Icarus by Russell Andrews

by Russell Andrews

As a young boy, Jack Keller witnessed a life-altering tragedy - the murder of his mother. Thirty years later, Jack has it all - a great marriage, a successful chain of restaurants bearing his name, lifelong friends, and good health. But in one second - it all becomes worthless when a second tragedy occurs during the opening of a new restaurant. As Jack recovers from his injuries and the resulting psychological trauma, he is nursed back to health by Kid Demeter, a mysterious young man who was once as close to Jack as any son could be. As Kid trains his mentor and father figure, he confides to Jack about various women in his life. Each one is identified only by her nickname and each one is presented as appealing, sexy . . . and extremely dangerous. And then a third tragedy occurs. Kid is found sprawled on the pavement after plunging twenty stories to his death.Jack refuses to accept the police theory of suicide. Convinced that one of Kid''s women is a killer, he finds himself searching for answers in Kid''s world, a world of lap dancing and after-hours clubs, of drugs and violence, and of overwhelming sensuality. But as Jack''s suspicions rise, as he draws closer to the truth, an unknown threat lurks just ahead of him, anticipating his every move - and killing whoever is in the way. As past and present merge, as Kid''s world overtakes Jack''s, as Jack begins to understand just how high the stakes are in the game he has elected to play, he knows only one thing for He must find the killer before the killer finds him.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Adult, Horror

Paperback

First published May 3, 2001

About the author

A pseudonym used by David Handler with Peter Gethers

Reviews

[Roxanne Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre à l'apparence plutôt banale, mais loin de l'être. Ce roman oublié dans une bibliothèque chez moi m'a fait vivre toutes les émotions, passant de la tristesse à la colère. L'intrigue ficelée intelligemment ne laisse aucune chance au lecteur ; l'histoire ne permet pas de prédire qui est le meurtrier. Ce livre me bouleverse, à un point tel que je me surprends à y penser assez souvent. C'est en lisant le livre que l'on se rend compte à quel point l'amour peut aussi bien guérir que blesser. Il soulève des montagnes, mais engendre parfois des souffrances. L'auteur fait entrer en scène plusieurs personnages, tous aussi profonds les uns que les autres. On réussit parfaitement à ressentir les émotions du protagoniste, à se mettre à sa place. Plusieurs clins d'œil aux pages précédentes permettent de rester solidement attachés à l'intrigue, d'essayer de faire des liens. Un chef d'oeuvre!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A horrifically chilling and fast-paced start which enters you into a plot that, while it calms and slows at times, is unrelenting in its pull downwards into despair and hopelessness. Death gets consistently closer throughout the book. Any times of respite just make the drag back into chaos even more defeating.

I loved the way the story unfolded and that I was desperately trying to find the killer as if I was being pursued too.

There were many times when I thought I 'got' the book and the plot but then it would radically change to quite a different gear and direction which was great. It kept the avid interest alive.

I don't know if I'd read it again, it was such a roller coaster but now I know all of the turns and twists. I definitely read this one at a fast pace though, which I couldn't help. When I put it down I couldn't not think about Jack and who the enemy was. Totally a favourite.

[Midu Hadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished it rather quickly and was surprised at how fast I read this book, considering that I did most of the reading while commuting to work. It was fun to read a thriller after a long time. Maybe, that is the secret, I like what the genre has to offer but only if I take it in small, infrequent doses. Most of the time, I need some fantasy mixed with my mystery.

Some minor quibbles that I had with the book:
Jack started sounding like his mentor, Dom, as he started to get old. I think the author caught on to that early in the story and made the similarity go away.

Unnecessary details, such as when Jackie was taken to the hospital and had multiple surgeries. I know that it was important for us to know that happened. I just don't know why it was equally important to know how it happened. Needless to say, I skimmed some of those pages.

The murderer's identity was a big letdown. I figured why Kid moved away in the first place right when it happened even though it took until the end of the book to be revealed. That is why I was surprised why the murdered would be who-they-were.

No idea why when it took Jack all his life to stop blaming himself for not being able to save his mom, he found it relatively easy to not feel guilty over the deaths of his wife and almost-adopted son.

What I Liked:

Dom was my favorite character and I would have liked to read more about him. I checked but no spin-offs/prequels etc. I guess UF has me spoiled when it comes to characters' backstories and such.

I loved how Jackie dealt with his fear of heights and how it was always present in his life.

A few images of the mythological Icarus on whom the title of this book is based:











I bought my copy of this book from Online Books Outlet. It was in sufficiently good condition, considering it was a used book. Go here to see the rest of my book haul!

Also reviewed at:
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[Petre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a total mind screw. I haven't read a book that made me guess like this book made me guess. Gideon was good but I felt like that the author used that book in advance to make this book.
I dont know if a relationship could be as sexually driven as Jacks and Caroline's was and to be honest, the sex drive felt pretentious and maybe it was. As far as fiction goes, as the tale went on that feeling became more real which was good because I like reads that reach out to reality. At first I wasn't sure where this story was heading or what it meant. The Icarus myth that mingles itself with the crimes I thought was brilliant and I love the idea of the "team". It was all so misleading, the personalities were brilliant and the whole story just turned into a, what? I was glad that the team removed the illusion title Kid built for himself. The genesis of the book, with Jacks mother, it was such a great start and it left such an impression.
I seldom say bools are page turners but this one was.

[DLS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot rave enough about this book.

It begins with a death which leaves the character psychologically scared of heights. We then follow Jack into his adult years, were yet two more tragic deaths occurs.

Andrews introduces us to Kit's "baseball team" of women; where you try and work out their motives and the likelihood of each of them committing the murder. As a self confessed crime fan, it pains me to say I couldn't work it out. (I'm still kicking myself!)

[Elisa Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

I loved this book. It was action packed and full of mystery.

I had an inkling about three quarters of the way through about who done it, but was not sure until right up to the end.

Highly recommend.

[Elena Akgül · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book about four years ago for the first time and immediately after I finished reading it, I knew I would read it again. It is an amazing book and the twists are quite unpredictable. Definitely worth reading!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Russell Andrews, a really good thriller with plenty of twists and turns. I will read more for sure.

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faced with a choice between a strong "3 stars" or a weak "4 stars", I'm going with 4, simply because in the final analysis, I enjoyed the overall read.

It's a solid murder-mystery whodunnit, with some decent action thrown in. It's a little long, but in this case the added length allows for good character development (smartly broken into 5 acts), and for the storyline to really and fully develop without feeling rushed, and for the ending to occur at its own pace without the need for any McGuffins (which is pretty much MY most often voiced complaint in reviews).

Story is good; pace across the entire life of our protagonist and his sidekick is well measured; plot development and character evolution is solid, and with just enough bookending twists at the end to make the reader say "a-ha! Yes, I could have caught that earlier in the book (an aspect I love, and which in hindsight always reminds me to read slowly and with intent . . .).

The climactic act has solid accelerated pace, action and drama, while still stringing the reader along as not-quite-sure who the killer is, right up until the final scene, which is both well written, mostly surprising, and does a very good job of tying up multiple threads which had all been foreshadowed across 400+ pages.

All in all I liked it a lot, and for fans of the genre (and who have reasonable threshholds of expectations), a Good Read.

[Ester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finale did it !! 8 years to clear this one out of my goodreads currently reading Shelf ! A real veteran ! I dont know why it was so hard to pick this book back up but I think it’s because is is a Thriller and thrillers aren’t really my genre but I still enjoy them while I’m reading them . So this book too. The first half was pretty slow, the synopsis happened at the half mark point so pretty slow burn to have the full story. But I enjoyed it even if it was slow-ish for me. But the second half flew by ! I really liked the twist and turns this book took. It is a well written book. I’m glad I didn’t dnf it and persisted in finishing this. I remember buying this ugly book with nothing but the title on witch I am a visual person but the title intrigued me. It’s the only reason I wanted to read it. 8 years later I finally did it !

[GingerOrange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting.

I certainly love a story that keeps me on my toes and this certainly did. My main complaint would be that it took way too long to really get into the action side of things. It’s only halfway through the book that Kid’s murder happens. There was too much build-up and I understand why but I’m still a little irritated by that. Kid’s women were also interesting.

Overall, a good story but took way too long to get there.

[Mythili Moro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book honestly changed my life for the best, and somehow for the worse. I could not bare to put it down for even a second because it literally lured you into the plot. The ending for traumatizing, in a good way. What I mean is that you will end up sobbing happy tears, some sad tears too, but at the same time, feel this kind of thrill which is so hard to explain. It is a very pleasurable feeling, which is trying to burst out of you and get your adrenaline pumping.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Thriller isn't really my genre. I did like the writing in terms of the build up (especially the beginning!), and liked the main characters, but I fell out of it when I got to the chapter where the author did POV's for loads of women and all they did was talk about their bodies in-depth. Like I get the lasses are all meant to be odd, and that they care about their appearances, but you could just tell it was a bloke trying to write "women" and he was just sexualising them lol.

[Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half I wondered where this story was heading, even what genre it was. Introducing so many characters through Kid's team of female seemed a bit weird. Second half reverted more to a murder mystery with Jack on a quest for answers. In the end all parts and charaters made more sense, a few were simply blind alleys.
Ultimately being unable to stop reading elevates the star rating and the more unusual approach of the author became a pleasant change to many action adventures I read.

[Jenna Adkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was well-written and has some interesting twists at the end that I did not expect.

It wasn't too thrilling, however, and I didn't like how things panned out for some characters toward the end, but it was a good, enticing read nonetheless.

[Nancy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe it takes skill to keep a reader well and truly hooked for 576 pages.
Russell Andrews definitely has this skill!!! What an incredible book! Constant action, twists and turns, new information to keep the story interesting but Lao easy to follow. SO GOOD!

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/4.0. Un peu partagé sur le sujet. Le premier 100 page du roman est plutôt soporifique malgré l’envolée du début . Par la suite, la venue de l’équipe vient pimenter le tout à souhait. On voit venir lentement le tueur, mais pas le motif. Correct.

[Jerry King · Rating 3 out of 5]

2001

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

More twists and turns than the Pig Trail!

[Sofie Louise]

the inclusion of the myth of icarus into this story makes me swoon.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great who dunnit!

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2001. Diabolical fast-paced thriller.

[Andrew Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Did not enjoy this one as much as his previous novel 'Gideon'. Unlikeable characters, and a bit far fetched for my liking.

[Nicola Burt-Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that keeps you reading.

[Mythili · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book wasn't a drag and it is quite fast paced. The characters are brought together beautifully to structure the plot twist, which was CRAZY!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant. It kept me guessing until the end.
Fast paced and probably the best read for me so fat this year.

[Daniel Everfree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CRIED. Masterfully written, gave me severe insecurities while I was reading, 11/10

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but, the long and short of it is, there were just too many deaths. It kept me guessing and reading, though. I would try another Russell Andrews book because I do like how he writes.

[Haje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Icarus is a novel written by Russell Andrews (of Gideon fame). It was published in 2001, by Time Warner Books, Doubleday, and Little, Brown and Company publishing houses.

The story (no spoilers beyond what can be read on the book’s sleeve)

The story is basically the story of Jack Keller. At a very young age, he sees his mother getting killed and thrown out of a window of a high-rise building. Apart from leaving him scarred for life and with a violent fear of hights, it is the beginning of a very compelling and captivating story.

Jack is raised by Dom – the person who was about to propose to his mother before she was casually disposed of through the double glazing of the skyscraper – and the connection between the two of them is strong.

Jack marries Caroline around the same time as he starts opening upper-class steak restaurants. Being quite a capitalist entrepeneur, he soon has several restaurants. He thrives until – in what appears to be a hold-up – his wife gets killed and thrown out of a window (recognize a pattern yet?), and Jack barely escapes with his life.

In deep shock, unable to walk, and having lost the will to live, Kid re-enters Jack’s life, and offers to make Jack all right again. When Kid, after having firmly re-established his friendship with Jack, also plummets to his death, Jack has had quite enough, and decides to try and find out what is going on about all the deaths around him.

Review

At 580 pages, the book is quite a read. I purchased it yesterday at 15:00. It is now 22:30. Despite being an avid reader, it only happens rarely that I read anything in such a limited period of time, so the writer must have done something right.

But what?

For one thing, the story is exciting. Without going into detail, the revelations of Kid’s turbulent sexual life are colourful and thought-provoking. Combine that with the fact that Kid has some people in his past – people he has given nicknames such as “The Murdress”, “The Mistake”, “The Destination” and “The Mortician” – who would not at all mind seing him dead, and you got a good old-fashioned whodunnit on your hand.

With new facts being delivered every few pages – effectively aiming the suspicion at everyone in the book, and the fast, movie-like pace, this novel truly and honestly is a good example of your proverbial page-turner.

The characters are surprisingly lifelike and quite human, despite their quirks and anomalies. Finding some character or another to identify with is not difficult, and only seems to intensify the reading experience.

Make no mistake, however – Andrews is no Agatha Christie, and the ending of the book is a bit slow. During the last 50 pages or so, while being interesting and effectively round up all the loose thread|loose threads, you know who the killer is, losing some of the tension. Mind you, it would have worked perfectly as a film (and with Time Warner as the book’s publisher, I would not at all be surprised if we see this thing as a film soon).

All in all, I think I would give the book four stars out of five. It is worth reading as a thriller / detective novel. It has certainly got a strong plot and vivid characters. By no means an intelectual experience, but still enough entertainment to make it a book worth bringing to the beach. Unlike my Thomas Pyncheon book, which seems to be left in the picnic basket.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of the thrillers by these two authors, David Handler and Peter Gethers;Russell Andrews being a nom de plume of course. I have to say that I thought every single on of them was excellent. I hope that these guys choose to choose to join forces again and write more books like this. Mr. Handler has several mysteries penned under his own name available, and I will no doubt get around to reading some of them. But for surprise twists, and keeping the reader on the edge of his or her seat, the Russell Andrews books are fantastic. I am pretty good at guessing who is who or who does what in books of this type, but at least three of these completely knocked my socks off; "Icarus" being one of them. The first one I read was "Gideon over 10 years ago, and that book was an ARC and it hooked me, so now I have finished every one written to date. I hope there will be a new one pretty soon! (Peter Gethers is also a novelist and screenwriter, and wrote "The Cat Who Went to Paris", among other related books.