And Hope To Die

by J.M. Calder, Humphrey Bower (Narrator)

When a fourth child is taken, Solomon Glass knows what to expect. An anonymous letter to the mother, making a kill yourself and your child will be released. He knows because two women are dead already. Glass has just survived his own nightmare—a tragedy, an internal investigation and a spell off the force. In his race to uncover the kidnapper, Glass must enter the darkest side of himself, a place he's barely able to go but where he knows he will find the answers. And the more he learns, the more he suspects that's exactly what the killer wants him to do. So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse, played for the highest stakes of all. Cross your heart… And Hope to Die is a dark, powerfully compelling psychological thriller that will chill you to the core.

Genres: Thriller

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Damo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing more intense than the uncertainty of the fate of a child who is in the hands of a kidnapper. Ratchet that pressure up a few notches when the latest victim is the 4th of a series of such cases. Now make it unbearable with the knowledge that previous children had been mutilated with parts of their body returned to their parents in little boxes, followed closely by a letter outlining a deal in which the child will be released as long as the mother kills herself.

This is the attention grabbing scenario in which And Hope To Die by J.M. Calder (a pseudonym for the Australian duo of John Clanchy and Mark Henshaw) opens and we are just in time to witness the opening of the latest package from the kidnapper.

So the police find themselves working to the tightest of deadlines in their bid to locate the kidnapper, but they've got to start by working out the motivation behind his horrifying acts. There is a connection that binds the 4 children together and the hope is that if they could make that connection they would go a long way towards tracking down their man.

But progress is slow, their boss is an interfering fool who makes unreasonable demands for results and the kidnapper always appears to be a step ahead of them, almost as if he's a puppet master controlling their every move. When Solomon Glass begins to make some headway, though, the case breaks open in the most unusual way imaginable and the stakes are changed, the direction shifts and the way is paved for a memorable showdown.

A seasoned veteran with a reputation for being difficult to work with, Lieutenant Solomon Glass heads the team assigned to the case. Detective Dan Maloney is his young partner, willing to work with the best regardless of his rep. And rounding out the primary trio is Officer Nora Bloom working in the Files and Records Section of CID, but important to the team because of her computer savvy. They form a competent, likable team who complement each other's skills nicely with Maloney's naivety offsetting Glass' experience.

Glass remains an enigmatic detective in much the same way that Barry Maitland's Detective Brock is, keeping himself to himself and giving as little away as possible. He is the dominant character and the story swings on his ability to cope with the pressure as it builds, relying on him to come up with a logical explanation for each new puzzling development. As the case develops, so does our knowledge about him and we soon find ourselves thrust back into his nightmare past, fleshing out a man who turns out to be an incredibly complex character.

The first half of And Hope To Die plays out like a police procedural with a studied gathering of witness statements by the detectives as they attempt to shake something loose. Gradually, as things begin to fall into place the momentum really kicks up another gear, the tension builds along with a distinct feeling of danger and, occasionally, even horror.

This is a surprisingly complex thriller and as Glass works his way into the investigation, a great deal of history linking him and his prime suspect is unearthed. Suddenly it becomes obvious that there is a lot more at stake than just the life of a young kidnapped girl. To the author's credit, a series of unexpected little twists throughout the book keeps the story fresh and interesting.

It seemed that every time I thought I had the plot nailed and could predict how it was going to be played out, it turned out that I was close, but just not close enough and this is to the author's great credit.

Set in an unnamed US city but is clearly New York thanks to a couple of references to the polluted East River and the discovery of a body at Red Hook, And Hope To Die is memorable both for the frightening opening scenario and the savage change of direction that the plot takes midway through. This is a thriller to savour.

[Diana Hockley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not read a J.M. Calder novel before, but rapidly became a devoted fan after I finished this book.

The story is riveting, the writing - as far as I am concerned - top class.

Calder weaves a frightening tale of psychological obsession which impacts on his characters in diverse ways. Lieutenant Solomon Glass, accompanied by his partner, Danny Malone and assisted by IT expert, Nora O'Brien - a longtime friend - enters into mortal combat with a deadly, pitiless adversary.

The characters are well rounded and believable and Calder makes the reader sweat every inch of the way, sharing their disappointments and stress. The pace of the novel is excellent - fast moving and terrifying. The author does not allow the reader to squirm away from the action for a moment, and why would he? It's more fun to keep your readers in a state of nervous collapse!

The tender love story which unfolds during the investigation is a bonus and allows a satisfying finish to what is a heck of a good read.

Highly recommended.

[Elke]

Töte dich selbst – dann wird dein Kind leben.
Eine Reihe von Kindesentführungen erschüttert die Stadt. Schon zwei Mütter haben sich das Leben genommen, nachdem sie vom Kidnapper ein Päckchen mit einem abgeschnittenen Körperteil ihres Kindes erhalten hatten. Jetzt ist wieder ein Mädchen verschwunden. Doch noch immer finden Lieutenant Solomon Glass und seine Kollegen kein Muster, nichts, was die Opfer verbindet ...

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've listened to the English Audio Book of this (Title "And hope to die") read by Humphrey Bower and I loved it. Humphrey Bower is my favourite reader and he makes this book and characters come to life. A page turner in every way. I wish J.M. Calder would hurry up and write a Solomon Glass series !

[yexxo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kommt mit ins Urlaubsgepäck. Ob ich all die Bücher schaffe? Im Zug sitze ich ja lange genug...

So, der Urlaub ist vorbei und das Buch ist durch. Und hier mein Resümee:
Ein Krimi mit einem Plot, der Hochspannung verspricht: Jemand entführt Kinder, entfernt ihnen Körperteile die er ihren Müttern schickt und verlangt von diesen sich das Leben zu nehmen. Ist diese Forderung erfüllt, werden die Kinder freigelassen. Obwohl bereits nach knapp 2/5 des Buches feststeht, wer für diese Untaten verantwortlich ist, bleibt die Suche nach dieser Person spannend. Sie scheint der Polizei immer zwei Schritte voraus zu sein und über deren Vorgehen genau im Bilde.
Alles in allem durchaus ein 4*-Krimi, wenn da zum einen nicht diese große Zahl an seltsamen (schwülstigen?) Formulierungen wäre:
S.139: ...dessen Rosen und Nelken eine unerschöpfliche Hoffnungsquelle für überarbeitete Offizieren waren.
S. 167: Die Gesichter, gefangen im Bernstein aus transparenten Plastik...
Ob sich dies im Original auch so liest oder der Übersetzung geschuldet ist, kann ich leider nicht beurteilen.
Ebenfalls störend wirken manche Ereignisse, die schlicht unlogisch sind (z.B. S.97: Rachel, eine 9jährige, spricht wie eine Erwachsene) oder einfach im Sande verlaufen (S. 55: Der Vater des aktuell verschwundenen Kindes wird bei einer Lüge ertappt. Warum? Wieso? Weshalb?).
Letzter Kritikpunkt wäre die Neigung der Autoren, philosophische wie psychologische Fragen anzureissen (Banalität des Bösen, wie weit ist man bereit aus Liebe zu gehen, liegt das Böse darin sich wie Gott zu fühlen), ohne sich jedoch näher darauf einzulassen, obwohl dies durchaus interessant wäre. Es bleibt bei oberflächlichem 'Geschreibe', böse ausgedrückt könnte man auch schreiben 'blablabla'.
Daher: Ein Krimi, den man lesen kann, aber sicherlich nicht gelesen haben muss.

[Celeste Marinus]

In the beginning this novel was very boring for me; in fact it was boring right up until half-way through that I almost wanted to give up reading the book. The reason why I find it boring was because it seemed to drag the whole time, like the novel was going around in circles but getting nowhere really. The first half is just basically about the detective and lieutenant that is trying to find a psychopath and a missing/kidnapped child of a very influence man but don’t really get anywhere in terms of leads. So nothing exciting really happens. However, with all this said there were bits and pieces that kept me interested and that’s partially the reason why I did not push this book aside and start with another one.

The “action” only started happening in the second half. I found the second half to be more psychologically mind-blowing and only then started liking the novel. I actually find myself trying to figure out the inner workings of the psychopath’s mind. And why is he playing mind games with the detectives but one lieutenant, Solomon known as Solly, Glass is more the person of interest for this psycho. You honestly have no clue whatsoever throughout as whom this psycho can be as it was not predictable or for one bit obvious.

For my full review:
https://bookshelvesandwindowseats.wor...

[James Olal]

great thriller...thumbs up