Luke Rules

by William Hoffer, Marilyn Hoffer

From the authors of MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER and FREEFALL comes the adventures and misadventures of Luke Wilde, former Marine Corps sniper turned wily and often contrary PI. A routine peek-the-sheets adultery investigation escalates into a series of bizarre murders. As the bodies pile up Luke knows that to crack the case he'll have to toss the legal playbook into the crapper and play by his LUKE RULES. With plenty of laughter along the way, Luke manages to nab the murderer in his own unique style. WARNING: Luke has a bit of an attitude problem.

Nook

First published December 15, 2010

About the author

William Hoffer has been spinning out international best-sellers for more than 20 years.
He collaborated with Billy Hayes to chronicle the exciting escape from a Turkish prison in Midnight Express, which was later produced into an Academy Award-winning motion picture starring Brad Davis, John Hurt and Randy Quaid.
William and his wife Marilyn worked with Betty Mahmoody to write Not Without My Daughter, the story of Betty and her daughter’s desperate and dangerous escape from Iran. The book became a stunningly successful international phenomenon, and was produced into a motion picture starring Sally Field and Alfred Molina.
William and Marilyn’s Freefall is the nail-biting thriller recounting the near-tragedy of Air Canada Flight 174 that ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet. It was produced into a motion picture starring William Devane, Shelley Hack and Mariette Hartley.
The husband-and-wife team’s latest book is Luke Rules, the adventures and misadventures of Luke Wilde, former Marine Corps sniper turned wily and often contrary private investigator who likes to play by his own rules. Luke Rules is the first in a series of Luke Wilde adventures. The new year will bring William Hoffer's 22nd Torch! A New Luke Wilde adventure.

Reviews

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book must have been written by someone who wanted to use an entire dictionary of jargon, regardless of the effect it would have on the book itself. While I admire that it was used correctly, it just seemed highly unlikely. I liked the idea of the backstory interspersed with the main story and finally merging. It was very clever. For that matter, I liked the plot. It was very unique and imaginative, as well as believable.

However the characters were overdone. The main character was too impossibly overwrought. He isn't just ex-military and hard, but he has ALL the characteristics of being ex-military and tough. You don't go through a page or two before you are reminded just how tough he really is. After a while it became tediously testosterone-laden. (Arggh! Let's drink a beer and eat a cheeseburger and forget about all that fancy wine and using a knife and fork!)

The ancillary characters are larger than life too. The PI's associate is (named Dagmar,) and is opulent in every way possible. It seems that every character is a stereotype of the person he/she represents. Additionally, there were too many of them. Do I really have to remember the names of the used car lot husband and wife? There are lots of characters and they clog the book and provide side stories which are occasionally enjoyable. Still, I tired of thinking, "Who is this person again?" so often when he or she just wasn't important.

It was a good book to read when you just want to lose yourself in a fun mystery. Like I said, I never guessed how it was going to turn out...and the jargon will make you laugh.


I did, however, not see what was going to happen until it was revealed. In that respect, it was a great book.