This book is set in an area that I am familiar with, namely western New York.

On the opening page, Joe Kurtz is shot in the head, but not too severely. Naturally, he is trying to figure out who shot him. Subsequently, he is hired by two different Mafia families to determine who is killing a large number of heroin addicts and dealers in the Buffalo area.

I found this book to be extremely well-plotted, and I like the central character, Joe Kurtz. Regrettably, it seems that this might be the end of a long and perilous road for Joe, as there are no more books in the series.

It's a pity because the story has so much potential. The setting of western New York adds an interesting backdrop to the tale, and the character of Joe Kurtz is engaging and complex.

One can only hope that the author might consider continuing the series or at least providing some sort of closure for Joe's story.

Overall, despite the lack of future installments, this book is still a great read and worth checking out.

A fitting end to a remarkably consistent series.

As usual, this book is delightfully (and very intentionally) over the top. It reaches borderline ridiculous levels in a few instances, but that's precisely part of the fun! Simmons is fully aware of what he's doing in these Kurtz books. Subtlety is not the name of the game here. It gets extremely crazy at times, and you essentially have to suspend your disbelief entirely and simply embrace the surreal and ultra-violent nature of the series. In fact, there is one particularly wild sequence at a carnival that I'm fairly certain will be etched into my brain for years.

My main complaint about this third book (apart from the fact that Kurtz basically transforms into Rambo in the third act) is that there are far too many concurrent plotlines to keep track of. I feel like Simmons got overly ambitious, and as a result, the story comes perilously close to going off the rails at times. But setting that aside, this series was an absolute joy from start to finish.

Shameless, brutal, over-indulgent, darkly comedic... this book drinks Jack Daniels for breakfast and bleeds diesel fuel. It's a wild ride that doesn't let up until the very end.

The best hard-boiled novel I've read in several years. It is clearly superior to Simmons' first two Joe Kurtz books. In my view, those previous books had significant flaws. However, this latest Kurtz book does not suffer from the same issues.

If you have a penchant for hard-boiled, two-fisted mysteries, you are bound to enjoy this book.

The book flaps mention that Simmons is currently working on another Kurtz book. I find myself wondering if this is indeed true.

I happened to read this book during a flight from WA to FLA. It was a great way to pass the time and keep myself engaged. The story was so captivating that I hardly noticed the hours passing by. I can't wait to see what Simmons has in store for us in the next Kurtz installment.

The weaker one, compared to the previous ones: the caricature is still there, but Kurt Simmons humanizes it. And this only harms Kurt, because the author wants him to be both cool and an object of sympathy at the same time. No, it won't work like this here... The intrigue in the first half of the novel is very dull - at the level of "nonexistent". But the second half is exciting, but... Now Simmons has piled on too much, but it's not caricature, but over-sweetness. For example, Kurt has already been hired by two mafias, and both are threatening because he gets in their way. If he gets in the way, then why hire him?

The worst thing is that Simmons left several threads hanging. And these threads are either the tying up of the plot (where did the photo of the amusement park come from in O'Neil? Why was she interested in them? Why did she hire Kurt? Why were they finally attacked?), or the star on which everything depends (here there may be spoilers, so I will only write why the park functioned in Galloway, but its owners didn't even care what was going on there?).

And despite all this, still 4 ★: for the subtle allusions to Shakespeare. And for the image of the Scot, which Simmons almost deciphers, but the final solution still belongs to the readers.

I really liked the book.

After reading all three books in the series consecutively, I could notice that each one began to follow a certain formula and thus became a bit more predictable.

Nevertheless, the last installment, "Hard as Nails," was still quite enjoyable.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if these books were made into a movie series.

However, it's important to note that several scenes would have to be cut from the movie in order to receive an R rating from the MPAA.

This is because some of the content in the books might be considered too intense or inappropriate for a more general audience.

Despite this, I think a movie adaptation could still be very successful if done well, as the story and characters have a lot of potential.

It would be interesting to see how the filmmakers would handle the transition from the written word to the big screen and whether they could capture the essence of the books.

Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this series, whether it's in book form or as a movie.

These Kurtz books are indeed fun to read.

However, when it comes to being groundbreaking, they lack that certain something.

Standard hard-boiled crime is not the genre that I typically gravitate towards, so perhaps I'm being a bit unfair in my assessment.

Nevertheless, Simmons has penned some of my all-time favorite books, and unfortunately, these Kurtz books just don't quite measure up to those high standards.

It's not that they are bad books by any means, but they don't have that special spark that makes them truly stand out.

Maybe for fans of the hard-boiled crime genre, these books would be more appealing, but for me, they fall a bit short.

Overall, while the Kurtz books are an enjoyable read, they don't quite reach the level of excellence that Simmons has achieved in some of his other works.

Yes, another Joe Kurtz book. This will be it until Simmons writes another.

It's the same kind of stuff as the first two, but in this particular installment, Simmons throws in an even greater amount of plot. The story becomes extremely complicated and convoluted. Perhaps it's a bit too much so, but nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable read. If you have read the first two books, you'll surely read this one as well.

I can't help but wonder when we'll see a Joe Kurtz movie. Given how much Joe gets beaten up and worse in these books, I truly swear that Simmons must have been watching a whole bunch of Bruce Willis movies while he was in the process of writing them. Willis would make a great Kurtz, although he might be getting a little bit old for that sort of intense action.

Overall, this Joe Kurtz book offers more of the same exciting and complex storyline that fans have come to expect from Simmons. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you eager to see what will happen next. Whether or not a movie will ever be made remains to be seen, but it's definitely a possibility that many fans are hoping for.

Dan Simmons' Joe Kurtz series is an absolute treat for fans of hard-boiled thrillers. In this latest installment, Simmons holds nothing back, delivering a story that is both intense and engaging.

Joe Kurtz has a talent for finding himself in hot water with the police, criminals, and even some of his acquaintances. He is a survivor through and through, willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive.

The book takes readers on a wild ride, with Joe facing one obstacle after another. Despite being battered and beaten, and tired beyond belief, he never gives up.

This latest Joe Kurtz book is a must-read for fans of raw, gritty, hard-boiled urban action. The main character is much deeper than he initially appears, adding an extra layer of complexity to the story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. It gets a solid 9 out of 10 from me. And let's not forget the part of the book that has a connection to the title - it's truly something special.

It is a good proposal, but it is disappointing. Although it attempts to be an update of the hard-boiled adventures of the pulps, it remains just a simple thriller. Neither the style, nor the events nor the characters are attractive. The explosive ending leaves you indifferent.

The story seems to lack that certain something that would make it truly engaging. The writing style is rather平淡, failing to draw the reader in and keep them hooked. The events unfold in a rather predictable manner, without any real surprises or twists to keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

The characters also fall short. They lack depth and complexity, making it difficult for the reader to form an emotional connection with them. Without that connection, the reader is left feeling detached from the story and its outcome.

In conclusion, while the idea behind this work may have been good, the execution leaves much to be desired. It fails to live up to its potential and ends up being a rather forgettable read.

This high-action mystery/thriller just kept barreling along at a breakneck pace, much like an exciting action movie.

There was never a dull moment throughout the entire story. It had a distinct noir feeling to it. This was partly due to the vivid and atmospheric way the city of Buffalo, NY, and its surrounding area were described.

The other part of the noir essence came from the character of Joe. He was rough, hard, and unemotional. He seemed to have the ability to power through any kind of pain or obstacle that came his way.

I found myself being led on a merry chase, completely engrossed in the story. I didn't figure out who the bad guy manipulating everything was until the very end, which is exactly how I like my mystery novels.

Overall, it was a great summer mystery read that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

In this third book, Joe Kurtz has a meeting with his parole officer. She requests that he look into the location of an abandoned amusement park and provides him with some pictures.

Though she doesn't offer an explanation as to why, Joe agrees. As he is on his way to get his car, he unexpectedly runs into her in the garage, something both of them would have preferred to avoid.

Tragically, they are then attacked by an unknown assailant. Joe sustains injuries, but the officer is severely hurt, having been shot in the head and ending up in a coma.

Joe becomes the suspect in the attack, but once he is released, he manages to further investigate the crimes. Interestingly, the questions the officer was asking about the park turn out to be intertwined with the mysteries at hand.

This book stands out as the most brutal in the series. It is not just the violence that makes it so, but also the almost body horror level of injuries that are vividly described.

It's not the typical torture-torture, but rather torturous and somewhat far-fetched. However, there's no denying its brutality. The mystery, while generally okay, has a touch of silliness to it.

The scope of these books has expanded to a point where it feels almost unwelcome.

This book is not the best in the series, but it is still really good.

It has a different feel compared to the other two. I really like the action-packed scenes and the incredible resources that the characters possess. Seriously, who can obtain a helicopter within just a few hours? It's amazing!

However, there are a couple of things that I didn't quite like. Firstly, the main character overuses movie references that he doesn't even like. He keeps saying things like "it's like everyone is caught in a bad movie." Why add this several times? It gets a bit tiresome.

Secondly, the question of "why" is never answered. For example, the biggest showdown between the largest characters (one of whom is revealed during the showdown) is over in an instant, and we never find out why he did what he did. Oh, it's so aggravating!

The ending leaves the series open to continue, but I wonder if Simmons just gave up. Maybe he should write a pamphlet to provide some closure. Yes, closure would be really nice.