John L. Hart

I received a copy of this book from The Story Plant in exchange for my honest review.

I’m always nervous about thrillers, particularly thrillers in series. It’s very easy to forget to bring in potential new readers. And while I was offered a chance to read THERE WILL BE KILLING before I read this on, I was also assured that this book could stand on its own. Given how my timing has been lately, I ended up taking the Powers That Be by their word and delved into this Book 2 sight unseen.

While I think reading the first book might have helped, I also think it wasn’t strictly speaking necessary. We are introduced to our main focal characters very quickly: Kate Morningside and J.D. Mikel. While the exact professions of most of these characters is still a little fuzzy in my head, Kate I believe is a government official of some kind, and J.D. is a CIA assassin-spy-jack of all trades. J.D. is very much an enigma wrapped in a mystery and sprinkled with questions and obfuscation–but they make it easy to like and (for the most part) trust him very early on.

The main plot of the novel revolved around Kate being abducted, and how her abduction may be related to J.D. and his apparent connection to the one they call the Poppy King, a drug lord ringleader that some forces would like to see deposed. (I promise, it’s a lot easier to follow than anything I just tried to explain.) The point of view bounces around a little, but we keep mainly with the same people: Mike “Mouse” Gallini, a classic mobster kid in over his head–and out of his head a bit too; Israel “Izzy” Moskowitz, a friend and Army child psychologist; and Kate & J.D. of course.

What I find interesting is that after connecting the reader as closely as they do to J.D., they then spend the rest of the book trying to make us doubt him. I find this irritating–as well as the tendency of several of the main characters to believe any new information they receive from even a potentially valid source as true, without questioning. On at least two occasions, Kate does this, usually making her life unnecessarily difficult. Yes, there is an element of this that keeps the plot moving, but I’m fairly certain that there could at least be a few moments of questioning, at least for the sake of the relationships at stake.

Out of all of them, J.D. is the most fascinating character in the book. I really did like (almost) everyone, even Mouse, but J.D. caught me first and held me longest. No amount of shaking could have led me away, and I don’t think I was led astray. It is intensely obvious in his character that there is some serious psychology research put into this book. He has layers and layers, levels of coping mechanisms and obfuscations, things hidden from the world and from himself. I absolutely love it. And while a small piece of me is sad his plot line ended the way it did, I truly don’t think it could have ended any other way.

The book is a thriller but relies more on psychological suspense and intrigue than a body count to keep their readers’ interest. It’s a fantastic tack and one I enjoy a great deal more. I do wonder if reading the first book before this might have helped me connect with some of the sideline characters, but I’m still willing to go back and read it now. I’ll be interested to see if my dear J.D. decides to make an appearance in a new book, or Izzy…and I’ll be more than happy to follow them along on that adventure too. They’ve certainly left it open for a book 3.

Rating: **** (Recommended)… (mehr)

The book has co-authors - John Hart and Olivia Rupprecht - and after reading it I can see the distinct parts that each brought to the table. One side of There Will Be Killing is a very dark and deadly game of cat and mouse. The other side is the relationships, specifically between some of the doctors and the nurses stationed together during the Vietnam war. At times, the two parts work well together. At others, it seems like there are two separate stories mashed together. I think that is why I struggled a bit with this one and thus can only give it just an "okay" rating.… (mehr)

Making a Killing by John L. Hart and Olivia Rupprecht is a 2016 Story Plant publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the sequel to “There will be Killing”, which introduced us to Gregg, Izzy, Kate, Phillip, and J.D., as they try to navigate the treacherous waters of Vietnam and try to stay alive.

As the second book begins, J.D. and Kate are enjoying a holiday together, while Gregg has returned to the states and Izzy is still serving his time. However, when Kate is kidnapped, J.D. enlist his old comrades to help him find her.

When I first started this series, I was really unsure how I would feel about it, because books about war, fiction or non-fiction, just is not my thing at all. But, because the book was listed as a mystery thriller, I took a leap of faith and I am really glad I did.

This story deals with the shadowy, and often forgotten or ignored, drug problem and lucrative poppy trade during the Vietnam war.

A great many interesting details of J.D.’s past, is woven within a complex plot concerning “The Pale Man”, the ‘Poppy King”, and serves as a basis for a plethora of mind games and intrigue.

“If GO is like war, chess is a knife fight in a phone booth”
- Anonymous

The game of ‘GO” is a theme in the book, and anyone familiar with the game will be able to draw parallels due to the complexity of the strategy game J.D. was coached on as a child, and the complexities of the real life game he is drawn into in Vietnam.

As the players are surrounded by various types of war, be prepared for death and graphic violence, amid the sudden twists and jarring developments.

I did feel pretty bad for Izzy and Gregg who once more got suckered into a mission that really wasn’t their battle to fight. However, I think Gregg has made a turning point, which is probably for the best. The story has a rather odd epilogue, which suggests another book could be in the works. I certainly hope that is the case and will be keeping my ears open and eyes peeled for any new developments on that front.

I strongly urge you to read the first book before diving into this one, although you can read this one a stand alone.

This book is recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction, and smart, well crafted, and tense thrillers.
4.5… (mehr)

The horrors of Vietnam just got worse. Meet Israel (Izzy) Moskowitz, a child psychiatrist fresh out of his residency from Columbia Medical School, and his colleagues of the 99KO, the psychiatric unit of the 8th Field Hospital in Nha Trang, drawn unwillingly into solving a mystery – a ghost soldier is killing American soldiers. Troops are found decapitated, heads in their laps, hands dismembered.

Into this new and brutal world, Izzy is joined by Rick, the tough as nails Special Ops commando; Margie, the gorgeous and relentless head psychiatric nurse; Kate, the stunning thrill-seeker with a taste for the illicit; and Nikki, the endearing, incongruously sweet Red Cross volunteer.

And then there is J.D., a man of many secrets and many guises, charged with finding the ghost soldier. Is it one man? Or many? Are they Russian? Chinese? Or Americans gone rogue? What is their goal? Is it to demoralize troops? If so, they’re doing a very good job. Or does the ghost soldier seek something more sinister?

Izzy and Gregg, the surfer dude turned psychiatrist, become unwilling participants in J.D.’s hunt. As he is drawn into the belly of the beast called war, Izzy discovers that to get out of the hell-hole his draft board sent him to (who in their right mind would send a child psychiatrist to the middle of a war?), he must be smarter than he’d ever been in medical school.

While offering a full dose of the horror of war, the authors mix in enough of the beauty of the jungle to cause the reader to feel disoriented.

In one scene, Izzy walks up to an elephant in the jungle.

The elephant kneeled down and looked at him. Not in his experience had a creature looked at him like this, making contact like a sentient being. The elephant was measuring him up. He could feel it.

“I only know English,” he said and could have sworn the animal nodded in response. “I know you understand me. I would like to be able to ride you. May I?”

The creature reached out with its trunk. It touched his face, as gently as a mother touching a child. She scented his breath and shared her breath with him. He felt so much emotional contact and connection that he almost dropped to his knees but she caught him with her trunk and lifted him, swung him through the air and he felt as if he was flying, flying onto her back and there he was, sitting on her back and she was getting up.

Izzy looked over to see Gregg and their eyes met. And in that shared gaze they knew this experience would forever be one of those that divide your life into everything that came before and then this.

How does such beauty coexist with war? Izzy ultimately learns the lesson of war. Civilization and civility is a very lovely and precious, but very thin, veneer over a twisting, brutal savagery within us all.

Spooky. Scary. Beautifully written. There Will Be Killing draws you in and won’t let you go. Yes, it’s a story of the Vietnam War, but it’s also as much a murder mystery as you’ll find – with a psychological profile of the really scary people who walk among us every day. When will you encounter a ghost soldier in your life?

Based on a copy provided by the publisher.… (mehr)