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Three Hours Past Midnight
-- Dirty Books Blog
-- Unlawful Acts
His last job a disaster, a professional thief teams with an old partner eager for one last score – a safe in the home of a wealthy Philadelphia politician. But they are not the only ones set on the cash.
His partner dead and the goods missing, he hunts for his money and the killer only to find out whether this may have been a job best left undone.
-- Unlawful Acts
His last job a disaster, a professional thief teams with an old partner eager for one last score – a safe in the home of a wealthy Philadelphia politician. But they are not the only ones set on the cash.
His partner dead and the goods missing, he hunts for his money and the killer only to find out whether this may have been a job best left undone.
- GenresFiction
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 3, 2017
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 14, 2018
When Crime Wave Press reached out re possibly reviewing one of their titles, Three Hours Past Midnight was definitely one that jumped out at me – it sounded like it might be the type of fast paced, gritty yet engaging thriller that I like to dip into – and I picked well because I thoroughly enjoyed this – tense, atmospheric, a great sense of place and a great sense of pace.
It is a fast read and an often violent one – we follow our narrator, a true anti-hero, as he prowls the streets of Philadelphia looking for the answer to what went wrong with a seemingly simple job. He is not particularly likable, but then those he encounters are not so either – this is the dark side of human nature in full view right here, the author has a gorgeous descriptive sense of both person and location – the city streets taking on a nature of their own as you go along.
For a man who has literally no redeeming features that I could see, our protagonist is highly engaging and you want him to win. He has no killing qualms, he seeks only retribution and the truth of the matter, if only for the sake of his own reputation. This is not a redemptive novel but it is an authentic one, the end was beautifully placed to show how violence can become mundane and unremarked upon, just another day in the life of…
I thought it was clever and completely riveting. Recommended.
It is a fast read and an often violent one – we follow our narrator, a true anti-hero, as he prowls the streets of Philadelphia looking for the answer to what went wrong with a seemingly simple job. He is not particularly likable, but then those he encounters are not so either – this is the dark side of human nature in full view right here, the author has a gorgeous descriptive sense of both person and location – the city streets taking on a nature of their own as you go along.
For a man who has literally no redeeming features that I could see, our protagonist is highly engaging and you want him to win. He has no killing qualms, he seeks only retribution and the truth of the matter, if only for the sake of his own reputation. This is not a redemptive novel but it is an authentic one, the end was beautifully placed to show how violence can become mundane and unremarked upon, just another day in the life of…
I thought it was clever and completely riveting. Recommended.
August 22, 2017
Tony Knighton delivers another knife sharp piece of Philadelphian noir. The main character in this story, a professional criminal that makes Donald Westlake's master thief Parker almost look soft in comparison, is caught in the aftermath of a heist gone wrong of a safe, the contents of which is far more valuable than appears at first. The plot involves lots of double crosses, some terrific local colour and the sees the protagonist having to deal with a range of dangerous characters, including a particularly vividly drawn mobster. Knighton has a particularly good ear for wise guy and street level dialogue. Recommended for all fans of fast paced, hard hitting crime fiction.
January 12, 2019
When an ex-conman and a cancer riddled ex-cop came together to pull off a crime but the detective ended up dead and the safe they were stealing, that belonged to a big wig politician stolen from them by some other guys. Not your typical night to celebrate. The conman who is nameless is determined not only to get his money back but also get street justice for George, his now dead ex-partner in crime.
This is one action packed story from the first page to the end set in the seedy parts of Philadelphia. Night time in these streets is not for the faint hearted as the man with a mission sets off to track down who has nobbled their ill-gotten gains and killed George.
What a trail he is lead on and how at times he wished he had just walked away. Constantly on his heels are two full size bouncer looking blokes that aren’t following him to make friends. When the hunt leads to big organised crime bosses he has no way to back out. He has certainly stirred up a massive hornets nest with a big stick and backed himself into a corner.
This is a terrific atmospheric read that will get the blood pumping. The action never stops. A super story.
This is one action packed story from the first page to the end set in the seedy parts of Philadelphia. Night time in these streets is not for the faint hearted as the man with a mission sets off to track down who has nobbled their ill-gotten gains and killed George.
What a trail he is lead on and how at times he wished he had just walked away. Constantly on his heels are two full size bouncer looking blokes that aren’t following him to make friends. When the hunt leads to big organised crime bosses he has no way to back out. He has certainly stirred up a massive hornets nest with a big stick and backed himself into a corner.
This is a terrific atmospheric read that will get the blood pumping. The action never stops. A super story.
December 29, 2018
The title alone, ‘Three Hours Past Midnight’, a reference to Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s 1956 Blues classic, will flag the sort of book this is. The track could just as well be playing in the background throughout the whole story, a backbeat that echoes, even amplifies an ever-present gritty urban vibe.
The reader dives straight into the action as an unnamed professional thief accepts an impromptu job from an ex-cop, George, who has stage 4 cancer and wants to leave a little extra for his wife. When the theft of a safe from a high-profile politician goes belly up and George is shot, the narrator goes on the hunt for the culprit. Only, he soon discovers he is also being hunted. What unfolds throughout that night is an edge-of-seat ride filled with action, menace and intrigue.
Social realism in Three Hours Past Midnight is strong. Philadelphia’s underbelly of corruption and organized crime is laid bare, noir-style. The point of view is narrow, focussed, sharp and Knighton’s prose is confident, taut and economical. The author sucks the reader right into the narrator’s reality. An atmosphere of urgency and justice, or the lack thereof, pervades every page. There is a touch of Hemingway and Chandler in the writing. The plot and pacing are excellent and twists come bang on cue. Knighton crafts his supporting characters deftly, slotting in enough to give an impression, the reader’s loyalty always kept firmly in the narrator’s pocket.
In all, hard-boiled noir thriller does not come any better than this.
The reader dives straight into the action as an unnamed professional thief accepts an impromptu job from an ex-cop, George, who has stage 4 cancer and wants to leave a little extra for his wife. When the theft of a safe from a high-profile politician goes belly up and George is shot, the narrator goes on the hunt for the culprit. Only, he soon discovers he is also being hunted. What unfolds throughout that night is an edge-of-seat ride filled with action, menace and intrigue.
Social realism in Three Hours Past Midnight is strong. Philadelphia’s underbelly of corruption and organized crime is laid bare, noir-style. The point of view is narrow, focussed, sharp and Knighton’s prose is confident, taut and economical. The author sucks the reader right into the narrator’s reality. An atmosphere of urgency and justice, or the lack thereof, pervades every page. There is a touch of Hemingway and Chandler in the writing. The plot and pacing are excellent and twists come bang on cue. Knighton crafts his supporting characters deftly, slotting in enough to give an impression, the reader’s loyalty always kept firmly in the narrator’s pocket.
In all, hard-boiled noir thriller does not come any better than this.
July 6, 2017
I blurbed this book and I'm glad I did. Tony Knighton's novel has a fast start, a classic heist gone wrong set up, and a pace that never lets up. He takes us on a violent and dangerous trip through nocturnal Philadelphia, keeping the writing tense and terse. Every person we encounter has an angle and everyone is scratching and clawing to get what they feel they need. People who like their crime fiction urban and grimy, not romanticized at all, will enjoy this a lot.
August 11, 2017
George is a retired Philadelphia cop who recruits a professional thief for a ‘safe’ job believed to contain half a million dollars. The safe in question belongs to State Senator Pastore who is currently in jail awaiting further investigations by just about everyone for his nefarious activities. For our antii-hero thief it’s a relatively simple job, even if the house in question is under surveillance. Break in, break out the safe and lob it out the window for George to cart away. Only when it comes for our man to collect his money, George is dead, the safe is missing and someone in a red Ford Econoline van is shooting at him.
So begins Three Hours Past Midnight. It’s a fast ride. One long night in our man’s life as he tries to put the pieces together and do right by George, even if it kills him.
One thing is for sure; someone has that money. He has to track down everyone who knew about the score. The sleazebag lawyer, the blonde femme fatale, Brenda, who spilled the beans on her ‘former’ boyfriend, the Senator and who set this thing in motion. As the violence and the stakes escalate our guy realizes this is way bigger than just a stolen safe. Crooked cops, a very weird sheriff, gang bosses and grunts and a pair of vicious Albanians who turn up everywhere he goes determined to kill him.
Philadelphia takes centre stage and Tony Knighton the author leads us to places and people you’d rather avoid, but the pace is relentless and it gives Jack Reacher a run for his money. Three Hours Past Midnight is bruising, tough, heartless and there’s not a moment to catch your breath or stem the bleeding. This is crime fiction at its best by someone who knows what he’s doing.
© Sam Hawksmoor – Editor at Hackwriters.com
author of Another Place to Die: The Endtime Chronicles
So begins Three Hours Past Midnight. It’s a fast ride. One long night in our man’s life as he tries to put the pieces together and do right by George, even if it kills him.
One thing is for sure; someone has that money. He has to track down everyone who knew about the score. The sleazebag lawyer, the blonde femme fatale, Brenda, who spilled the beans on her ‘former’ boyfriend, the Senator and who set this thing in motion. As the violence and the stakes escalate our guy realizes this is way bigger than just a stolen safe. Crooked cops, a very weird sheriff, gang bosses and grunts and a pair of vicious Albanians who turn up everywhere he goes determined to kill him.
Philadelphia takes centre stage and Tony Knighton the author leads us to places and people you’d rather avoid, but the pace is relentless and it gives Jack Reacher a run for his money. Three Hours Past Midnight is bruising, tough, heartless and there’s not a moment to catch your breath or stem the bleeding. This is crime fiction at its best by someone who knows what he’s doing.
© Sam Hawksmoor – Editor at Hackwriters.com
author of Another Place to Die: The Endtime Chronicles
December 31, 2017
I liked this! I enjoyed Tony Knighton's writing style, and it's a well-paced, cat-and-mouse page-turner with no unnecessary padding, and plenty of action.
I felt the author must know the dark streets of Philadelphia well; it's highly atmospheric without being wordy or overly-descriptive. Telling the story through the eyes of the violent thief anti-hero made me feel far more involved in the story than I might have done had it been told using a third person narrative; even though the thief is ruthless, with little disregard for anyone, I kind of liked him. That's an art; making the reader like an unlikeable person.
It's gripping, sharp, not too long, with excellently observed dialogue and convincing secondary characters. Good job.
I felt the author must know the dark streets of Philadelphia well; it's highly atmospheric without being wordy or overly-descriptive. Telling the story through the eyes of the violent thief anti-hero made me feel far more involved in the story than I might have done had it been told using a third person narrative; even though the thief is ruthless, with little disregard for anyone, I kind of liked him. That's an art; making the reader like an unlikeable person.
It's gripping, sharp, not too long, with excellently observed dialogue and convincing secondary characters. Good job.
June 13, 2019
Three Hours Past Midnight by Tony is a mesmerising presentation of crime, passion and professional empathy. Crime because of its bit-by-bit detail of how it is represented. Passion for one's work is exemplified with the character of the thieves from the unset until the end of the narrative. Professional empathy is the display as represented in the character of the thief, whose partner was shot in the line of duty.
Three Hours Past Midnight captures details so much that the reader is carried away in melancholy into the city of Philadelphia. However, it also transports the reader' imagination into the city and its various locations, the beautiful and the ugly.
Above all, the Novel is an interesting read and greatly recommended for any time read.
Three Hours Past Midnight captures details so much that the reader is carried away in melancholy into the city of Philadelphia. However, it also transports the reader' imagination into the city and its various locations, the beautiful and the ugly.
Above all, the Novel is an interesting read and greatly recommended for any time read.
December 11, 2018
There is nothing soft and cozy about this noir crime book.
From dirty cops to big-time mobsters, this book has it all and then some.
A professional thief and his ex-cop partner, George, are going for an easy burglary job, when all hell breaks loose and the safe they swiped is stolen out from under them and George is killed. The thief won't rest until he gets both the safe and revenge for his partner, even if he has to chase the killers from one end of Philadelphia to the other, while they try to kill him at every turn.
Kept me on the edge of my seat and stayed up late to finish because I just couldn't put it down.
From dirty cops to big-time mobsters, this book has it all and then some.
A professional thief and his ex-cop partner, George, are going for an easy burglary job, when all hell breaks loose and the safe they swiped is stolen out from under them and George is killed. The thief won't rest until he gets both the safe and revenge for his partner, even if he has to chase the killers from one end of Philadelphia to the other, while they try to kill him at every turn.
Kept me on the edge of my seat and stayed up late to finish because I just couldn't put it down.
June 12, 2019
Book Review - Three Hours Past Midnight By Tony Knighton.
This action book by Tony Knighton, put simply, the theme must be, there is honour amongst thieves! And when one of this this team is double crossed, his longstanding partner in crime seeks revenge for his murder.
George, the victim, was terminally ill, but that didn’t stop the selfish murderer’s desire to crash his and our investigators job. Likewise, this act only fuelled our investigators fire, to let them and others know that you don’t mess with them.
Amazingly, this tale happens all in one night with lots of action. That is the ability of the author to keep the reader, reading with interest.
This book can be found here.
This action book by Tony Knighton, put simply, the theme must be, there is honour amongst thieves! And when one of this this team is double crossed, his longstanding partner in crime seeks revenge for his murder.
George, the victim, was terminally ill, but that didn’t stop the selfish murderer’s desire to crash his and our investigators job. Likewise, this act only fuelled our investigators fire, to let them and others know that you don’t mess with them.
Amazingly, this tale happens all in one night with lots of action. That is the ability of the author to keep the reader, reading with interest.
This book can be found here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
November 4, 2017Tony Knighton gives us characters that will do the unthinkable and make it seem commonplace. This book is a wild ride through the streets of Philadelphia that is even more satisfying due to how authentic his descriptions of place are.
Want to Read
April 20, 2019Looking forward to finishing this book! Off to an intriguing start.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews