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Kill Whitey
Larry Gibson sehnt sich nach Abwechslung in seinem eintönigen Alltag als Lagerarbeiter. Als er Sondra kennenlernt, eine betörende Stripperin, wird sein Leben schlagartig aufregend zu aufregend. Von einem Tag auf den anderen sterben seine Freunde, und er ist auf der Flucht vor der Polizei der russischen MafiaPolizei, und einem scheinbar unbesiegbaren Wahnsinnigen. Will Larry überleben, muss er einen Weg finden, Whitey zu töten.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
15 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
Brian Keene
386 books2,996 followersBRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
August 14, 2015
This whole book Just blew my mind!
This is like the 3rd book I’ve had the pleasure to read of Brain Keene's and I have to say he’s up there as one of my favourite authors. This tale of his is fast paced and slaps you bang into the story right away. I keep seeing the descriptions by other reviewers saying it's a Crime Noir, but I would say it's a Crime Thriller more than anything. One that keeps you on your toes throughout the book.
All in all an epic tale and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is like the 3rd book I’ve had the pleasure to read of Brain Keene's and I have to say he’s up there as one of my favourite authors. This tale of his is fast paced and slaps you bang into the story right away. I keep seeing the descriptions by other reviewers saying it's a Crime Noir, but I would say it's a Crime Thriller more than anything. One that keeps you on your toes throughout the book.
All in all an epic tale and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
July 28, 2015
Kill Whitey is Brian Keene's spin on a crime noir story with a dash of horror splashed in. If you could imagine the first Terminator movie having a love affair with both a Martin Scorsese film and a Quentin Tarantino flick, the off spring would very much come out looking like Brian Keene's Kill Whitey. Needless to say the book is very entertaining and serves for a quick read, especially since once the action starts it doesn't stop until the story is finished. The story is essentially about a man named Larry who finds himself floating through life without purpose or direction, content at a job that offers security and friends who share his misery in different ways. With the exception of one of the friends, Larry and the others don't have a steady healthy relationship to fulfill that emptiness that they are all feeling. So the moment Larry does find that in a woman he kind of ends up obsessing over her. Eventually this obsession ends up becoming his own undoing, he falls deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole that costs him more then he could ever get back.
Though this story has been told before in a lot of different ways, Brian Keene is great at writing a protagonist that every low income man can relate to. You never feel like you can't sympathize with the hero because you most likely have been in that person's shoes at one point in your life. I would like to think most of the common men in the USA have experienced a yearning to be loved by a good woman and that loneliness while you are waiting for the right person to come your way. Larry was that everyday guy for me and I could understand how he allowed himself to think with the little head instead of the big head. I also felt bad for him when he realized that he had been fooled and betrayed, Larry really was the victim as much as the casualties that were lost along the way. The supernatural elements in the book were interesting enough, Brian Keene took the legend of Grigori Rasputin and incorporated it into his own Labyrinth mythology. I enjoyed how Brian expanded upon this legend in a way that only Brian Keene could. It was creepy enough at the end that I think most Keene fans would approve of the horror near the end.
It is hard not to want to give this book a five out of five stars. I have yet to read a Brian Keene novel that I didn't enjoy. I came out of the novel feeling like I could relate to the protagonist in some ways. I was both entertained and I felt good when I was telling my girlfriend about the scarier parts of Kill Whitey. I think if you are a Brian Keene fan and you haven't read this book yet, you should give it a try and see if it hooks you like it did for me. You will catch some references to his other books, but ultimately the story stands well enough on it's own that you won't care if the references are there. Special thanks to both my friends Jeff and Mehmet for reading this book with me, it was because of them that I was able to catch the references in Kill Whitey that I didn't catch. (There is one from Castaways and another from Terminal.) As always being a part of a buddy with them is a huge honor, I'm thankful for both of them taking the time to include me in their group reads.
Though this story has been told before in a lot of different ways, Brian Keene is great at writing a protagonist that every low income man can relate to. You never feel like you can't sympathize with the hero because you most likely have been in that person's shoes at one point in your life. I would like to think most of the common men in the USA have experienced a yearning to be loved by a good woman and that loneliness while you are waiting for the right person to come your way. Larry was that everyday guy for me and I could understand how he allowed himself to think with the little head instead of the big head. I also felt bad for him when he realized that he had been fooled and betrayed, Larry really was the victim as much as the casualties that were lost along the way. The supernatural elements in the book were interesting enough, Brian Keene took the legend of Grigori Rasputin and incorporated it into his own Labyrinth mythology. I enjoyed how Brian expanded upon this legend in a way that only Brian Keene could. It was creepy enough at the end that I think most Keene fans would approve of the horror near the end.
It is hard not to want to give this book a five out of five stars. I have yet to read a Brian Keene novel that I didn't enjoy. I came out of the novel feeling like I could relate to the protagonist in some ways. I was both entertained and I felt good when I was telling my girlfriend about the scarier parts of Kill Whitey. I think if you are a Brian Keene fan and you haven't read this book yet, you should give it a try and see if it hooks you like it did for me. You will catch some references to his other books, but ultimately the story stands well enough on it's own that you won't care if the references are there. Special thanks to both my friends Jeff and Mehmet for reading this book with me, it was because of them that I was able to catch the references in Kill Whitey that I didn't catch. (There is one from Castaways and another from Terminal.) As always being a part of a buddy with them is a huge honor, I'm thankful for both of them taking the time to include me in their group reads.
May 13, 2013
At first I got a kick out of reading a book by Brian Keene that didn't seem to be a horror novel. Kill Whitey starts and stays for half of the book as a straight forward crime noir tale. The author takes the rather worn plot of "loser falls for stripper with abusive slum-bag pimp boyfriend" and revs it up a notch. Keene has just the right amount of talent and grit to make it work.
But then he throws a curve ball. It's a very imaginative curve ball but a curve ball nonetheless. The novel turns into a supernatural thriller. I already know Keene writes good horror novels. I must admit it is very exciting but it's like I'm enjoying a steak and someone snatches it from me and replaces it with pork chops. Keeping the culinary analogy, it's like what Anthony Bourdain said when he went to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in LA; "I like chicken and I like waffles. But together they're just not right."
But having said that I still must admit it was a very good novel. However it's like reading two five star novellas. So I'm going to split the difference and call it three...no...make that three and a half stars with a big recommendation.
But then he throws a curve ball. It's a very imaginative curve ball but a curve ball nonetheless. The novel turns into a supernatural thriller. I already know Keene writes good horror novels. I must admit it is very exciting but it's like I'm enjoying a steak and someone snatches it from me and replaces it with pork chops. Keeping the culinary analogy, it's like what Anthony Bourdain said when he went to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in LA; "I like chicken and I like waffles. But together they're just not right."
But having said that I still must admit it was a very good novel. However it's like reading two five star novellas. So I'm going to split the difference and call it three...no...make that three and a half stars with a big recommendation.
October 1, 2019
A fast, fun, mean ride where crime/noir and slasher meet. Lots of messy charm!
KILL WHITEY by Brian Keene dropped the transmission into low gear and floored it from the very beginning. The whole time I was reading, I felt like my head was pinned to the headrest behind me and I couldn't lean forward...and I never really wanted to. The ride was too exhilarating.
We have Larry, a blue-collar guy and regular Joe, who falls for a beautiful Russian stripper named Sondra. She works at a shady gentleman's club and, after the first outing to this place with his pals from work, Larry finds himself drawn back time and time again to watch and lust after the beautiful woman. The place is owned by Whitey, a big Russian guy with white hair, and one of his friends claims he's part of the Russian mob, though the other's don't believe him.
Only, they should have. After a night at the club where Sondra didn't show and some strange activity is happening with the security folks of the joint, Larry and Darryl find Sondra hiding under Larry's car outside and they help her get away. The Russians are really pissed off by this, and they're coming, led by Whitey, whom they soon find is almost as indestructible as Jason Voorhees.
The fun never stops. At least if you find violent shootouts and fights to the death with severed limbs and blown apart organs fun. And I do. Fun AF. And KILL WHITEY delivers it in spades. It's set up like a crime/noir, replete with the naive protagonist and sultry femme fatale and a bad guy who neither knows how to quit nor is capable of doing so. The story of precisely WHY Whitey and crew are after Sondra is never fully clarified. We get Sondra's story and we get Whitey's, but it's never confirmed which (or if either) were being fully truthful. And this helps add to the conflict and suspense of the tale. The uncertainty in Larry's mind plays out wonderfully confused and infuriated and conflicted.
Keene's simple, straight-forward approach at prose is on display here, and as always, it just works. It reads easily and rings true. I especially appreciate his showing the cracks in Larry's moral shell as the story goes forward and he's worn down by panic and survival and doubt.
It's fast. It's fun. It's mean. And it's totally badass. If you like slashers and crime/noir, this is for you. It's got it all, and it's executed with lots of heart throughout. Once the action gets rolling, which is pretty early on, it never lets up. For me, THAT'S how you tell a story.
Another fine outing from Keene.
KILL WHITEY by Brian Keene dropped the transmission into low gear and floored it from the very beginning. The whole time I was reading, I felt like my head was pinned to the headrest behind me and I couldn't lean forward...and I never really wanted to. The ride was too exhilarating.
We have Larry, a blue-collar guy and regular Joe, who falls for a beautiful Russian stripper named Sondra. She works at a shady gentleman's club and, after the first outing to this place with his pals from work, Larry finds himself drawn back time and time again to watch and lust after the beautiful woman. The place is owned by Whitey, a big Russian guy with white hair, and one of his friends claims he's part of the Russian mob, though the other's don't believe him.
Only, they should have. After a night at the club where Sondra didn't show and some strange activity is happening with the security folks of the joint, Larry and Darryl find Sondra hiding under Larry's car outside and they help her get away. The Russians are really pissed off by this, and they're coming, led by Whitey, whom they soon find is almost as indestructible as Jason Voorhees.
The fun never stops. At least if you find violent shootouts and fights to the death with severed limbs and blown apart organs fun. And I do. Fun AF. And KILL WHITEY delivers it in spades. It's set up like a crime/noir, replete with the naive protagonist and sultry femme fatale and a bad guy who neither knows how to quit nor is capable of doing so. The story of precisely WHY Whitey and crew are after Sondra is never fully clarified. We get Sondra's story and we get Whitey's, but it's never confirmed which (or if either) were being fully truthful. And this helps add to the conflict and suspense of the tale. The uncertainty in Larry's mind plays out wonderfully confused and infuriated and conflicted.
Keene's simple, straight-forward approach at prose is on display here, and as always, it just works. It reads easily and rings true. I especially appreciate his showing the cracks in Larry's moral shell as the story goes forward and he's worn down by panic and survival and doubt.
It's fast. It's fun. It's mean. And it's totally badass. If you like slashers and crime/noir, this is for you. It's got it all, and it's executed with lots of heart throughout. Once the action gets rolling, which is pretty early on, it never lets up. For me, THAT'S how you tell a story.
Another fine outing from Keene.
August 19, 2011
Kill Bill, excuse me, Killy Whitey is one of the most annoying novels I have ever read. I hardly ever use that word to describe books because I don't think it applies
to hardly any. The only other books that I know I would use the word for are Urban Gothic and Castaways, also by Brian Keene. First off, I enjoyed the story. That part
of Keene, the part that can make a simple idea into a fun, fast-paced novel, is still here in this book. Compared to his novels like Ghoul, Terminal, The Conqueror
Worms, and dead Sea though, this is a very weak effort indeed. It felt like he coppied the same dumb-ass characters from Castaways and Urban Gothic and that made me
hate every single one of them, including Sondra who couldn't seem to figure out whether or not she actually had a grasp on the English language. Also, the dialog was
absolutely terrible and full of fucks and shits that did not add a damn thing to the story other than my dislike of the speakers. Sentences like "And now that we've
made introductions and we're all friends and shit, how about you fucking tell us what the fuck is going on and why the fuck you were hiding beneath Larry's fucking jeep
and why the hell those motherfuckers were fucking shooting at us?" Thankfully, that character dies early in the novel. Oh relax, I'm not giving anything away because,
big surprise, they all talk like that so good luck figuring out who I mean. The word "fuck" occurs 248 times in this book. Yes, I counted to prove a point. It is almost
on every damn page. It seems that Keene is starting to go for quantity over quantity and like his novels, his characters are all becoming annoying, hard to like, lazy,
and immature. This saddens me because Kill Whitey could have been so much better than this.
to hardly any. The only other books that I know I would use the word for are Urban Gothic and Castaways, also by Brian Keene. First off, I enjoyed the story. That part
of Keene, the part that can make a simple idea into a fun, fast-paced novel, is still here in this book. Compared to his novels like Ghoul, Terminal, The Conqueror
Worms, and dead Sea though, this is a very weak effort indeed. It felt like he coppied the same dumb-ass characters from Castaways and Urban Gothic and that made me
hate every single one of them, including Sondra who couldn't seem to figure out whether or not she actually had a grasp on the English language. Also, the dialog was
absolutely terrible and full of fucks and shits that did not add a damn thing to the story other than my dislike of the speakers. Sentences like "And now that we've
made introductions and we're all friends and shit, how about you fucking tell us what the fuck is going on and why the fuck you were hiding beneath Larry's fucking jeep
and why the hell those motherfuckers were fucking shooting at us?" Thankfully, that character dies early in the novel. Oh relax, I'm not giving anything away because,
big surprise, they all talk like that so good luck figuring out who I mean. The word "fuck" occurs 248 times in this book. Yes, I counted to prove a point. It is almost
on every damn page. It seems that Keene is starting to go for quantity over quantity and like his novels, his characters are all becoming annoying, hard to like, lazy,
and immature. This saddens me because Kill Whitey could have been so much better than this.
March 3, 2020
Kill Whitey initially seems quite different from Brian’s usual work, however as the story progresses things get weirder and much gorier. The plot is fast, blunt and often shocking, making this an addictive book that was glued to my hands for the couple of days it took me to read.
September 18, 2017
Брайън Кийн отново успя да ме изненада, този път със структура на романа, каквато съм свикнал да асоциирам много повече с Джак Кетчъм, от колкото с него.
В първите сто страници, бавно и задълбочено ни се показват образите на Лари и неговите приятели – всичките здраво бачкащи докери, разпускащи през свободното си време с музика, бири и чат-пат стриптиз. Когато Лари хлътва по руска стриптизьорка, ни става ясно, че нещата ще ескалират към лошо, но до този момент почти се бях отказал да дочитам книгата. Даже я оставих за две седмици, но има нещо в писането на Кийн, кето не ти позволява да захвърлиш дори най-пошлите му произведения.
Добре че я подхванах отново. Втората част е 150 страници нон стоп, задъхан екшън в който образът на Уайти – корав руски мафиотски бос – прескача от обикновен социопат, през труден за убиване надъхан гангстер, до невъзможен за унищожение наследник на Распутин, като последните сцени са са изпълнени с безнадежност и гротеска. Финалната врътка, не би трябвало да е изненада, ако беше всеки друг автор, но при Кийн, просто отново те зашлевява, карайки те да очакваш неочакваното във всяка следваща негова книга.
Между три и четири звезди ми е на кантар, но свалям половинката заради нетипично дървените диалози в книгата.
В първите сто страници, бавно и задълбочено ни се показват образите на Лари и неговите приятели – всичките здраво бачкащи докери, разпускащи през свободното си време с музика, бири и чат-пат стриптиз. Когато Лари хлътва по руска стриптизьорка, ни става ясно, че нещата ще ескалират към лошо, но до този момент почти се бях отказал да дочитам книгата. Даже я оставих за две седмици, но има нещо в писането на Кийн, кето не ти позволява да захвърлиш дори най-пошлите му произведения.
Добре че я подхванах отново. Втората част е 150 страници нон стоп, задъхан екшън в който образът на Уайти – корав руски мафиотски бос – прескача от обикновен социопат, през труден за убиване надъхан гангстер, до невъзможен за унищожение наследник на Распутин, като последните сцени са са изпълнени с безнадежност и гротеска. Финалната врътка, не би трябвало да е изненада, ако беше всеки друг автор, но при Кийн, просто отново те зашлевява, карайки те да очакваш неочакваното във всяка следваща негова книга.
Между три и четири звезди ми е на кантар, но свалям половинката заради нетипично дървените диалози в книгата.
May 7, 2013
Larry Gibson is a blue collar guy, down on his luck, but happy hanging out with his friends and working his job at the loading dock.
Things are going along like they always do when the power goes out one night and Larry and his buds get to go home early. They work over night and the only trouble they can get into is at a local strip club one of the guys frequents.
That's where Larry meets Sondra, a beautiful stripper who looks like she could be a model. Larry falls in love at first sight. BIG mistake.
This was my first book by Brian Keene, and it certainly won't be the last. I really had no expectations going into it, and purposefully avoided reading the blurb and reviews. I had heard that Keene was a powerful writer from some GR friends. Were they ever right.
This story starts out in high gear with realistic banter between the four friends and convincing enough situations, and then he ratchets up the violence and action to a fever pitch until it becomes a balls to the wall free-for-all.
Whitey is one bad ass villain, and Larry has no idea just how hard its going to be to accomplish the feat Sondra tasks him with: Kill Whitey!
Awesome read. Fun and crazy, unabashed sex, violence and mayhem.
Highly recommended if you are into that kind of stuff.
Things are going along like they always do when the power goes out one night and Larry and his buds get to go home early. They work over night and the only trouble they can get into is at a local strip club one of the guys frequents.
That's where Larry meets Sondra, a beautiful stripper who looks like she could be a model. Larry falls in love at first sight. BIG mistake.
This was my first book by Brian Keene, and it certainly won't be the last. I really had no expectations going into it, and purposefully avoided reading the blurb and reviews. I had heard that Keene was a powerful writer from some GR friends. Were they ever right.
This story starts out in high gear with realistic banter between the four friends and convincing enough situations, and then he ratchets up the violence and action to a fever pitch until it becomes a balls to the wall free-for-all.
Whitey is one bad ass villain, and Larry has no idea just how hard its going to be to accomplish the feat Sondra tasks him with: Kill Whitey!
Awesome read. Fun and crazy, unabashed sex, violence and mayhem.
Highly recommended if you are into that kind of stuff.
February 4, 2020
When a gorgeous stripper at a seedy strip joint run by Russian mob goons asks Larry to kill someone the only thing for him to do, of course, is to say “yes”.
Duh.
She’s super hot.
Problem is the dude she wants him to whack is near impossible to kill and may not even be entirely human. Gonna really have to work to fork this guy up.
Damn.
She’s still super-hot, though.
I wasn’t sure about this one at first, until it took a nice little turn and then clicked into place for me. It was all about the ride after that. And Keene hits on all cylinders.
Duh.
She’s super hot.
Problem is the dude she wants him to whack is near impossible to kill and may not even be entirely human. Gonna really have to work to fork this guy up.
Damn.
She’s still super-hot, though.
I wasn’t sure about this one at first, until it took a nice little turn and then clicked into place for me. It was all about the ride after that. And Keene hits on all cylinders.
May 29, 2022
One of the weakest novels I've read from Brian Keene. Basically a guy loves a Russian stripper. So he spends hundreds of dollars on other strippers to learn more about that one. One day he saves her and his life changes. They are hunted by the Russian mafia with Whitey at the center. Whitey is almost . So this girl asks this guy - Kill Whitety so I can be free.
It's car chase, after gunfight, with a hint of horror and sex.
Of course it connects at times with other novels within his mythos and probably some of the characters will appear on his magus opus that he is creating.
It's skippable for anyone who enjoy the mythos. This is one of the ones with less connections and although I can safely say Brian Keene can write horror and now thrillers - this was one of the weakest ones. Character wise it's bad. Our main protagonist is what you call nowadays a SIMP. His friends die due to his actions but on his mind the only thing there it's the next fuck of his obsession. For a person who he barely new until 5m prior he is capable of sacrificing everything , including his friends and work. In other other words - SIMP.
It's car chase, after gunfight, with a hint of horror and sex.
Of course it connects at times with other novels within his mythos and probably some of the characters will appear on his magus opus that he is creating.
It's skippable for anyone who enjoy the mythos. This is one of the ones with less connections and although I can safely say Brian Keene can write horror and now thrillers - this was one of the weakest ones. Character wise it's bad. Our main protagonist is what you call nowadays a SIMP. His friends die due to his actions but on his mind the only thing there it's the next fuck of his obsession. For a person who he barely new until 5m prior he is capable of sacrificing everything , including his friends and work. In other other words - SIMP.
January 23, 2009
Kill Whitey by Brian Keene is the latest in Cemetery Dance's line of trade hardbacks. Deviating from his normal style of supernatural horror, Kill Whitney is a violent shoot-em-up supernatural thriller.
Larry is just your average blue-collar man. He works his job, has a few friends, and loves his cat. His world is turned up-side down when he meets Sondra, a beautiful stripper, who is pregnant and on the run. Whitey, a Russian mob-boss with white hair, is out to kill her. Many men have tried to kill Whitey and all have failed. How will Larry be able protect himself, Sondra, and his cat, against this unstoppable foe?
Keene's recent works (Dead Sea, Dark Hollow, Ghost Walk) have suffered a drop in quality lately. Not to say they are bad, but the sheer excitement and viciousness of his earlier works seems to be missing. Kill Whitey is a welcome return to form.
The book takes about fifty pages to get started but from then on out it is non-stop excitement as Whitey brutally hunts down Larry and Sondra. Each scene of the book outdoes the one before in its brutality. What makes the story so enjoyable is the overwhelming sense of fun to the events. Keene writes his disembowelments with an infectious sense of enthusiasm. The reader can not help but smile even as the body-count rises.
Kill Whitey is a thrilling work of pulp horror, infused with ultra-violence and a pitch-black sense of humor. Part crime-drama, part horror-tale, fans of dark fiction will love this exciting new novel. For those concerned that Keene has lost his edge and is becoming just another mid-list book-writing-machine, you're faith will be restored.
Larry is just your average blue-collar man. He works his job, has a few friends, and loves his cat. His world is turned up-side down when he meets Sondra, a beautiful stripper, who is pregnant and on the run. Whitey, a Russian mob-boss with white hair, is out to kill her. Many men have tried to kill Whitey and all have failed. How will Larry be able protect himself, Sondra, and his cat, against this unstoppable foe?
Keene's recent works (Dead Sea, Dark Hollow, Ghost Walk) have suffered a drop in quality lately. Not to say they are bad, but the sheer excitement and viciousness of his earlier works seems to be missing. Kill Whitey is a welcome return to form.
The book takes about fifty pages to get started but from then on out it is non-stop excitement as Whitey brutally hunts down Larry and Sondra. Each scene of the book outdoes the one before in its brutality. What makes the story so enjoyable is the overwhelming sense of fun to the events. Keene writes his disembowelments with an infectious sense of enthusiasm. The reader can not help but smile even as the body-count rises.
Kill Whitey is a thrilling work of pulp horror, infused with ultra-violence and a pitch-black sense of humor. Part crime-drama, part horror-tale, fans of dark fiction will love this exciting new novel. For those concerned that Keene has lost his edge and is becoming just another mid-list book-writing-machine, you're faith will be restored.
March 7, 2013
This book is different from what you think on multiple layers. To start with, the title. No, KILL WHITEY does not refer to what you might think. (It is an awesome title though!) Instead Whitey is a Russian mobster who runs a strip club and several less-than-legitimate business in Pennsylvania. He earned the nickname due to his white hair: face, hair, eyebrows. The reason to kill him is that one of the strippers, Sondra, wants him dead. Why? Because she asked Larry Gibson, the story's main protagonist, to do so. Her reason was that she is pregnant, Whitey wants the baby dead and she wants it to live. However, after falling in love with her Larry only needs the barest of reasons to do so. The problem is that Whitey doesn't kill as easy as most people do.
Getting back to why the book is different than you might think, the events that unfold aren't quite what you would expect. I don't want to ruin it for you but the usual cliches are not followed. Plus Whitey has more depth to him than you would think. Some of the characters are a bit flat (my only complaint) but the action and pacing of the story are so quick that you barely notice. It's no wonder why Keene dedicated the book to Tom Piccirilli; it very easily falls into the same type of book that Piccirilli would write. If you like either of the authors, give the other a try. You won't be sorry.
Getting back to why the book is different than you might think, the events that unfold aren't quite what you would expect. I don't want to ruin it for you but the usual cliches are not followed. Plus Whitey has more depth to him than you would think. Some of the characters are a bit flat (my only complaint) but the action and pacing of the story are so quick that you barely notice. It's no wonder why Keene dedicated the book to Tom Piccirilli; it very easily falls into the same type of book that Piccirilli would write. If you like either of the authors, give the other a try. You won't be sorry.
July 27, 2015
This story was fun from the first word, sort of like a crime novel with a supernatural twist. Shaun Hutson did such a book called Assassin but was a whole different kettle of fish. Brian Keene seemed to emphasis the blue collar working side of his characters, so added a lot of issues of relating to how the world wide recession is degrading the economy and people's life's. Yet at heart this is a love story and the power a woman can have in changing your life. A hefty mix of crime, history and romance with a dash of other worldly and you get Kill Whitey. Not his greatest novel, nor my favourite. It was fun to read the little surprise links with his other novels, there was quite a few scattered around. My buddy read friends helped point most of them to me. So must say thanks to Jonathan and Jeff for making this read even more enjoyable. I would mainly recommend this to loyal Brian Keene fans, as do not believe it be a good book to start with for first timers. A solid 3 stars from me though :-)
January 22, 2015
Este acest scurt şi reuşit roman reimaginarea în cheie „keene-iană” a mitului optzecist pe nume Jason Vorhees, anti-eroul seriei interminabile, inegale şi în egală măsură memorabile Friday 13th (ce a trecut deja la statutul de remake şi nu pare a se opri în curând, aidoma iepuraşului Duracell)? Whitey, temutul mafiot, patron al localului Odessa. Whitey, cu totul alb. Părul, sprâncenele, barba. Şi suficient de întunecat pentru a corespunde canonului eroilor negativi din universul lui Keene. Ar fi posibil de altfel un spin-off, în care Jason să se întâlnească undeva cu acest aproape invincibil gangster rus, Zakhar Putin, urmaşul unui bizar personaj intrat deja în imaginarul colectiv de peste un secol.
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October 21, 2013
A terrific little tale from Keene that entertains from start to finish. Whitey turns out to be one hell of a tough dude to kill for reasons that are best left to be discovered by future readers. This story could have gone off the rails with its wild plot but Keene keeps it on track with his insightful writing and constant awareness of just how outrageous the whole thing really is. Highly recommended.
November 16, 2013
4.5 Stars. Great action guilty pleasure read. Totally enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
November 4, 2014
What a terrible book...
February 7, 2021
This story was a lot of fun and action packed! Keene is a phenomenal writer.
May 9, 2018
Kill Whitey is a quick, fun read featuring blue-collar heroes, Russian mobsters, strippers, and a terminator like antagonist. Keene moves the action at a break neck pace spending little time developing some of the background and side characters. However, he does a marvelous job of mapping out the setting and its effects on the people. Keene gets into the mindset of those surrounded by empty factories and the despair that generates within a population reliant on those long gone jobs. I think the book is a commentary on post-industrial America if he intended or not. I believe there are better Keene books, but this is an enjoyable, quick read that's definitely worth your time.
August 25, 2025
I found this book a little tedious at first and almost gave up on it. The opening hour is almost entirely set in a strip club, and while it builds the characters and sets the scene, I felt it could have been done just as effectively in a fraction of the time.
That said, I’m glad I stuck with it. Once the story kicked in, it really delivered, plenty of action, blood, and gore to keep things moving. The pace improved dramatically after the slow start, and it became a much more edge of the seat listen. Chet Williamson did a grand job of the narration. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I’m glad I finished it.
That said, I’m glad I stuck with it. Once the story kicked in, it really delivered, plenty of action, blood, and gore to keep things moving. The pace improved dramatically after the slow start, and it became a much more edge of the seat listen. Chet Williamson did a grand job of the narration. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I’m glad I finished it.
October 27, 2020
This was my first Brian Keene book. This was a pretty wild ride. It was an insane story to be sure. I thought I was in for a fairly normal crime book, but this turned into something far more wicked, dark, and gory. I really enjoyed this. Early on I wasn't sure what I was going to love it and honestly figured I'd rate it about a four, but once this book really got going, it felt like Keene hit his stride, and away we went! Really fun, really crazy, really over-the-top. I dug this A LOT.
December 19, 2020
Probably my least favorite Keene book that I've read. It was more that I did not care for the subject and material than Keene's writing. Even though this is more a crime book, it flows like any other of his books. So, if you like Keene you should like it. I just didn't care for the subject so I wasn't that interested.
June 4, 2018
This was a nice change for me it was a Russian mob horror story that surprised me in how much I liked it. The story involves a stripper a mobster descended from Rasputin and an average guy i enjoyed it alot cause its so different from my normal tastes.
September 18, 2018
The chase itself was thrilling in the beginning and reminded me of Terminator movies, but in the end without any planning from protagonists' side and illogical event sequences it became repetitive, predictable and not interesting.
November 17, 2019
Wow Brian Keene is such a diverse writer. He can write anything, and keep it interesting. I read Terminal and Kill Whitey back to back. Such great character development in both books. Great moral questions in both these novels. Brian Keene is a master of Horror.
January 31, 2020
Absolutely loved this crime horror audiobook
From beautiful strippers to terminator like bad guys this doesn’t disappoint
Well narrated and highly recommended if your in the mood for a gory thriller
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
From beautiful strippers to terminator like bad guys this doesn’t disappoint
Well narrated and highly recommended if your in the mood for a gory thriller
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
January 31, 2022
Killing a mob boss sounds easy right but what if he has supernatural powers that make him unkillabale(not sure if that is a word). This books was full of death, gore, violence, and yes even prostitutes.
May 6, 2023
A funny story about a working guy. His love or lust for a Russian stripper. And the antagonist. A Russian mobster who gets his guts blown out and half of his head blown off, and he's still alive. A kind of new Rasputin. The book, I think, is a one-time thing. I read it and forgot.
November 7, 2017
The ending leaves a lot to be desired. Prevents this from being a 5/5
August 21, 2022
Not so great like the others, but not so bad either. A very fast paced novel in which the main character fights more not to be killed by Whitey, than to really kill him.
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