DON'T LOOK BACK (Pub. 2014) by Gregg Hurwitz is the first book I've read from this author, and an excellent read. I liked everything about this one. IDON'T LOOK BACK (Pub. 2014) by Gregg Hurwitz is the first book I've read from this author, and an excellent read. I liked everything about this one. It's a slam-bang thriller coaster of a ride.
The story is set in the Mexican jungle, and features Eve Hardaway, a newly single mom with a seven-yr old son. She's been ditched for another, more glamorous woman, and left with two tickets to a long-planned rafting and hiking excursion, along with an itch for adventure. But she ends up in a situation she never dreamed possible - one which will test her mettle as a human being and turn her into a hero. But she's pushed to the limits of sanity by the villain, over and over again, and only the love for her son, who's back home in the States, pulls her through.
The story starts out with a bang from page one, and the pace stays relentlessly hot throughout the story, right up to the last page. Hurwitz brings strong writing and excellent plotting skills to the table, far above the standard for many thriller writers, adding an extra layer of pleasure for the reader. The story concept is intriguing, the bad guy is really, really bad, and surprising due to the setting.
The characters are well drawn, and we start pulling for all of them from the get-go. Eve's son stays home while she goes adventuring, but we get to see snippets of their relationship and Eve's mothering skills via a few satellite phone calls home. One of my favorite things about those short peeks into the parent/child relationship is the nicknames they've given each other; 'Big' and 'Little', it adds just the right note of charm in an otherwise nail-biting and gripping thriller of a novel.
I wouldn't change a thing about this story, so it's an easy 5-stars for me. I stumbled upon this great book while perusing library shelves, always hoping to find another favorite author, and luck was on my side this time. Hurwitz has a dozen other published stories, and I can't wait to read them....more
FIRST BLOOD (Pub. 1972) by David Morrell was a good read. I read it mainly to compare the book to the movie version. The book suffers a little from thFIRST BLOOD (Pub. 1972) by David Morrell was a good read. I read it mainly to compare the book to the movie version. The book suffers a little from the impact of current-day-readers'-eye compared to what was popular in commercial fiction back in the early '70s. This was the author's first novel, and he's naturally grown as a writer since his immensely popular debut. Not many authors can say they created a character whose name is now used as a verb! Especially not on their debut novel, so hundreds of gold kudo points go to Morrell for pulling off that feat alone with this book.
The story is quite a bit different from the movie - we get to see much more of it from inside the Sherriff's head as he goes after Rambo. I enjoyed that aspect of the story, as well as getting a deeper background on Rambo's character. The one thing I was disappointed about is the book doesn't contain the Vietnam booby trap scenes that are in the movie.
(SPOILER ALERT!) Rambo and the cop both die at the end of the book, which I didn't like. My rebel heart would have much preferred to see Rambo get away, but overall it's a great read....more
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