Higher Than Jesus

Hit Man #2

by Robert Chazz Chute

In this, the second book in The Hit Man Series, luckless Cuban hit man Jesus Diaz has fled New York for Chicago. The FBI and the mafia organization he betrayed are after him and his money is running low. He takes a job to kill a bad guy in a sleazy after-hours joint on Christmas Day. Things go horribly awry and Jesus finds himself in the middle of an arms deal between rival groups.

It's a two dogs/one bone problem and Jesus has to use all his skills as a former Military Policeman to survive. Complications ensue as Jesus fights off bad guys, battles his addiction to Vicodin and fights for the the woman he hopes will be the future Mrs. Diaz: the blonde glamazon Willow Clemont.

223 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2012

About the author

After escaping retail hell, I trained as a journalist and worked in newspapers and magazines before becoming a drone in the book publishing hive. I worked for Harlequin, The Canadian Book Information Centre, Lester & Orpen Dennys and Cannon Books in various capacities in editorial, publicity and sales. I learned a lot about what not to do. (All of the above companies are dead and gone except, of course, for Harlequin. I didn't kill them. It was suicide.)

I went over the wall again and worked a few miracles in the field of alternative medicine. Then "they sentenced me to 20 years of boredom, for trying to change the system from within." (Identify that quote and we are inextricably, irrevocably friends.)

Writing full-time now, I tell everyone I'm "in Suspense." I hope you read, review and enjoy my books.

Reviews

[Mark Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuban hitman, Jesus Diaz, is back in a new adventure from the twisted mind of suspense writer Robert Chazz Chute. Having escaped his former mob associates in New York, Jesus (“Don’t call me Jee-zuss, it’s pronounced Hay-soose”) is hiding out in Chi-town, waiting for the heat to burn off or for someone to step out of a dark alley and end the suspense.

It’s Christmas Eve, the perfect time to pull a job. Hey, he’s gotta eat and the father of a tall blond Amazon woman wants her drug dealer taken out. Jesus has been tailing the guy for a week – well, half the time on the dealer and half watching the beautiful daughter. Is it just the sentimentality of the holidays or is he falling for Willow for real?

Things go wrong in the course of the perfect hit and Jesus finds out things he wasn’t supposed to know and now he’s involved in an arms trade gone wrong. Two rival factions want the goods and are willing to kill to get them. Jesus agrees to work with his new love’s father to take out the heavies from one gang for a cut of the profits.

But, as always in the criminal underworld, there’s the double cross and the triple cross, there are lies and there are diversions. It’s going to take all of Jesus’s considerable skills and cunning, and the help of a homeless vet and a large, gay bodyguard, just to keep himself and Willow alive. He’ll need to clear his mind of all the drugs he’s been taking and get the job done.

A quick-moving plot with lots of surprises and a clear-eyed examination of addiction (yes, the title refers to that kind of high), this is another great installment in the ongoing “Hitman” series. Looking forward to future adventures.

[robert hedlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting choice of words

A lot of cleverness mixed with death. Reminiscent of John MacDonald and Travis McGhee but more exotic because Cuban. Fast read.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summery

Higher than Jesus puts the reader smack dab into a world of intrigue, corruption, gun running, beautiful glamazons, and explosive action to make the reader think twice about his fantasies of becoming a sharp, smart, and luckless Cuban hit man. The reader is cast within the story as Jesus Diaz, a Cuban born hit man that is caught between the mafia and FBI, and it’s up to Jesus Diaz to navigate the troubled waters to find a way out.

Overall Impressions

Higher Than Jesus is a fast-paced book written in the second person- the author uses words such as you, your, etc. to describe the main character, causing the reader to identify with the main character as himself. If it is well done, it can be a great way to allow the reader to become part of the story and ingrain themselves within it. If it is poorly done, it can make the story sound forced and the reader feel out of place, neither within the story or as an outside observer relishing in the view.

Robert Chazz Chute, to his credit, does do a pretty good job of using the second person narrative to get the reader to join in the fun. There are many different tools he uses to accomplish this task, including copious amounts of movie references, both blatant and subdued, biting, humorous dialogue that crackles in homage to the old hard boiled detectives like Phillip Marlow, and small descriptive snippets that make the reader go “Wait, what?” and read the passage again just to make sure their eyes didn’t deceive them. One example is when Jesus declares that “Violent people who look placid are scarier than using a rattlesnake for a condom.” Not exactly an image that one gets out of the head easily.

Although the plot moved at a fast pace, and the dialogue made for an enjoyable read, I found that the puzzle at the center of everything was a bit lacking. I will admit that I do tend to be a bit more demanding of the mystery/thriller/suspense genre of books. I do expect to be moderately surprised or to have to puzzle through the clues to get to the same ending as the hero or heroine. Sadly, I was neither surprised with the ending, nor found any difficult puzzles to solve within the pages of the book.
Higher than Jesus is a fun read, and if you’re looking for a book to make you laugh, cringe and cheer, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

Rating system:
0 Stars – Great for kindling or wasting space on your hard drive
1 Star – Perfect gift for that person you can’t stand
2 Stars – Put it on your to Borrow list
3 Stars – Buy it if you get the chance- worth a weekend read.
4 Stars – This is definitely something to add to your library
5 Stars – Impulse Buy Approved.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus is a hit man who fled New York and is in Chicago doing a small job. He meets the woman of his dreams and takes a job working for her father. If only life were that simple. This book is a terrific page-
turning thriller. Can't wait for the next one in the series.

Jesus, however, is not like any hitman you've ever met before. He has, since coming over from Cuba, thoroughly absorbed American culture and can quote movies like no one's business. When he meets a girl, he can't help but quote from Casablanca. And, if you thought the author
wasn't aware of Pulp Fiction, There is Jesus quoting Jules' lines from Ezekiel about the path of the righteous man and striking down with great vengeance.

What kind of a hitman gets in a discussion in a bar about whether Heath Ledger was the best Batman?

What kind of a hitman goes to twelve step meetings?

What kind of a hitman refers to himself as a smart ninja ?

The lady has a laugh like Betty Rubble.

In between all the funny cultural references is a solid, well-plotted
crime thriller that is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

There is nothing slow or dull about this book.

So do we need yet another series about a hitman? Only if it's about Jesus Diaz. Only if it is filled with heart-pounding action and only if the lead character thinks about being a smart ninja and thinks about what
Han Solo and Rambo would do. A solid read. No doubts.

[Geof · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Bigger Than Jesus which was a really funny book. This time the hapless Cuban hit man is hiding in Chicago after his last misadventure. His job is to kill someone on Christmas Eve. Easy enough, right? Wrong. Of course things go to hell in a hand basket in short order. This is Jesus Diaz after all. There are a bunch of quirky and amusing characters, amusing references, and a lot of fun to be had. While it is not as good as the first book of the series it is a solid read.

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not fair for me to read this book, because I could only get through the first couple of chapters. I just couldn't get into the story, and the POV was murder for me. I'm going to hang on to it and try again sometime, but I just couldn't get past the style and the content was engaging enough for me to try.