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Henry's List of Wrongs
Ever wish you could go back and make it right?
Henry Chase is every woman's worst nightmare. Nicknamed "The Assassin" by his Wall Street brethren, he'll lie, seduce, betray, manipulate-- whatever it takes-- to stay on top, in the boardroom and the bedroom. There's not a speck of humanity left in his steely soul until one night when his conscience catches him by surprise and demands a reckoning.
With the help of a mysterious young woman, Henry confesses to a list-- a list of the lives he has ruined in the pursuit of power and riches.
Prodded by his newly found alter ego, Henry embarks on a road trip of redemption-- he sets out to make it right for those in his past, and maybe for himself in the future.
For anyone who ever wondered just what makes a man tick, Henry's List of Wrongs exposes the inner workings of the male mind, its carefully hidden motivations, desires, and fears.
A story with humor, romance, and sting, it might even make you confront your own list of regrets.
Henry Chase is every woman's worst nightmare. Nicknamed "The Assassin" by his Wall Street brethren, he'll lie, seduce, betray, manipulate-- whatever it takes-- to stay on top, in the boardroom and the bedroom. There's not a speck of humanity left in his steely soul until one night when his conscience catches him by surprise and demands a reckoning.
With the help of a mysterious young woman, Henry confesses to a list-- a list of the lives he has ruined in the pursuit of power and riches.
Prodded by his newly found alter ego, Henry embarks on a road trip of redemption-- he sets out to make it right for those in his past, and maybe for himself in the future.
For anyone who ever wondered just what makes a man tick, Henry's List of Wrongs exposes the inner workings of the male mind, its carefully hidden motivations, desires, and fears.
A story with humor, romance, and sting, it might even make you confront your own list of regrets.
292 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
2 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 14, 2008
I liked this book a lot. Henry goes around trying to right his mistakes. Kind of Earl before there was Earl.
February 2, 2021
Sometimes, a book just crosses your path at the right time. I bought this many years ago, and just never got around to reading it. About a week ago, I locked eyes with the spine on my bookshelf, nodded, and gave it a go.
I'll spare you the summary - you can get that from the back of the book or the summary provided here. What I will say is that I found myself invested in the character of Henry and his quest quite early on, and I think that was the driving force that made me want to keep going.
Honestly, the author isn't creating something entirely new here. We've seen variations of this type of plot before, but it is told in a unique way, with hints of what's to come being sprinkled throughout that hook you in for that "one more chapter" whisper when you should be trying to get to sleep.
Henry is quite likeable. Even though we get a glimpse of "The Assassin" here and there, we know that deep down, the good guy is still there - and we root for him to prevail.
The character of Sophie, Henry's Jiminy Cricket, if you will, is intriguing. It wouldn't be fun if she didn't have some sort of dark secret threatening to catch up to her along the way, so of course that's in there.
The other characters are a little superficial, but fill their roles well. Henry's ruthless boss and his team, Henry's family, and the folks from his "List" who he stepped on and over throughout his life.
So, bottom line - this book is a fairly quick read, the plot is immensely entertaining, and the writing is informal and "easy", if that makes sense. I feel like a skilled narrator would have a lot of fun with recording the audiobook version. The author isn't reinventing the wheel here. The general storyline isn't anything that's going to blow you away, and you probably won't be jotting down lines in a notebook to remember their poignancy. With that being said, there is intrigue, mystery, humor, some romance, family drama, and the hope of redemption. This book is fun and it just works - I really enjoyed it.
I'll spare you the summary - you can get that from the back of the book or the summary provided here. What I will say is that I found myself invested in the character of Henry and his quest quite early on, and I think that was the driving force that made me want to keep going.
Honestly, the author isn't creating something entirely new here. We've seen variations of this type of plot before, but it is told in a unique way, with hints of what's to come being sprinkled throughout that hook you in for that "one more chapter" whisper when you should be trying to get to sleep.
Henry is quite likeable. Even though we get a glimpse of "The Assassin" here and there, we know that deep down, the good guy is still there - and we root for him to prevail.
The character of Sophie, Henry's Jiminy Cricket, if you will, is intriguing. It wouldn't be fun if she didn't have some sort of dark secret threatening to catch up to her along the way, so of course that's in there.
The other characters are a little superficial, but fill their roles well. Henry's ruthless boss and his team, Henry's family, and the folks from his "List" who he stepped on and over throughout his life.
So, bottom line - this book is a fairly quick read, the plot is immensely entertaining, and the writing is informal and "easy", if that makes sense. I feel like a skilled narrator would have a lot of fun with recording the audiobook version. The author isn't reinventing the wheel here. The general storyline isn't anything that's going to blow you away, and you probably won't be jotting down lines in a notebook to remember their poignancy. With that being said, there is intrigue, mystery, humor, some romance, family drama, and the hope of redemption. This book is fun and it just works - I really enjoyed it.
October 30, 2012
I really liked this book. In fact I would say I savoured this book. I didn't want it to end. It is a book about hope, repentance, redemption, forgiveness and love. When the man at the beginning is a pig (not literally, but his character) there is a lot of swearing. I found this book funny, touching, sad, and joyful. You felt how Henry felt, which means good writing. I liked the characters. There seemed to be a little of the prodigal son, but in a different way. Definately a good read.
July 24, 2009
Not as good as I had hoped.
May 18, 2011
I liked this book. The characters were interesting enough to make me stick with the meandering. But this was a really nice story.
October 8, 2011
Good premise. Not believable. Shallow. Could have been much better executed.
January 28, 2014
While the book had all the makings of A Hallmark movie, it was fun to read, and watch as Henry does is best to right all the wrongs he committed get to the top.
June 29, 2023
A book about a man's regrets. The man, Henry, has generally lived life as a jerk. Now prodded by a mysterious women, he seeks redemption. It seemed implausible to me that he would seek redemption and that he could undo his his. An average read.
January 12, 2023
It's never to late to try to make amends.
February 28, 2012
I will start this review by saying that the dust jacket claims that Mr. Shepherd writes his book in the attic of the home he shares with his wife, while in his Acknowledgements, the author claims that he writes in his basement. I know. This seems mundane and trivial, but I believe this silly little discrepancy is like a billboard for everything that's wrong with the book. Mr. Shepherd can't decide which is cooler: the attic or the basement.
Because this book is all about cool. Consider this phrase from the novel's opening line: "brain belch of accidental brilliance". Apart from being an inherent contradiction in terms, this phrase also sums up much of what's wrong with Mr. Shepherd's prose. He can't decide what to say or how to say it.
There are parts that are undeniably well written -- a paragraph here, a line there -- but there are also times where the novel actually repeats itself and its descriptions. Likewise, the tone varies from the hip and tongue-in-cheek voice of a ne'er-do-well to the lofty proclomations of a formal, literary narrator. Again, the author doesn't know what to sound like. While the basic premise is moderately intriguing, it is made monotonous and trite by this uneven writing and the unsalvagable dialogue. Every character sounds the same: like the confused, yet pleased-with-himself author.
And finally, the premise, I said, was intriguing, but the story is absolutely ridiculous. Sure, Mr. Shepherd has captured high school's idiosyncracies quite well (in addition to his own distaste for teenagers), but the tale just doesn't hang on these well-written backdrops with anything close to approaching believability. Henry's experiences with the Girl of His Dreams, his reasons for becoming the Assassin, his reasons for writing The List, well, it's all melodramatic sophism, and it plays out weakly.
Ignore this pretentious and contrived first novel of "redemption." Instead, check out Invisible Monsters or Motherless Brooklyn.
Because this book is all about cool. Consider this phrase from the novel's opening line: "brain belch of accidental brilliance". Apart from being an inherent contradiction in terms, this phrase also sums up much of what's wrong with Mr. Shepherd's prose. He can't decide what to say or how to say it.
There are parts that are undeniably well written -- a paragraph here, a line there -- but there are also times where the novel actually repeats itself and its descriptions. Likewise, the tone varies from the hip and tongue-in-cheek voice of a ne'er-do-well to the lofty proclomations of a formal, literary narrator. Again, the author doesn't know what to sound like. While the basic premise is moderately intriguing, it is made monotonous and trite by this uneven writing and the unsalvagable dialogue. Every character sounds the same: like the confused, yet pleased-with-himself author.
And finally, the premise, I said, was intriguing, but the story is absolutely ridiculous. Sure, Mr. Shepherd has captured high school's idiosyncracies quite well (in addition to his own distaste for teenagers), but the tale just doesn't hang on these well-written backdrops with anything close to approaching believability. Henry's experiences with the Girl of His Dreams, his reasons for becoming the Assassin, his reasons for writing The List, well, it's all melodramatic sophism, and it plays out weakly.
Ignore this pretentious and contrived first novel of "redemption." Instead, check out Invisible Monsters or Motherless Brooklyn.
May 16, 2021
Henry Chase is from Kansas, a shy boy who loves the most beautiful girl in school. He turns into a Wall Street tycoon years after the girl breaks his heart and returns to Wichita to show her what she has missed. Instead, Sophie Riley takes him on a journey to purge his past transgressions and start over. Along the way, he falls in love with her and in the end, saves her, just as much as she has saved him.
A man wrote the book, so there is no time for cheesy romance, which I totally appreciated. I did not like, however, that everyone seemed so capable of forgiving his evil ways. He plowed through 6 people in a long weekend, for Pete's sake! But, it was a nice touch that Elizabeth popped back in the end and Henry made the real and conscious choice to be with Sophie.
A man wrote the book, so there is no time for cheesy romance, which I totally appreciated. I did not like, however, that everyone seemed so capable of forgiving his evil ways. He plowed through 6 people in a long weekend, for Pete's sake! But, it was a nice touch that Elizabeth popped back in the end and Henry made the real and conscious choice to be with Sophie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2014
A bit of a hackneyed premise by now (although the book was published some time before I happened upon it at the used book sale.) I loved the speed and the wit of the dialogue, and it is all dialogue driven, though some of it is internal.
The female protagonist's development was well started, but sputtered a bit in the center. And the ending was a bit too clean and cliche, but it can be read in a day or two and requires nothing of the reader but observation. And some days, you just need that!
The female protagonist's development was well started, but sputtered a bit in the center. And the ending was a bit too clean and cliche, but it can be read in a day or two and requires nothing of the reader but observation. And some days, you just need that!
August 11, 2008
i think i bought this at a library book sale because i liked the cover and the synopsis. but when i went to read it recently i saw that the author is a kc resident, graduated from umkc and the story is based in kansas with references to wichita and kc. crazy! it was one of the those books that took a hard right each time you thought it was going to be predictable. it would be a good movie. and it was a quick read for me, which i loved!
April 21, 2014
One dimensional writing. I felt like the author took stick figures or paper dolls and threw them into predetermined scenarios. Nobody had any depth. It wasn't believable at all. It's like it was written for a bad TV movie special. Don't waste your time. I couldn't wait to be done with this one.
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June 27, 2007Something made me think of this book...and I must share. This was a great read (from what I remember). It was funny, light, and yet had a great message.
August 17, 2007
Pretty quick, pretty good. It's the literary equivalent of macaroni and cheese, and that's okay.
September 19, 2007
I have to confess I was not interested in reading this book. It was free..but..couldnt put it down once I got started. I have to give this a five.
November 15, 2008
I liked this book...it is a bit far fetched - almost reads like a fairytale at parts, but it was a light read with a nice ending.
April 6, 2009
Another one I didn't finish. I hope I'm not a book snob, but this one though it had an interesting premise was too light-weight for me.
July 8, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. Read it a few years ago and couldn't put the book down.
January 22, 2013
i loved this book, it was a fun adventure and read. i need to buy this book again because i lent mine out so much i forgot who had it last and lost it.
September 9, 2013
Fun read!
March 21, 2016
Loved it! What a concept, go back and right every wrong you every caused, see how that works!!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews