Ghostman
By Roger Hobbs
A casino robbery in Atlantic City goes horribly sideways,
despite all appearances of its intricate planning. The brain behind the operation needs to
repair the damage and make it go away. He
calls in an old favor from a Ghostman.
Occasionally called Jack, Ghostman lives completely off the grid and
cannot be found when he doesn’t want to be.
He makes himself invisible to society and lives without any ties or
associations with people. You’re
introduced to this curious personality, who has a high intellect, and ethics
he’s created for himself. When inclined,
he’s an expert fixer who cleans up crimes and makes them disappear.
This time the Ghostman is up against an explosive 48 hour
clock, as well as more bad guys. His
analysis of the situation, as well as the stories he hears and sees played out
before him, is compelling. It’s a
refreshingly intelligent crime story.
Your page turning will grow faster and faster as you can’t wait to find
out what happens next. No guarantees
that anyone is as they seem. And most
fascinating of all is the Ghostman himself.
Incredible the smart ways he keeps himself unknown, fully disguised, in
the shadows. Seeing his personality at
work through his own thoughts and actions is a real education. Woven through the story the Ghostman mentally
relives the inciting crime when he created this life for himself, and reasons why
he did it. The psychology is
frightening, and at the same time fantastic.
This genius author created shadowy and criminal characters that
not only come to life, but demand a true and thought provoking presence. The smart plot appears to be moving in a
specified direction, when the Ghostman improvises, and reimprovises a new
ending right before your eyes.
When this novel was written, it received high acclaim from
critics as a reinvention of the crime novel.
The excellent, descriptive writing in this debut novel led him to be named
one of the best writers in his field. In
2014 he was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American
Author. He went on to author Vanishing Games which I look forward to
reading. Tragically he died far too
young, near the end of 2016. This legacy
that he’s left his readers is meant to be grabbed tightly and devoured
whole. You’ll fully enjoy this tense
ride.
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