99% Of The Reading Public Never Post A Review. Rosie’s Review-A-Book-Challenge #RRABC

It’s true!  99% of the reading public don’t post reviews for the books they’ve read. If you’re an avid reader, you probably take a look at the reviews for a book before you decide whether or not to buy.  The average …

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT Philadelphia Set #Thriller Quick Fix by @JGregorySmith3 #TuesdayBookBlog

Today’s team review is from Terry, she blogs here https://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading Quick Fix by J Gregory Smith

4 out of 5 stars

This book has a great opening.  Military contractor Kyle Logan messes up his already messed up life by assaulting his wife’s divorce lawyer, who also happens to be her lover.  He’s then offered a role in the theft of some pieces of valuable artwork, by his friend Ryan.  Kyle is also suffering from injuries caused by an IED when he was in Iraq.

I warmed to the characters and the writing style straight away.  There’s plenty of dark stuff going on, but lots of humour, too – I liked the observations about characters, and often just the way stuff was phrased (‘I hated losing her to a puke like Fenster’).  The guy-on-his-uppers-with-wife-who-has-moved-on-to-a-more-straight-and-successful-new-man thing is an oft-used scenario in this genre in both books and on screen (I’m currently watching the TV series Get Shorty – there it is again!), but it works every time, and J Gregory Smith has painted all participants most colourfully.

When Kyle realises that involvement in Ryan’s criminal schemes means re-acquaintance with childhood chum-turned-gangster Danny ‘Iceballs’ Sheehan, he knows his life is not going to be easy.  Smith has portrayed the atmosphere of the criminal underworld of Philadelphia so well; this book is fast-paced and flows very well, with a convincing plot, and is, basically, a good, solid novel.  I haven’t got anything negative to say about it.  Nice one.

Military contractor Kyle Logan’s luck has gone from bad to worse ever since he returned home to Philadelphia following an injury by an IED in Iraq. First, his marriage crumbles, then his career after he’s pushed to the brink and assaults his wife’s lover, who is also her divorce attorney.

When Kyle’s shady best friend turns up and offers him a “once in a lifetime” chance to regain his job and his life, all for just a couple night’s work, Kyle figures he’s got nothing to lose. The police, Philly Irish Mob and a couple of drug cartels all think otherwise.

Now forced to fight for his life, and those around him, Kyle must turn to allies from his old neighborhood in a desperate effort to stay alive and out of prison.

Quick Fix is one man’s fall into a world of unintended consequences that seeks to tread the razor-thin lines between right and wrong, loyalty and treachery.

AmazonUK | AmazonUS

 

 

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT #Thriller Quick Fix by @JGregorySmith3

Today’s team review is from E.L. Lindley, she blogs here https://lindleyreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

E.L. has been reading Quick Fix by J Gregory Smith

Quick Fix by J.Gregory Smith is a fast paced adventure set in Fishtown, a small town in Philadelphia. It’s an exciting yarn with an effective combination of humour, action and tension.

The story is told in 1^st person narrative from the perspective of military contractor, Kyle Logan. Kyle has lived his whole life in Fishtown and most of the characters are known to him and played a part in his past which helps to make the plot and its denouement believable. The novel begins as Kyle is recovering from injuries he sustained whilst in Iraq, which have left him struggling both physically and mentally. On top of this he is trying to come to terms with his estranged wife’s new relationship with an antagonistic lawyer.

However, it is Kyle’s relationship with his childhood friend, Ryan ‘Anything for a Buck’ Buckley that leads to him becoming embroiled in a criminal endeavour that threatens to destroy not only him but everyone he cares about. Gregory Smith goes to great pains to show Ryan’s good qualities in that he helped Kyle’s mother when she was terminally ill and his own parents died in tragic circumstances but I found it difficult to warm to him. He is morally corrupt and untrustworthy but Kyle is easily led and seems incapable of seeing his friend as he really is.

The plot centres on the theft of some priceless Aztec statues which Ryan plans to sell to the local bad boy, Danny ‘Iceballs’ Sheehan who is a part of the Irish mob. Typically Ryan tries to double cross Sheehan and he and Kyle end up fighting for their lives as they in turn are double crossed and then robbed. It’s a complicated plot but to Gregory Smith’s credit he asserts full control over the narrative and engaged my interest throughout.

My favourite character is Kyle’s landlord, Rollie, a former marine and lonely widower, advancing in years but keen to get involved in the melee that develops when Sheehan kidnaps Kyle’s estranged wife, Beth. It is through Rollie’s memories of Sheehan’s father that we are shown how dangerous these men are and the violence and cruelty runs parallel to the warm camaraderie that Kyle and Rollie enjoy. There is no attempt to dress up the fact that these gangsters are vicious thugs with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

The tone of the novel, however, is not overly dark due to the conversational style of narrative and the fact that Kyle is not particularly tough or adept at fighting and is basically just trying to keep his head above water. There is something of the everyman in Kyle as his life implodes and he finds himself with little control over the proceedings. Despite this is he loyal to both Ryan and Beth and comes across as a decent person.

The setting of the novel creates a claustrophobic feel which racks up the tension. The area seems familiar to the author as he describes the landscape and small town affiliations with a convincing ease. From the onset where Kyle has an altercation in a local bar, the novel has a filmic, visual quality which I found enjoyable.

I really like the way Gregory Smith chooses to end his novel in a realistic ambiguous way. It is not all tied up in a happy ending but rather people just accepting each other’s flaws and doing the best they can.

Quick Fix is an engaging, exciting novel. The characters are all believable and on the whole likeable and I felt very much invested in them. If you are looking for a bit of escapism and you like action and adventure then I think you would enjoy this one very much.

Military contractor Kyle Logan’s luck has gone from bad to worse ever since he returned home to Philadelphia following an injury by an IED in Iraq. First, his marriage crumbles, then his career after he’s pushed to the brink and assaults his wife’s lover, who is also her divorce attorney.

When Kyle’s shady best friend turns up and offers him a “once in a lifetime” chance to regain his job and his life, all for just a couple night’s work, Kyle figures he’s got nothing to lose. The police, Philly Irish Mob and a couple of drug cartels all think otherwise.

Now forced to fight for his life, and those around him, Kyle must turn to allies from his old neighborhood in a desperate effort to stay alive and out of prison.

Quick Fix is one man’s fall into a world of unintended consequences that seeks to tread the razor-thin lines between right and wrong, loyalty and treachery.

AmazonUK | AmazonUS