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Icarus
As a child, Jack Keller watched a madman hurl his mother through a high-rise window to her death. Thirty years later, another senseless act of violence takes the life of his wife and nearly finishes him. Now his friend and physical therapist, the enigmatic Kid Demeter, has apparently taken his own life. But was it really suicide? And what does his death have to do with the...more
416 pages
Published
(first published 2001)
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Icarus is a novel written by Russell Andrews (of Gideon fame). It was published in 2001, by Time Warner Books, Doubleday, and Little, Brown and Company publishing houses.
The story (no spoilers beyond what can be read on the book’s sleeve)
The story is basically the story of Jack Keller. At a very young age, he sees his mother getting killed and thrown out of a window of a high-rise building. Apart from leaving him scarred for life and with a violent fear of hights, it is the beginning of a very c...more
The story (no spoilers beyond what can be read on the book’s sleeve)
The story is basically the story of Jack Keller. At a very young age, he sees his mother getting killed and thrown out of a window of a high-rise building. Apart from leaving him scarred for life and with a violent fear of hights, it is the beginning of a very c...more
I have read all of the thrillers by these two authors, David Handler and Peter Gethers;Russell Andrews being a nom de plume of course. I have to say that I thought every single on of them was excellent. I hope that these guys choose to choose to join forces again and write more books like this. Mr. Handler has several mysteries penned under his own name available, and I will no doubt get around to reading some of them. But for surprise twists, and keeping the reader on the edge of his or her sea...more
A horrifically chilling and fast-paced start which enters you into a plot that, while it calms and slows at times, is unrelenting in its pull downwards into despair and hopelessness. Death gets consistently closer throughout the book. Any times of respite just make the drag back into chaos even more defeating.
I loved the way the story unfolded and that I was desperately trying to find the killer as if I was being pursued too.
There were many times when I thought I 'got' the book and the plot but...more
I loved the way the story unfolded and that I was desperately trying to find the killer as if I was being pursued too.
There were many times when I thought I 'got' the book and the plot but...more
What an appropriate title for this book. This book opens up quick and draws you in which is what I am beginning to love about this author (authors).
I really enjoyed the main character Jack Keller. Talk about a man who has to go through an awful lot in life. His wife Caroline was also extremely likable. Their love seemed genuine. It was almost a storybook relationship.
There was an awful lot of bloodshed in the book but it's a murder mystery thriller book.
I loved how everything tied all together...more
I really enjoyed the main character Jack Keller. Talk about a man who has to go through an awful lot in life. His wife Caroline was also extremely likable. Their love seemed genuine. It was almost a storybook relationship.
There was an awful lot of bloodshed in the book but it's a murder mystery thriller book.
I loved how everything tied all together...more
Meh. I found this in a stack of to-read books and assumed it was one I hadn't gotten around to, but about 5 pages in I realized I'd read it before. Still, it was what I had in my hand so I read it again. The cover blurb is so vague it was impossible to tell what it was about. And I guess that's reasonable, since the book itself is apparently terribly torn as to what it wants to be - takes place over three different periods, in which beautiful/lucky people have amazing success, awful things happe...more
Jun 22, 2011
Graham Botha
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
thriller/mystery readers
Jack, the main character, miraculously survives beatings, stabbings, and shootings to the point where he seems not to be human. Some of the gory violence is so bad that it borders on being unlikely and unbelievable. In spite of this the reader is driven to read on to the end from a need to know "who dunnit" There are many possible suspects that the reader thinks are the culprit, but the ending is, after all, a surprise. Not great writing or literary genius, but entertaining and in some parts gri...more
A good solid thriller, one for that long flight across the globe. Well written, interesting characters but I did find the plot stretched my suspension of disbelief. I'm not an American! Also I did find this rather long and I like reading.
But for anyone who enjoys a good thriller and likes American writing this novel would give them several days' contented reading.
But for anyone who enjoys a good thriller and likes American writing this novel would give them several days' contented reading.
This was a real whodunit and it isn't until the end that you know who the real killer is. It starts when Jack was a boy and he witnessed his mother being thrown out a window, thus began his fear of heights. It's a good story but it did seem a bit long at times too.
A good read. The story pushes the limits of credibility in places and the twist at the end was so well concealed that it seemed a bit unlikely when it was revealed. But if your willing to go with the flow it is enjoyable.
I was looking for a crime novel, something in the style of Agatha Christie or Mary Higgins Clark. That's not quite what I got.
It was good in some ways, I wasn't expecting the twists, but nonetheless, this book was too slow for my liking. Too much fluff around the mystery (not that the fluff was bad - it just wasn't what I was after).
It was good in some ways, I wasn't expecting the twists, but nonetheless, this book was too slow for my liking. Too much fluff around the mystery (not that the fluff was bad - it just wasn't what I was after).
I have read this book before and I didn't remember how it ended. So that should tell you something.
I felt like the author hadn't really thought up a good ending to the books. He kept introducing people and situations to fix gaps in the plot. That said I didn't see the twist coming; and I read till the very last page.
I felt like the author hadn't really thought up a good ending to the books. He kept introducing people and situations to fix gaps in the plot. That said I didn't see the twist coming; and I read till the very last page.
I love this book! Its my all time fav read, and have read it many times.The twists and turns will keep you keep turning the page until the very end.
Good mystery, lots of dead bodies, didn't care much about the people but did want to know who did it. You could almost guess.
I liked this enough to pass it on!
Loved the ending... out of the blue and yet could be tracked through the book once you knew the outcome.... ingenious!
Loved the ending... out of the blue and yet could be tracked through the book once you knew the outcome.... ingenious!
This was my first book by Russell Andrews, a really good thriller with plenty of twists and turns. I will read more for sure.
I really liked the way the suspects were "named" in the book. Also, the characters were convincing in their lifestyles and backgrounds.
Not that I didn't enjoy reading this, I just can't put it in the same category as some of his other works...
A truly gripping crime/psychological thriller. Keeps the suspense going right until the end.
Odd twists and turns are always a part of this author's novels. Beware, very high body count!!
Pretty good mystery novel. I felt connected to the main characters and I liked the writing style. But, I felt the story got a little muddled in the middle and dragged.
I 'won' this book in my first ever bookswap and straight thriller is not a genre I read often. This one I would perhaps re-read for the plot, if I had nothing else on hand, because it took a while to figure out whodunnit (and then, of course, one has to read on to check if one is right). however I cannot say I thought it was good overall because there were an awful lot more dead bodies than I like to cope with and none of the characters became real enough for me to worry about them: both their s...more
A fast paced thrill ride. I was guessing "who done it" till the big reveal.
Not as good as his book, Gideon. I lost track at one point as Andrews kept switching characters. A little long winded as well. The best bit was within the last few pages. It also took me two attempts to complete this book.
Better than Gideon but still rubbish.
Even more incredible than Gideon!
good suspense
This would have been a 4-star review, had the book not included so many f-bombs. The story is intriguing, the main character likeable, and although I saw one twist coming, I only half-saw the big one at the end. The book has so much swearing, though, and an uncomfortable amount of sex, not terribly graphic, but rather... frequently talked about, that I wouldn't read it again, nor would I recommend it. I will also try to avoid this author because of that.
My first Russell Andrews read was very good and really exciting to the very last page. I will be looking out for more of his work in the future.
It is only March but I can tell you this is one of my top ten reads for 2004. This story sucks you in from the first word and keeps you in its grips until the last one. Jack Keller over comes a fairly big tragedy in his youth to achieve tremendous personal and financial success to only then start losing it bit by bit. Any more would tell too much. Just find a copy and read it.
This is the second book by this author that I have read and I still can't say what but something is just not gripping me like it should with these books.An ok read that really should be very good.
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A pseudonym used by David Handler with Peter Gethers
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