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Solid and satisfying - it is what it is......well written noire by a gifted author
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Hard Freeze book 2 in the Kurtz series by Dan Simmons doesn’t mess around, Kurtz goes straight ahead, and it’s a blizzard that follows.
The Problem. “Kurtz ate his hot dogs and considered the problem. First, he had to find out who had ordered the contract on him. No, scratch that. First he had to deal with the Three Stooges, but in a way that allowed him to find out who had put the contract out. He ate slowly and looked at the logistics of the matter. They weren’t promising.” … “in Attica with them, everyone had known them only as the Three Stooges. White men, in their thirties, not related except via some sexual ménage à trois that Kurtz didn’t want to think about, the Stooges were dirt stupid but crafty in their mean and lethal way. The Stooges had made a career of exercise-yard shank jobs, taking orders from those who couldn’t get at their targets for whatever reason and contracting their hits out for pay as low as a few dozen cartons of cigarettes”
The Place. “KURTZ LIKED BUFFALO winters because the Buffalonians knew how to deal with winter. A few inches of snow—snow that would paralyze some wussy city such as Washington or Nashville—went all but unnoticed by Buffalo residents. Plows plowed, sidewalks got shoveled early, and people went on about their business. A foot of snow got people’s attention in Buffalo, but only for as long as it took to push and plow it into the ten-foot-high heap of earlier-plowed snow.” …Some get used to it. “Kurtz had no idea how Pruno and some of the other winos who refused to stay in shelters more than a few of the worst nights managed to survive such winters. But surviving the winter was Pruno’s problem. Surviving the next few days and weeks was Kurtz’s problem.”
A Hotel is not a home. “The hotel had been going downhill for the past ninety years and seemed to have reached a balance point somewhere between total decay and imminent collapse. Over the preceding decades, the hotel part of the building, the lower five floors, had gone from a workingman’s hotel to flophouse to low-income housing center, and then back to residential flophouse. Most of the residents were on welfare, lithium, and/or Thorazine.” Visitors “ plainclothes cops were like snakes or nuns and always traveled in pairs. Kurtz could see the two sets of footprints in the plaster dust he’d left covering the center of the stairs. Brubaker, who had the larger feet—Kurtz had noticed before—had a hole in his sole. That sounded about right to Kurtz.” Roused. “Kurtz could finally stand, he staggered a few steps, opened the window, and vomited out into the alley. No reason to get his bathroom all messy. He’d cleaned it just a week or two before.”
Family. “tacit control of the Farino family was currently in the hands of their traditional enemies. When Angelina thought of the fat, fish-faced, blubbery-lipped, sweating pig-hemorrhoid that was Emilio Gonzaga determining the Farinos’ destiny, she wanted to rip both his and her brother’s heads off and piss down their necks.” … “this power-sharing thing, this idea of the three of us running things—” Emilio’s veneer of education slipped as he pronounced the word tings “—it’s what the old guys, the Romans, our ancestors, used to call a troika.” … “The point is that you benefit, I benefit, and Little Ska…Stephen…he benefits the most. Like old times, only without the rancor.” Gonzaga pronounced the last word rain-core.”
And Psychopath. “His plan had been to kill as many people as possible—including his coughing, wheezing, useless mother—and then, like Huck Finn, light out for the territory. But a combination of his genius-level IQ and the fact that first period had been gym—Hansen did not want to go on his killing rampage wearing silly gym trunks—made him think twice.” … “ time to settle scores later, he knew, when it would not require going on the run for the rest of his life, with the cops chasing what he already thought of as his “larval identity.”
Private Investigator. “Pruno had given Kurtz a reading list before he left for prison, and the first book Kurtz had read was Madame Bovary. He was reminded now of how Emma Bovary’s corpse had looked after the arsenic had killed her. Johnny Norse’s eyes were flicking back and forth like cornered rodents. He shook his head and Kurtz kinked the oxygen lines again, holding them kinked this time until Norse’s gasps were as loud as Cheyne-Stokes death rattles. “Some…cunt…of a P.I.…found the connection…between Falco and Levine…and us snatching the kid. Emilio—” He stopped and looked up at Kurtz, his corpse mouth twitching in what might have been an attempt at an ingratiating Johnny Norse smile. “I didn’t have…nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know who they were talking about. I didn’t— Kurtz reached for the oxygen hose. “Jesus…fuck…all right. Emilio put the word out. I…delivered it…to the drug dealers…Falco and…Levine. You got what you ...”
Moral Education. “Frears had gone to Princeton as an undergraduate but had transferred to Juilliard for his junior year. Then something truly strange: John Wellington Frears had volunteered for the U.S. Army and had gone to Vietnam in 1967. The note said that he had been with the Army Engineers, a sergeant in charge of demolition and disarming booby traps. He’d served two tours in Vietnam and one year in the States before returning to civilian life and beginning his professional music career.”… “It is folly,” said Pruno, “to form policy based on assumptions of the enemy’s intentions…judge his capabilities and prepare accordingly.” … six stages of moral development. Level One was simple avoidance of punishment. Moral boundaries are set only to avoid pain. “Level Two was a crude form of moral judgment motivated by the need to satisfy one’s own desires,” said Frears. “Level Three was sometimes called the ‘Good Boy/Good Girl’ orientation—a need to avoid rejection or the disapproval of others.” “Stage Four was the Law and Order level,” said Frears. “People had evolved to the moral degree that they had an absolute imperative not to be criticized by a duly recognized authority figure.” “ Nazi Germany,” said Kurtz. “Stage Five individuals seem motivated by an overwhelming need to respect the social order and to uphold legally determined laws. The law becomes a touchstone, a moral imperative ” “A Level Six individual makes his moral decisions based on his own conscience in attempts to resonate with certain universal ethical considerations…even when those decisions fly in the face of existing laws. United States was founded by Level Six minds,” said Frears, “protected and preserved by Level Fives, and populated by Level Fours and below.” Kohlberg’s dream was to find a Level Seven personality.” “Jesus Christ?” “Precisely,” Frears said with no hint of irony. “Or Gandhi. Or Socrates. Or Buddha. Someone who can only respond to universal ethical imperatives. They have no choice in the matter. Usually the rest of us respond by putting them to death.” … “testing showed that there were many people walking the street who can only be classified as Level Zeroes. Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings’ suffering means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is ‘sociopath,’ but the real word is ‘monster.’”
Action story ensues, Monster, Wise Guys and Cops … Kurtz? “Arlene set the big pistol on her curio cabinet and opened the door. “How’re they hanging, Joe?” “Still low, wrinkled, and to the left.” She batted ashes out onto the stoop. “You came all the way over from whatever Dumpster you’ve been sleeping in to tell me that?”
Not to leave you hanging, but you can read the book…
The Problem. “Kurtz ate his hot dogs and considered the problem. First, he had to find out who had ordered the contract on him. No, scratch that. First he had to deal with the Three Stooges, but in a way that allowed him to find out who had put the contract out. He ate slowly and looked at the logistics of the matter. They weren’t promising.” … “in Attica with them, everyone had known them only as the Three Stooges. White men, in their thirties, not related except via some sexual ménage à trois that Kurtz didn’t want to think about, the Stooges were dirt stupid but crafty in their mean and lethal way. The Stooges had made a career of exercise-yard shank jobs, taking orders from those who couldn’t get at their targets for whatever reason and contracting their hits out for pay as low as a few dozen cartons of cigarettes”
The Place. “KURTZ LIKED BUFFALO winters because the Buffalonians knew how to deal with winter. A few inches of snow—snow that would paralyze some wussy city such as Washington or Nashville—went all but unnoticed by Buffalo residents. Plows plowed, sidewalks got shoveled early, and people went on about their business. A foot of snow got people’s attention in Buffalo, but only for as long as it took to push and plow it into the ten-foot-high heap of earlier-plowed snow.” …Some get used to it. “Kurtz had no idea how Pruno and some of the other winos who refused to stay in shelters more than a few of the worst nights managed to survive such winters. But surviving the winter was Pruno’s problem. Surviving the next few days and weeks was Kurtz’s problem.”
A Hotel is not a home. “The hotel had been going downhill for the past ninety years and seemed to have reached a balance point somewhere between total decay and imminent collapse. Over the preceding decades, the hotel part of the building, the lower five floors, had gone from a workingman’s hotel to flophouse to low-income housing center, and then back to residential flophouse. Most of the residents were on welfare, lithium, and/or Thorazine.” Visitors “ plainclothes cops were like snakes or nuns and always traveled in pairs. Kurtz could see the two sets of footprints in the plaster dust he’d left covering the center of the stairs. Brubaker, who had the larger feet—Kurtz had noticed before—had a hole in his sole. That sounded about right to Kurtz.” Roused. “Kurtz could finally stand, he staggered a few steps, opened the window, and vomited out into the alley. No reason to get his bathroom all messy. He’d cleaned it just a week or two before.”
Family. “tacit control of the Farino family was currently in the hands of their traditional enemies. When Angelina thought of the fat, fish-faced, blubbery-lipped, sweating pig-hemorrhoid that was Emilio Gonzaga determining the Farinos’ destiny, she wanted to rip both his and her brother’s heads off and piss down their necks.” … “this power-sharing thing, this idea of the three of us running things—” Emilio’s veneer of education slipped as he pronounced the word tings “—it’s what the old guys, the Romans, our ancestors, used to call a troika.” … “The point is that you benefit, I benefit, and Little Ska…Stephen…he benefits the most. Like old times, only without the rancor.” Gonzaga pronounced the last word rain-core.”
And Psychopath. “His plan had been to kill as many people as possible—including his coughing, wheezing, useless mother—and then, like Huck Finn, light out for the territory. But a combination of his genius-level IQ and the fact that first period had been gym—Hansen did not want to go on his killing rampage wearing silly gym trunks—made him think twice.” … “ time to settle scores later, he knew, when it would not require going on the run for the rest of his life, with the cops chasing what he already thought of as his “larval identity.”
Private Investigator. “Pruno had given Kurtz a reading list before he left for prison, and the first book Kurtz had read was Madame Bovary. He was reminded now of how Emma Bovary’s corpse had looked after the arsenic had killed her. Johnny Norse’s eyes were flicking back and forth like cornered rodents. He shook his head and Kurtz kinked the oxygen lines again, holding them kinked this time until Norse’s gasps were as loud as Cheyne-Stokes death rattles. “Some…cunt…of a P.I.…found the connection…between Falco and Levine…and us snatching the kid. Emilio—” He stopped and looked up at Kurtz, his corpse mouth twitching in what might have been an attempt at an ingratiating Johnny Norse smile. “I didn’t have…nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know who they were talking about. I didn’t— Kurtz reached for the oxygen hose. “Jesus…fuck…all right. Emilio put the word out. I…delivered it…to the drug dealers…Falco and…Levine. You got what you ...”
Moral Education. “Frears had gone to Princeton as an undergraduate but had transferred to Juilliard for his junior year. Then something truly strange: John Wellington Frears had volunteered for the U.S. Army and had gone to Vietnam in 1967. The note said that he had been with the Army Engineers, a sergeant in charge of demolition and disarming booby traps. He’d served two tours in Vietnam and one year in the States before returning to civilian life and beginning his professional music career.”… “It is folly,” said Pruno, “to form policy based on assumptions of the enemy’s intentions…judge his capabilities and prepare accordingly.” … six stages of moral development. Level One was simple avoidance of punishment. Moral boundaries are set only to avoid pain. “Level Two was a crude form of moral judgment motivated by the need to satisfy one’s own desires,” said Frears. “Level Three was sometimes called the ‘Good Boy/Good Girl’ orientation—a need to avoid rejection or the disapproval of others.” “Stage Four was the Law and Order level,” said Frears. “People had evolved to the moral degree that they had an absolute imperative not to be criticized by a duly recognized authority figure.” “ Nazi Germany,” said Kurtz. “Stage Five individuals seem motivated by an overwhelming need to respect the social order and to uphold legally determined laws. The law becomes a touchstone, a moral imperative ” “A Level Six individual makes his moral decisions based on his own conscience in attempts to resonate with certain universal ethical considerations…even when those decisions fly in the face of existing laws. United States was founded by Level Six minds,” said Frears, “protected and preserved by Level Fives, and populated by Level Fours and below.” Kohlberg’s dream was to find a Level Seven personality.” “Jesus Christ?” “Precisely,” Frears said with no hint of irony. “Or Gandhi. Or Socrates. Or Buddha. Someone who can only respond to universal ethical imperatives. They have no choice in the matter. Usually the rest of us respond by putting them to death.” … “testing showed that there were many people walking the street who can only be classified as Level Zeroes. Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings’ suffering means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is ‘sociopath,’ but the real word is ‘monster.’”
Action story ensues, Monster, Wise Guys and Cops … Kurtz? “Arlene set the big pistol on her curio cabinet and opened the door. “How’re they hanging, Joe?” “Still low, wrinkled, and to the left.” She batted ashes out onto the stoop. “You came all the way over from whatever Dumpster you’ve been sleeping in to tell me that?”
Not to leave you hanging, but you can read the book…
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The second of three Joe Kurtz novels, comtinues from the first. Kurtz, trying to get even after his twelve year stay in Attica,(being set up) for the hit on his partner/lover, by the mafia in Buffalo. This series really shows Simmons versatality of story telling, from horror, sci-fi, to this hard boiled PI, then ex-con, ex-PI Kurtz, who you always are rooting for. A great series for the fans of this type of story.
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Absolutely riveting- but note: don’t come griping to me about cozy mysteries or Georges Simenon or Chandler or even Hammett.
This is a pure, senseless, murderously violent, action packed classic Pulp detective dickaround nonsense set on 11.
Or maybe 12.
It’s out of the Richard Starkish school but the over-the-top violence recalls classic, early (1st 3 novels) Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane. Hammer on one of his vengeance trips.
The plot? Give me a frickin’ break! The plot’s all over the place.
Lucky I didn’t have a stroke on this high-octane stuff.
Christ on crutches!
This is the 2nd entry in the -as far as you know- three entry series by an expert in the field of crime/detective hardboiled genre: Dan Simmons & the Joe Kurtz series.
Its pulp-like hero can’t be killed. Beat him half to death, leave him in the Buffalo, New York snow to freeze to death or break one of his legs, arms or 3 of his ribs to bleed out from his wounds - he’s like a Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein… he’ll come back around with revenge on his mind.
Start at the top.
Read the 1st entry in the “Joe Kurtz” series by Dan Simmons (Hardcase) and move on from there.
These are available in e-book or Kindle format last I checked.
If you like this kind of brouhaha whatta ya got to lose?
Read it or don’t. You think I care?
Dan Simmons is a gift to fans of hardboiled fiction in the 21st century.
This is a pure, senseless, murderously violent, action packed classic Pulp detective dickaround nonsense set on 11.
Or maybe 12.
It’s out of the Richard Starkish school but the over-the-top violence recalls classic, early (1st 3 novels) Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane. Hammer on one of his vengeance trips.
The plot? Give me a frickin’ break! The plot’s all over the place.
Lucky I didn’t have a stroke on this high-octane stuff.
Christ on crutches!
This is the 2nd entry in the -as far as you know- three entry series by an expert in the field of crime/detective hardboiled genre: Dan Simmons & the Joe Kurtz series.
Its pulp-like hero can’t be killed. Beat him half to death, leave him in the Buffalo, New York snow to freeze to death or break one of his legs, arms or 3 of his ribs to bleed out from his wounds - he’s like a Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein… he’ll come back around with revenge on his mind.
Start at the top.
Read the 1st entry in the “Joe Kurtz” series by Dan Simmons (Hardcase) and move on from there.
These are available in e-book or Kindle format last I checked.
If you like this kind of brouhaha whatta ya got to lose?
Read it or don’t. You think I care?
Dan Simmons is a gift to fans of hardboiled fiction in the 21st century.
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3.5 stars
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Having introduced his "PI" and his background in the first Joe Kurtz novel Dam Simmons launches directly into the action in this one.
The pace is fast, the tone dark, the violence bloody and swift.
The only thing that nags at me is that the coincidence of the two plot threads felt a bit "too convenient"; straining my suspension of disbelief just a little.
Still a great read though - can't wait for my copy of the final book to arrive.
The pace is fast, the tone dark, the violence bloody and swift.
The only thing that nags at me is that the coincidence of the two plot threads felt a bit "too convenient"; straining my suspension of disbelief just a little.
Still a great read though - can't wait for my copy of the final book to arrive.
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Der zweite Band der Joe Kurtz-Trilogie von Dan Simmons hat es in vielerlei Hinsicht in sich. Hier wird getreu dem Motto „Nicht gucken, machen“ gehandelt und was so alles passierte, hat mein Herz so manches Mal vor Spannung und Nervenkitzel höher schlagen lassen. Man muss sich wirklich auf die Geschichte konzentrieren, da man sonst schnell den Anschluss verliert. Ich musste (leider) eine Lesepause von ein paar Tagen einlegen und fand den erneuten Einstieg zwischendrin schon relativ mühselig, da man nicht mehr alles auf dem Schirm hat. Also am Besten in einer Tour verschlingen!
Für mich war der Schreibstil unheimlich fesselnd. Abwechselnd wurde aus der Sicht von Joe Kurtz und dem Feind Hansen, die Ich-Form wurde hierbei vermieden. Die Protagonisten sind alle ziemlich eigen. Vor allem bei Joe wird es einem anfangs recht schwer fallen eine Verbindung aufzubauen. Doch wer erstmal hinter seine Fassade geblickt hat, wird merken, dass er trotz radikaler Vorgehensweise eigentlich ein Typ ist, dem man vertrauen kann… sofern er einen mag!
Zum Inhalt der Geschichte möchte ich nichts weiter sagen, da ich die Befürchtung habe, ein Detail auszuplaudern, welches das Lesen uninteressant macht. Der dritte (und letzte) Band der Joe Kurtz-Reihe „Kalt wie Stahl“ ist bereits erschienen.
Für mich war der Schreibstil unheimlich fesselnd. Abwechselnd wurde aus der Sicht von Joe Kurtz und dem Feind Hansen, die Ich-Form wurde hierbei vermieden. Die Protagonisten sind alle ziemlich eigen. Vor allem bei Joe wird es einem anfangs recht schwer fallen eine Verbindung aufzubauen. Doch wer erstmal hinter seine Fassade geblickt hat, wird merken, dass er trotz radikaler Vorgehensweise eigentlich ein Typ ist, dem man vertrauen kann… sofern er einen mag!
Zum Inhalt der Geschichte möchte ich nichts weiter sagen, da ich die Befürchtung habe, ein Detail auszuplaudern, welches das Lesen uninteressant macht. Der dritte (und letzte) Band der Joe Kurtz-Reihe „Kalt wie Stahl“ ist bereits erschienen.
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Joe Kurtz is in big trouble with 'Little Skag' and Skag's sister Angelina Farino Ferrara for the way Joe resolved the situation. Joe survives the attempts to snuff him, but others are getting killed. Along the way Joe meets a concert violinist who hires Joe to find his the man who was his daughters' killer. Everything comes together in one big shootout.
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n "Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings suffering means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is 'sociopath,' the real word is 'monster."n
Initial Thoughts
The sensational Dan Simmons Deep-dive continues as once again he takes a jump into that marvelously gritty, hard-boiled world of crime fiction in his second installment of the 'Joe Kurtz' trilogy...Hard Freeze. Are you ready for some explosive, balls to the wall action? Yeah, me too!
I read the first book, Hard Case, last month and enjoyed it immensely. Main man Joe Kurtz is not your typical protagonist. After doing eleven years hard time for launching some scumbag out of the top floor of a high-rise he went straight to work with the mafia on his release, utilising his extensive skill base as a private investigator to find a missing accountant. And of course iced a load more scumbags in the process.
If you like your morally grey characters like I do, Kurtz is the man for you. In any other book this guy could easily be a villain, but there is a small trace of a good man buried under that hard exterior. You just don't see very much of it. Let's see how he gets on in this outing.
The Story
This one starts with a bang as Kurtz finds himself bombarded by hit men hired by the Farino family, who now want him dead. He's done a great job making enemies but that doesn't phase him one bit as he manages to wriggle his way out of some impossibly tight squeezes.
After taking care of business he then meets a dying violinist, in his favourite jazz club, who thinks Kurtz may be able to help him locate the man who raped and murdered his young daughter some twenty years ago. Only problem is he supposedly committed suicide right after committing the heinous crime. But the musician is convinced he's seen him living and breathing and wants Kurtz to bring this guy to justice.
Then there's the problem of Angelina Farino Ferrara, the remaining daughter in the crime family, who wants to make a name for herself with the help of, you guessed, Joe Kurtz. In return she's got some valuable information that could send Kurtz on a bloody revenge mission where no one gets out alive.
These two plots weave together fantastically as they look set to collide in an explosive finale. If you want to find out who's left standing, you're going to have to read it for yourself.
The Writing
If you seen my review of the first book in this series then you'll know this is crime fiction that's stripped down to the bare bones. It's tough, relentless, gritty and littered with dead bodies. Exactly as it should be. You don't get one second to catch your breath.
What stood out for me in this one is that the city of Buffalo, NY, is in the midst of a snow storm and Simmons does a fantastic job of nailing the frozen streets and unforgiving environment. It matches the overall tone in this one perfectly, with its chilling plot, and the title for that matter.
The Characters
Hard Freeze certainly contains a range of quirky characters that fit the narrative perfectly and provide a lot of entertainment. Don't get me wrong, this is far from Simmons' best work in this department. But for this type of story they don't really need to be. Still, if you're looking for a realistic, nuanced cast then this may not be the novel for you.
The star of the show is of course Kurtz who has a smartass mouth, but the toughness and skills to back that up. If you look at things logically then he is not a likeable character, but I still could not help myself in rooting for him. And that my friends is largely down to the despicable villains he's taking out.
Yes there is a fine cast of awful antagonists circulating round the dark and dingy streets of Buffalo. The two main villains of James Hansen and Emilio Gonzaga were both extremely well done, particularly the former who was an extremely creepy mo fo. But star of the show for me was the smoking hot but unquestionably deadly Angelina Farino. She's all kinds of that morally grey that I love so much and you can never quite tell what side she's batting for.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell I'm getting really into this trilogy of hardboiled crime and can't wait to get fired into the last in the series...Hard as Nails. It's a perfect homage to the famous writers of the past who clearly inspired Simmons when writing this one. In fact, I'm enjoying it so much I'm now getting the itch to read those famous authors like Raymond Chandler, Richard Stark and John D. Macdonald and it's one I fully intend to scratch.
These Joe Kurtz PI crime books are better than most of the run of the mill action movies that are flooding TV nowadays and if you're after something fast paced that will lift you out your seat I'm thoroughly recommending them to you.
Bloody, violent with absolutely no fluffy stuff. Just what the doctor ordered.
See you all next month when I wrap this series up. Thanks for reading and...cheers!
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Un thriller impecable.
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*Rezension bezieht sich auf das Hörbuch*
Nur mit List und Tücke ist es Ex-Privatdetektiv Joe Kurtz gelungen, die Machenschaften innerhalb des Farino-Clans zu überleben, doch zur Ruhe kommt er einfach nicht. Das Online-Geschäft, dass seine Sekretärin Arlene aufgebaut hat, boomt, doch leider kann Joe nicht nur damit seine Tage füllen. Zu viele Leute sind hinter ihm her, an erster Stelle Little Skag Farino, Don Farinos Sohn, der im Beisein Joes ermordet wurde. Überhaupt ist Joe der einzige, der wirklich weiß, was vor Kurzem innerhalb des Mafia-Clans geschehen ist.
Tatsächlich hat Little Skag Farino gleich eine ganze Horde Killer auf Joe angesetzt, denn laut Skags Meinung muss dieser Mensch von der Erde verschwinden. Leider hat Little Skag kein besonders gutes Händchen, was die Auswahl seiner Killer betrifft, denn diese sind regelrechte Dilettanten. So schafft es Joe wiederholt, sein eigenes Leben zu retten und seinen Häschern den Gar auszumachen.
Doch nicht nur Little Skag hat seine Finger in diesem Fall im Spiel. Auch Angelina Farino hat es auf Joe abgesehen, doch anders als Little Skag. Angelina selbst will Rache und ist bereit, sich mit Joe auch intim einzulassen, um ihn als Verbündeten gegen ihre Familie zu gewinnen. Joe selbst ist alles andere als angetan, dass er als Spielball für die Farino-Familie herhalten soll, doch er nutzt die nicht wirklich angenehme Situation durchaus für seine eigenen Zwecke - denn es ist ihm endlich möglich, hinter die Geschehnisse zu blicken, die vor zwölf Jahren zur Ermordung seiner Partnerin führten. Doch er muss auf der Hut sein, denn zu viele wollen seinen Tod und Joe ist nicht bereit, sich einfach so beseitigen zu lassen oder gar lautlos abzutreten. Außerdem ist da noch Angelina und ihre Rache ...
Der 2. Band der Joe-Kurtz-Trilogie! Der Plot des 2. Bandes wurde wieder spannend und abwechslungsreich erarbeitet. Besonders gut hat mir gefallen, dass der Autor in diesem Band den Leser ein Stück weit in die Seele von Joe Kurtz blicken lässt und somit die Beweggründe für seine Handlungen für mich nachvollziehbar waren. Die Figuren wurden facettenreich erarbeitet. Mittlerweile habe ich Protagonisten Joe Kurtz etwas besser kennengelernt und ich muss sagen, ich mag diesen harten Kerl ungemein, der nach seinen eigenen Regeln lebt und auch bereit ist, über das Gesetz hinwegzusehen, wenn er der Meinung ist, dass es seiner eigenen Einstellung entspricht. Ins Herz geschlossen habe ich auch die Figur der Arlene, der guten, wenn auch etwas bissigen Sekretärin von Joe, mit der ich mich allerdings auch nicht anlegen wollen würde. Auch dieses Mal schaffte es Sprecher Carsten Wilhelm wieder, mich voll für die Geschichte zu vereinnahmen. Mit seiner rauen, mit unter auch "harten" Stimme und der hervorragenden Betonung der jeweiligen Szenen vermochte er es, dass ich die Szenen jederzeit vor Augen hatte und zwischendrin alles stehen und liegen lassen musste, um mich voll und ganz diesem Hörgenuss hinzugeben. Dieser Band hat mir glatt noch besser gefallen als der 1. Band und ich bin sehr gespannt, was der Abschlussband für mich bereithält.
Nur mit List und Tücke ist es Ex-Privatdetektiv Joe Kurtz gelungen, die Machenschaften innerhalb des Farino-Clans zu überleben, doch zur Ruhe kommt er einfach nicht. Das Online-Geschäft, dass seine Sekretärin Arlene aufgebaut hat, boomt, doch leider kann Joe nicht nur damit seine Tage füllen. Zu viele Leute sind hinter ihm her, an erster Stelle Little Skag Farino, Don Farinos Sohn, der im Beisein Joes ermordet wurde. Überhaupt ist Joe der einzige, der wirklich weiß, was vor Kurzem innerhalb des Mafia-Clans geschehen ist.
Tatsächlich hat Little Skag Farino gleich eine ganze Horde Killer auf Joe angesetzt, denn laut Skags Meinung muss dieser Mensch von der Erde verschwinden. Leider hat Little Skag kein besonders gutes Händchen, was die Auswahl seiner Killer betrifft, denn diese sind regelrechte Dilettanten. So schafft es Joe wiederholt, sein eigenes Leben zu retten und seinen Häschern den Gar auszumachen.
Doch nicht nur Little Skag hat seine Finger in diesem Fall im Spiel. Auch Angelina Farino hat es auf Joe abgesehen, doch anders als Little Skag. Angelina selbst will Rache und ist bereit, sich mit Joe auch intim einzulassen, um ihn als Verbündeten gegen ihre Familie zu gewinnen. Joe selbst ist alles andere als angetan, dass er als Spielball für die Farino-Familie herhalten soll, doch er nutzt die nicht wirklich angenehme Situation durchaus für seine eigenen Zwecke - denn es ist ihm endlich möglich, hinter die Geschehnisse zu blicken, die vor zwölf Jahren zur Ermordung seiner Partnerin führten. Doch er muss auf der Hut sein, denn zu viele wollen seinen Tod und Joe ist nicht bereit, sich einfach so beseitigen zu lassen oder gar lautlos abzutreten. Außerdem ist da noch Angelina und ihre Rache ...
Der 2. Band der Joe-Kurtz-Trilogie! Der Plot des 2. Bandes wurde wieder spannend und abwechslungsreich erarbeitet. Besonders gut hat mir gefallen, dass der Autor in diesem Band den Leser ein Stück weit in die Seele von Joe Kurtz blicken lässt und somit die Beweggründe für seine Handlungen für mich nachvollziehbar waren. Die Figuren wurden facettenreich erarbeitet. Mittlerweile habe ich Protagonisten Joe Kurtz etwas besser kennengelernt und ich muss sagen, ich mag diesen harten Kerl ungemein, der nach seinen eigenen Regeln lebt und auch bereit ist, über das Gesetz hinwegzusehen, wenn er der Meinung ist, dass es seiner eigenen Einstellung entspricht. Ins Herz geschlossen habe ich auch die Figur der Arlene, der guten, wenn auch etwas bissigen Sekretärin von Joe, mit der ich mich allerdings auch nicht anlegen wollen würde. Auch dieses Mal schaffte es Sprecher Carsten Wilhelm wieder, mich voll für die Geschichte zu vereinnahmen. Mit seiner rauen, mit unter auch "harten" Stimme und der hervorragenden Betonung der jeweiligen Szenen vermochte er es, dass ich die Szenen jederzeit vor Augen hatte und zwischendrin alles stehen und liegen lassen musste, um mich voll und ganz diesem Hörgenuss hinzugeben. Dieser Band hat mir glatt noch besser gefallen als der 1. Band und ich bin sehr gespannt, was der Abschlussband für mich bereithält.
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Joe Kurtz’s To-Do List
- Help Arlene find new office space
- Get $35,000 by Monday to expand business
- Find out why someone is hiring people to kill me
- Get dirty cops off my back so they don’t send me back to prison
- Threaten my daughter’s drunk asshole stepfather
- Meet guy about job. Claims he saw his daughter’s killer at the airport even though he supposedly committed suicide. Not sure what he wants from me.
- Talk to daughter of the Mafia family I had all those problems with. See if she is the one trying to kill me. If not, what does she want?
- Buy long underwear because this winter has been bad even by Buffalo standards.
**************************
Dan Simmons started this hard-boiled crime series as a tribute to Richard Stark’s Parker books, but while the Joe Kurtz character is definitely a bad-ass, Simmons had done a nice job making him his own character and not just a Parker rip-off. While Joe is more than willing to use murder to solve problems, he also has more scruples than Parker like refusing to take money that he could easily steal. Kurtz also has more personal connections than Parker does like his partnership with Arlene in their web based people-locating business or his looking out for a daughter that doesn’t even know he exists.
There’s a lot of threads going on in this story, and they all come together nicely into a big violent ending that I didn’t see coming. My only complaint is that there’s a few too many coincidences that drive the plot for my taste. Still, the blunt Kurtz and his adventures in the underworld of Buffalo have made for a couple of great hard-boiled crime novels.
Simmons also made me laugh out loud by doing a brief scene where Arlene bitches about the later books of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series.
- Help Arlene find new office space
- Get $35,000 by Monday to expand business
- Find out why someone is hiring people to kill me
- Get dirty cops off my back so they don’t send me back to prison
- Threaten my daughter’s drunk asshole stepfather
- Meet guy about job. Claims he saw his daughter’s killer at the airport even though he supposedly committed suicide. Not sure what he wants from me.
- Talk to daughter of the Mafia family I had all those problems with. See if she is the one trying to kill me. If not, what does she want?
- Buy long underwear because this winter has been bad even by Buffalo standards.
**************************
Dan Simmons started this hard-boiled crime series as a tribute to Richard Stark’s Parker books, but while the Joe Kurtz character is definitely a bad-ass, Simmons had done a nice job making him his own character and not just a Parker rip-off. While Joe is more than willing to use murder to solve problems, he also has more scruples than Parker like refusing to take money that he could easily steal. Kurtz also has more personal connections than Parker does like his partnership with Arlene in their web based people-locating business or his looking out for a daughter that doesn’t even know he exists.
There’s a lot of threads going on in this story, and they all come together nicely into a big violent ending that I didn’t see coming. My only complaint is that there’s a few too many coincidences that drive the plot for my taste. Still, the blunt Kurtz and his adventures in the underworld of Buffalo have made for a couple of great hard-boiled crime novels.
Simmons also made me laugh out loud by doing a brief scene where Arlene bitches about the later books of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series.
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