
cacher. Mais il est prêt. Le soir de son évasion, il pulvérise à la hache le crâne de son compagnon. On le croit mort. Il court les rues. Et c'est sous le nom de son malheureux partenaire qu'il terrorisera Los Angeles, Chicago, New York. Ses talents d'acteur, ses multiples identités, son visage d'ange jouent en sa faveur. Les filles sont retrouvées, une à une, massacrées. L'opinion s'offusque. On parle de rétablir la peine de mort dans plusieurs états. Les politiciens s'en mêlent, la mafia s'agite, la presse enquête. Parmi les journalistes, un nommé Adam Kenton fait des merveilles. Mais le monstre reste en liberté. Pour la société qui l'a créé et qui, aujourd'hui, souhaite sa mort, Bishop est l'homme à abattre. Le mal absolu. Son enfant…
Biographie de l'auteur : Shane Stevens (problable pseudonyme) est né à New York en 1941. Il a écrit cinq romans entre 1966 et 1981 avant de disparaître dans l'anonymat. Après Au-delà du mal (éditions Sonatine, 2009), L'heure des loups paraîtra en 2011 chez le même éditeur.

Bon roman, une intrigue prenante qui captive la lecture. L'écriture rapide, avec un style assez sec, genre compte rendu, donne du rythme à l'histoire permettant de suivre les différents personnages à la poursuite de leur propres objectifs. La chasse à l'homme de Thomas Bishop, devient un prétexte pour chacun. Avec un cynisme et une hypocrisie absolue, tous cherchent à manipuler et piéger afin d'atteindre leurs propres ambitions de pouvoir et de renommée. L'histoire se déroule dans les années 1975, sous la présidence Nixon, en pleine affaire du Watergate. Ce roman peut également être lu comme un récit en hommage au journalisme d'investigation dont la référence absolue aux Etats-Unis est Bob Woodward et Carl Berstein, cités dans le texte.
La chute du roman très surprenante nous laisse sur une énigme... ou bien la révélation que le tueur dont on ne connait pas le père, dont finalement il peut y avoir des doutes également sur sa mère, dont on ignore tout, serait le mal absolu.
J'ai regretté néanmoins que l'auteur se soit cru obligé d'utiliser quelques grosses ficelles qui parfois n'apportent pas grand chose à l'intrigue... un peu de sexe, un peu d'horreur, pas beaucoup de profondeur et de réflexion.
Néanmoins thriller très agréable à lire. Excellent à emporter pour des vacances.

1975. Four black youths go on a crime-spree in New York City. Awesome gritty detail. I really felt sorry for them and kind of wanted them to get away even though by the end they'd robbed numerous people, stabbed a woman, raped another and finally killed one by accident. It really let you see into their heads, into how they felt they had no decent choices in life. Read it in a few hours.