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59 Hours
Real stories. Real teens. Real consequences.
An innocent teen becomes a hostage stuck in the middle of a dangerous drug-fueled feud in this third book in the chilling Simon True series.
On Sunday, August 6, 2000, fifteen-year-old Nick Markowitz was grabbed off the street on the orders of a local drug dealer named Jesse James Hollywood. Nick was taken as collateral because his brother Ben owed Jesse money. He was an innocent victim who became a pawn in an increasingly high-stakes feud between the two that ended with Nick’s brutal murder.
A dozen or more people saw Nick over the course of the next fifty-nine hours, but no one stepped forward to say anything. No one thought to report the crime to the police. Some of them were scared of Hollywood, while others simply didn’t want to get involved.
When the news of Nick’s murder finally broke, they all had to confront what they’d done—or hadn’t done. As for Hollywood, he ordered the hit, but he wasn’t actually there when the murder took place. And once the story came to light, he immediately disappeared and remained a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for nearly six years before his eventual capture.
An innocent teen becomes a hostage stuck in the middle of a dangerous drug-fueled feud in this third book in the chilling Simon True series.
On Sunday, August 6, 2000, fifteen-year-old Nick Markowitz was grabbed off the street on the orders of a local drug dealer named Jesse James Hollywood. Nick was taken as collateral because his brother Ben owed Jesse money. He was an innocent victim who became a pawn in an increasingly high-stakes feud between the two that ended with Nick’s brutal murder.
A dozen or more people saw Nick over the course of the next fifty-nine hours, but no one stepped forward to say anything. No one thought to report the crime to the police. Some of them were scared of Hollywood, while others simply didn’t want to get involved.
When the news of Nick’s murder finally broke, they all had to confront what they’d done—or hadn’t done. As for Hollywood, he ordered the hit, but he wasn’t actually there when the murder took place. And once the story came to light, he immediately disappeared and remained a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for nearly six years before his eventual capture.
- GenresNonfictionTrue Crime
224 pages, Hardcover
Published March 20, 2018
10 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 26, 2018
I find these true crime stories both fascinating and heartbreaking all at once. Especially in this series from Simon Pulse. All the stories in this series focus on the actions of teenagers/young adults. These stories show in rather powerful ways the consequences of the choices we make about who we hang out with and what we do. In this case, the victim was kidnapped not because of something he did, but because of his brother's actions and the impulses of a group of drug-dealing and drug-taking young men.
The hardest thing about reading this story is that I knew going in how things were going to turn out. Yet as I read the book there were numerous occasions when the situation could have been changed by one or more of the individuals who came in contact with Nick and his kidnappers. Yet for a variety of reasons, fear, reluctance to get involved, and ignorance among them, nobody did anything to change things, not even Nick himself, who believed he was helping his brother by going along with things.
The author tracks the case from the issues that triggered it (Nick's brother's feud with Jesse James Hollywood) to the murder itself followed by the hunt for Hollywood as a fugitive all the way through his trial and conviction. The author took the time to interview all those involved who would talk to him as well as consulting numerous articles as well as trial transcripts. Hearing quotes and comments from some of those who were involved were especially powerful. The parents' heartbreak came through loud and clear.
Please keep in mind that because of the subject matter this book isn't going to be appropriate for all young readers. There is plenty of bad language, violence, and talk of drugs and other illegal activity.
The hardest thing about reading this story is that I knew going in how things were going to turn out. Yet as I read the book there were numerous occasions when the situation could have been changed by one or more of the individuals who came in contact with Nick and his kidnappers. Yet for a variety of reasons, fear, reluctance to get involved, and ignorance among them, nobody did anything to change things, not even Nick himself, who believed he was helping his brother by going along with things.
The author tracks the case from the issues that triggered it (Nick's brother's feud with Jesse James Hollywood) to the murder itself followed by the hunt for Hollywood as a fugitive all the way through his trial and conviction. The author took the time to interview all those involved who would talk to him as well as consulting numerous articles as well as trial transcripts. Hearing quotes and comments from some of those who were involved were especially powerful. The parents' heartbreak came through loud and clear.
Please keep in mind that because of the subject matter this book isn't going to be appropriate for all young readers. There is plenty of bad language, violence, and talk of drugs and other illegal activity.
June 27, 2018
This is a powerful read! The writing really works to humanize all the characters and keep the story grounded. While a piece that involves drug dealers and murder might typically seem abstracted and other-worldly, this recounting is crafted in a way that you can truly picture the events unfolding in your own community. More importantly, the consequences and aftermath are spelled out in great detail from all perspectives with quotes and sources. It's a great way to unpack the complicated relationship our country has with criminal justice and mass incarceration.
September 7, 2021
Quick, easy read about the kidnap/murder of teen Nick Markowitz. The real story that the movie “Alpha Dog” was based.
March 6, 2018
This is an excellent read. You could tell the author did a lot of research and the story flows very well.
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February 20, 2023Recently, I read 59 hours by Johnny Kovatch. 59 hours was a very interesting but weary book. Most people would get a little creeped out because of the setting it's written in. Overall, I think people that are into scary things would love to read this book. 59 hours wasn’t a bad book to read at all, there were just a couple of things that they could add to keep the reader interested. The best things about 59 hours were the events that made the reader want to keep reading. Overall this book was very interesting and I would recommend it.
I think there are many greats in 59 hours. I think this book explained this in order and made it very interesting to read. The evidence that they used from this story and facts made 59 hours seem real. Not only the evidence but all the facts behind the story really made the book more intriguing because there were so many things that happened to Nick Markowitz
“When the news of Nick’s murder finally broke, they all had to confront what they’d done—or hadn’t done.” (Kovatch, 2023) The most interesting part that I read was when no one came forward 59 hours after NIck was pulled off the street and many people lost hope because no one saw or heard anything the night he was taken off the street. Another great thing about this book was that there was more than just them trying to find the killer. They explained everything that led up to this night and why it happened. They also had many other reasons why and these are just some that really stuck out to me and I think will stick out to many other readers.
However, there were some things that could have been improved. I think that they should have done background checks about the murders of Nick. he immediately disappeared and remained a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for nearly six years before his eventual capture.”(Kovatch, “59 Hours”) Even though the book was about the murder of Nick Markowtiz they should have done more background about the killers. Another thing that could be improved was the court and what happened in court that lead up to the killer's sentence. They also should’ve done more background information about Nick. I think this would’ve been a great way to start the book about Nick's life growing up. Nick was very young and he hasn’t been alive that would give you a lot of information about him, but more information I think makes the book more interesting.
I think that 59 hours would be a good book for people that like scary stories. This book would also be a great book if people like reading about murders or people going missing because this book covers both of them. 59 hours explained all sorts of things that went down and kind of explained why the murder of Nick happened. (Noble 2023) This book has a lot of investigating would be another reason why people would read this book. One last reason why someone would like this book is the amount of evidence that leads up to finding the killer of Nick.
I think there are many greats in 59 hours. I think this book explained this in order and made it very interesting to read. The evidence that they used from this story and facts made 59 hours seem real. Not only the evidence but all the facts behind the story really made the book more intriguing because there were so many things that happened to Nick Markowitz
“When the news of Nick’s murder finally broke, they all had to confront what they’d done—or hadn’t done.” (Kovatch, 2023) The most interesting part that I read was when no one came forward 59 hours after NIck was pulled off the street and many people lost hope because no one saw or heard anything the night he was taken off the street. Another great thing about this book was that there was more than just them trying to find the killer. They explained everything that led up to this night and why it happened. They also had many other reasons why and these are just some that really stuck out to me and I think will stick out to many other readers.
However, there were some things that could have been improved. I think that they should have done background checks about the murders of Nick. he immediately disappeared and remained a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for nearly six years before his eventual capture.”(Kovatch, “59 Hours”) Even though the book was about the murder of Nick Markowtiz they should have done more background about the killers. Another thing that could be improved was the court and what happened in court that lead up to the killer's sentence. They also should’ve done more background information about Nick. I think this would’ve been a great way to start the book about Nick's life growing up. Nick was very young and he hasn’t been alive that would give you a lot of information about him, but more information I think makes the book more interesting.
I think that 59 hours would be a good book for people that like scary stories. This book would also be a great book if people like reading about murders or people going missing because this book covers both of them. 59 hours explained all sorts of things that went down and kind of explained why the murder of Nick happened. (Noble 2023) This book has a lot of investigating would be another reason why people would read this book. One last reason why someone would like this book is the amount of evidence that leads up to finding the killer of Nick.
October 29, 2025
The difference between finding a killer and letting them get away sounds like something straight out of a movie, but when fifteen-year-old Nick Markowitz was grabbed off the street on the orders of a local drug dealer named Jesse James Hollywood, it became clear that during the 59 hours after the murder were the most crucial, so they could find the killer. The book's title is 59 Hours by Johnny Kovatch, and this book is about a murder, which stems from an innocent bystander being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Throughout this book, the author is trying to inform us on how this case became more and more difficult, which was mostly because of the people's refusal to get involved and walk away from the crime scene. This book had many things that made it great, but it had many other things that held it back. Overall, this book was an eye-opener, but its delivery could have been better.
From the start of this book, it was quite the jaw dropper because you would never expect to hear that many people saw a dead body and chose to walk away. In the book, “ No one thought to report the crime to the police. Some of them were scared of Hollywood, while others simply didn't want to get involved.” This quote alone just shows that you never know what to expect from people, and that power will sometimes overpower somes abilities to stand by what is right. This book went into immense detail on the background of Nick Markowitz’s life before his death and what happened leading up to his death. This book was not only great with description, but it was also great at finding a story to write about. This story is so intriguing and out of the millions of stories that could be written as a nonfiction book, the author chose this one because of its unique storyline.
Now, while this book did have many great things about it, there were also some areas or “lousy’s” that could have been better. For example, the book cover itself wasn't very appealing, meaning it wouldn't stand out to anyone and make them want to read this book or even give it a second glance. Another “lousy” is that this book had lots of information, and at times it could be seen as overwhelming. This is because in this book, they made sure to put all the characters and why they're relevant to the story, but as you would think, this made it difficult to remember all of this information.
Overall, this was a pretty good book with some minor issues that made a big difference. The story this book was made about was amazing to read, how someone who had their life together could still fall victim to others' problems. This book really covered how hard it is for the families as well as the community to suffer from a loss. This book would be 4/5 stars because, while there were really good parts, some aspects of the book threw me off as a reader.
From the start of this book, it was quite the jaw dropper because you would never expect to hear that many people saw a dead body and chose to walk away. In the book, “ No one thought to report the crime to the police. Some of them were scared of Hollywood, while others simply didn't want to get involved.” This quote alone just shows that you never know what to expect from people, and that power will sometimes overpower somes abilities to stand by what is right. This book went into immense detail on the background of Nick Markowitz’s life before his death and what happened leading up to his death. This book was not only great with description, but it was also great at finding a story to write about. This story is so intriguing and out of the millions of stories that could be written as a nonfiction book, the author chose this one because of its unique storyline.
Now, while this book did have many great things about it, there were also some areas or “lousy’s” that could have been better. For example, the book cover itself wasn't very appealing, meaning it wouldn't stand out to anyone and make them want to read this book or even give it a second glance. Another “lousy” is that this book had lots of information, and at times it could be seen as overwhelming. This is because in this book, they made sure to put all the characters and why they're relevant to the story, but as you would think, this made it difficult to remember all of this information.
Overall, this was a pretty good book with some minor issues that made a big difference. The story this book was made about was amazing to read, how someone who had their life together could still fall victim to others' problems. This book really covered how hard it is for the families as well as the community to suffer from a loss. This book would be 4/5 stars because, while there were really good parts, some aspects of the book threw me off as a reader.
May 27, 2018
Spoilers ahead but the entire book is a spoiler so I'm not bothering to hide this. It also spoils Star Wars V, so read at your own risk. All comments are in regards to the book as it is written, and not about the tragedy that took place.
59 hours would make a great 30 min ID tv show, maybe even a movie. It could have made a great novella even, but for a 200 page book I was in agony. I had horrifying flashbacks to my research papers in college, where I, a typically succinct writer (history major, not English), had to fill 25 pages when I'd have preferred to do it in 15. The first actual chapter sees the author telling us why August 9th was an important day in history, none of which is related to the story but it does waste more than a page getting us going. Starting off chapter 2 with completely useless information about West Hills? Great idea! Block quotes for "Little Boy Blue"? Sweet, that wastes 9 full lines, and isn't necessary at all! The sarcasm runs deep here, but trust me, there are so many examples that's not even the worst part of the writing.
Where the book started to go wrong was page ix. No, not page 1, you don't even make it that far. Instead, we're provided with a Who's Who back on page ix. What I always love about books is when they use the who's who pages to tell you everything about the book you're about to read (just saying: there might be a reason why George Lucas didn't introduce Darth Vader before the movie started with Darth Vader - previously known as Anakin Skywalker, father of Luke and Leia). The following is an actual quote:
Jesse James Hollywood: twenty years old, marijuana dealer, ordered shooting, sentenced to life without parole, currently housed at Calipatria State Prison.
Just in case you missed that, that was the author telling you who ordered the shooting, and the fact that he had a trial, was found guilty, and what his sentence is. BEFORE THE BOOK EVEN STARTS. It does this with everyone involved.
Then we finally make it to page one (if you didn't already drop this book because why do you even need to read it) and we get the prologue. Aka here's the crime and what happened to Nick, just in case you'd like a quick summary and would still like to escape this book before devoting any measure of time to it.
I will say this: the chapters are short, so it's easy enough to bribe yourself into reading one more chapter.
59 hours would make a great 30 min ID tv show, maybe even a movie. It could have made a great novella even, but for a 200 page book I was in agony. I had horrifying flashbacks to my research papers in college, where I, a typically succinct writer (history major, not English), had to fill 25 pages when I'd have preferred to do it in 15. The first actual chapter sees the author telling us why August 9th was an important day in history, none of which is related to the story but it does waste more than a page getting us going. Starting off chapter 2 with completely useless information about West Hills? Great idea! Block quotes for "Little Boy Blue"? Sweet, that wastes 9 full lines, and isn't necessary at all! The sarcasm runs deep here, but trust me, there are so many examples that's not even the worst part of the writing.
Where the book started to go wrong was page ix. No, not page 1, you don't even make it that far. Instead, we're provided with a Who's Who back on page ix. What I always love about books is when they use the who's who pages to tell you everything about the book you're about to read (just saying: there might be a reason why George Lucas didn't introduce Darth Vader before the movie started with Darth Vader - previously known as Anakin Skywalker, father of Luke and Leia). The following is an actual quote:
Jesse James Hollywood: twenty years old, marijuana dealer, ordered shooting, sentenced to life without parole, currently housed at Calipatria State Prison.
Just in case you missed that, that was the author telling you who ordered the shooting, and the fact that he had a trial, was found guilty, and what his sentence is. BEFORE THE BOOK EVEN STARTS. It does this with everyone involved.
Then we finally make it to page one (if you didn't already drop this book because why do you even need to read it) and we get the prologue. Aka here's the crime and what happened to Nick, just in case you'd like a quick summary and would still like to escape this book before devoting any measure of time to it.
I will say this: the chapters are short, so it's easy enough to bribe yourself into reading one more chapter.
October 11, 2021
59 Hours, an adult nonfiction book by Johnny Kovatch, is about a 15 year old boy named Nick Markowitz who was murdered as collateral damage from his older brother’s drug feud. The book details the conflicts between Jesse James Hollywood and Ben Markowitz which anticipates Nick’s murder. It also gives accounts of what the consequences were after the murder. I like the way that the book reveals the confessions of the citizens who failed to report seeing the kidnapping because it was an interesting twist to the story. I also like the different perspectives in the book because it provides many different thought processes including what went on through the murderer’s mind. One thing I dislike about the book is that I knew that Nick was going to be murdered all along because of the introduction, which left no surprise element in the book. A powerful quote in the book is "There are deaths, such as this, when we can't shake an angry finger at God and say, ‘Why?' We can only look to ourselves" (Kovatch 173). This quote is powerful because it conveys the tragedy and heartbreak in Nick’s death to everyone around him. Ultimately, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes dark true crime books.
February 21, 2025
The book 59 Hours written by Johnny Kovatch is a depressing, disheartening, and complex story about a Teen named Nick who got in the middle of a drug feud. This book shares his story and shows the dangers of drugs and strangers. There are many ups and downs in it with a mysterious and complex story.
This book goes into depth about Nick’s life and how he grew up. I would recommend this for more mature readers as it has complex scenes and relationships with the characters. It goes in-depth into solving his murder with many twists and turns. It is incredibly captivating and is an incredible read.
The scenes and the character connections can be quite confusing or complicated. The book has a lot of flashbacks and jumps forward which can be difficult to understand. I wish it would go more in-depth with the surroundings and emotions of the characters.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to more mature readers. This book covers a lot of dark or disturbing situations. This was a great book and I would love to read more from this author.
This book goes into depth about Nick’s life and how he grew up. I would recommend this for more mature readers as it has complex scenes and relationships with the characters. It goes in-depth into solving his murder with many twists and turns. It is incredibly captivating and is an incredible read.
The scenes and the character connections can be quite confusing or complicated. The book has a lot of flashbacks and jumps forward which can be difficult to understand. I wish it would go more in-depth with the surroundings and emotions of the characters.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to more mature readers. This book covers a lot of dark or disturbing situations. This was a great book and I would love to read more from this author.
April 13, 2018
more like 3.5
crazy story, true as many crazy stories are - I felt really bad for this kid's mother, but the digressions into the touchy-feely details were a bit much at times and distracted from the true crime aspect. a lot of teens like to read true crime and are into forensics, and this is perfect for those readers. a good honest look at the reality of what can happen to others because of one's involvement in drugs - how those behaviors can pull those you care about into dangerous situations through no fault of their own.
crazy story, true as many crazy stories are - I felt really bad for this kid's mother, but the digressions into the touchy-feely details were a bit much at times and distracted from the true crime aspect. a lot of teens like to read true crime and are into forensics, and this is perfect for those readers. a good honest look at the reality of what can happen to others because of one's involvement in drugs - how those behaviors can pull those you care about into dangerous situations through no fault of their own.
October 12, 2022
I really liked this book but it had a horrible ending, it started out talking about Nick's life and then went in and talked about how he was kidnapped and how he was with them for 59 hours. Nick was "told" that he was free to go but they never said where and told him not to do anything stupid they had taken him a few hours from home and kept him because of his brother's drug debt. Nick was then taken and hit in the head with a shovel and then shot. They did end up catching the guys that killed him including Hollywood and then talked about the trials and what each person was served.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2018
3.5 Stars
59 Hours tells a tragic story of murder (which was actually the inspiration for the movie Alpha Dog). While the author did a serviceable job of outlining the horrific events, the storytelling could have been more captivating. Thankfully, the victim was treated with respect, as was his family. A decent read that will interest fans of true crime.
59 Hours tells a tragic story of murder (which was actually the inspiration for the movie Alpha Dog). While the author did a serviceable job of outlining the horrific events, the storytelling could have been more captivating. Thankfully, the victim was treated with respect, as was his family. A decent read that will interest fans of true crime.
August 10, 2018
I can’t finish this. I LOVED the other two books, but this one is awful. The writing is terrible and the editing astoundingly bad. It falls so far below the standard set by the first books in this series. I’m so disappointed, because I bought 5 copies and can’t imagine any teens will manage this one.
February 10, 2020
This book "59 Hours" is about a brother who's brother owns a 38k drug debt to "Hollywood", the main antagonist in the story. Nick, the main character, was kidnaped as collateral for his drug debt and, in the end, killed. I didn't like this book because I dislike non-fiction book and the weird, changing point-of-view was very disturbing and annoying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2018
Young or adult, this story will stay with you long after you've finished it. The author clearly undertook extensive research to recreate the story in the words of those that lived it. It reads nearly like an oral history of the murder and events after that demonstrate the powerful effects of inaction, of being a bystander. It is a powerful lesson for teens and adults to examine our choices, especially when the choice is to do nothing.
April 3, 2018
Tragic story. The writing was a bit hard to follow sometimes, which made the details hard to put together. Needs a good editing and it might flow better.
November 22, 2018
A real life crime story about teens that will definitely appeal to my high school readers.
June 28, 2019
Watch the movie Alpha Dog, it’s much better.
August 29, 2021
The recounting of the last 59 hours of a young boy's life when he was caught in the middle of a war of drugs and money. Sad and slightly disturbing in places.
April 6, 2020
After reading My Stolen Son. I got this book. It will take you no time to read about Nick. And get a little extra input about all the key players.
August 28, 2019
I generally don't respond to novels in the "YA" genre. But this writer is really terrific the way he tells the story. It may be written for a younger audience but his prose and narrative approach are as refined and mature as I've read. Very poetic. Definitely a writer to keep on your radar. pgc
October 3, 2023
A quick, but heavy read. Very organized. I liked the epilogue and some of the comments made by those interviewed for it.
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