What do you think?
Rate this book
Line of Sight
A juicy noir novel that will appeal to fans of Elmore Leonard and James M. Cain. Publisher's Weekly called it "a tortuous tale that goes on springing shocks virtually until the last page." Bookbrowser noted that it "succeeds brilliantly as a police thriller and has great cinematic possibilities." A great read.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Jack Kelly
10 books61 followersJack Kelly is an award-winning author and historian. He has published works of narrative nonfiction focusing on the Revolutionary War and early America.
Jack lives with the acclaimed artist Joy Taylor and a lovely, nondescript cat named Allis Chalmers, in New York's Hudson Valley. He writes mainly about the American Revolution and the early history of the nation. He’s always happy to hear from readers via his website JackKellyBooks.com.
Perhaps because of a background as the author of five crime novels, Jack writes nonfiction with the compulsive energy of thrillers. He has covered a range of fascinating historical personalities in his books GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD, VALCOUR, and BAND OF GIANTS. In honor of the 2025 bicentennial of the Erie Canal, his history HEAVEN’S DITCH gives an intriguing look at the excitement surrounding that major achievement.
In January 2026, Jack will publish TOM PAINE’S WAR. The book offers a compelling portrait of the man who was the voice of the American Revolution and who remains our most relevant founder. Paine’s Common Sense convinced Americans to declare independence. He went on to march with Washington’s army during the desperate struggle of 1776.
Jack has received the DAR History Medal and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in Nonfiction Literature.
Jack lives with the acclaimed artist Joy Taylor and a lovely, nondescript cat named Allis Chalmers, in New York's Hudson Valley. He writes mainly about the American Revolution and the early history of the nation. He’s always happy to hear from readers via his website JackKellyBooks.com.
Perhaps because of a background as the author of five crime novels, Jack writes nonfiction with the compulsive energy of thrillers. He has covered a range of fascinating historical personalities in his books GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD, VALCOUR, and BAND OF GIANTS. In honor of the 2025 bicentennial of the Erie Canal, his history HEAVEN’S DITCH gives an intriguing look at the excitement surrounding that major achievement.
In January 2026, Jack will publish TOM PAINE’S WAR. The book offers a compelling portrait of the man who was the voice of the American Revolution and who remains our most relevant founder. Paine’s Common Sense convinced Americans to declare independence. He went on to march with Washington’s army during the desperate struggle of 1776.
Jack has received the DAR History Medal and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in Nonfiction Literature.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 23, 2017
Noir of the most idiotic kind. Don't bother
May 14, 2025
The back cover blurb of this book promises the classic noir premise of an attractive young wife married to a rich and overbearing older man. She meets a guy, they begin an affair, and eventually it occurs to them that if the woman's husband is dead, they can live happily ever after on his money. I am a complete sucker for this plot. It has been done countless times. I have read a ton of them. Many of them have been good. A few have been great. This one is the greatest of them all.
You don't just need a seatbelt for this thrill ride. You also need a shoulder harness and a crash helmet. Jack Kelly must have sat down at his computer with the sole goal of blowing his readers' minds. Mine was blown numerous times as the author threw in twist after twist. And we're talking great twists here, not cheesy unrealistic wrinkles. These are jaw-dropping plot twists that turn the story on a dime, but still seem believable. When I finished this novel I almost wanted to applaud.
I do have to admit that the second half of the book is better than the first. The set-up takes a while, but once the ride kicks into high gear, it's a breathless chase to a wild finish that I found to be very satisfying.
You don't just need a seatbelt for this thrill ride. You also need a shoulder harness and a crash helmet. Jack Kelly must have sat down at his computer with the sole goal of blowing his readers' minds. Mine was blown numerous times as the author threw in twist after twist. And we're talking great twists here, not cheesy unrealistic wrinkles. These are jaw-dropping plot twists that turn the story on a dime, but still seem believable. When I finished this novel I almost wanted to applaud.
I do have to admit that the second half of the book is better than the first. The set-up takes a while, but once the ride kicks into high gear, it's a breathless chase to a wild finish that I found to be very satisfying.
April 10, 2014
Jack, Jack, Jack, SUCH a bloody good story, such shocking editing !!I did persevere as I really did enjoy the story which was odd as I have no idea why I downloaded it. The synopsis on Amazon is sketchy to say the least, tells me nothing so I must have had it recommended by somebody.
It's about a cop who I suppose you'd say is a little jaded. He meets and falls for a new neighbour who happens to be married, and then his problems really start. I was tutting and shaking my head at some of his decisions during the relationship, I must admit. I liked Ray, though. I'd be interested to see him in another story.
BUT the editing or proofreading was atrocious !! The most annoying aspect was the amount of times small words were left out of sentences. It happened lots, and to add insult to injury, at other times they'd appear in sentences where they weren't required. Such obvious mistakes. Words like the/a/to/of......extremely annoying.
There were spelling mistakes that made me wince-like eves and not eaves, Unites States (??), your used in place of you, lightening and not lightning, bizarrely Manchester used in place of Mansfield at one point.
A lot of tense errors-like talk and not talking, turn and not turned, happen and not happened.
Fullstops missed out, in used instead of on, commas omitted then used where not needed and the same for apostrophes. One line totally baffled me..."Right there. I wish I may, first star I see tonight". I don't and didn't understand it at all.
So it was all pretty sloppy and for me it easily cost it one-and-a-half stars. sadly it would put me off downloading anything more by him, too.
It's about a cop who I suppose you'd say is a little jaded. He meets and falls for a new neighbour who happens to be married, and then his problems really start. I was tutting and shaking my head at some of his decisions during the relationship, I must admit. I liked Ray, though. I'd be interested to see him in another story.
BUT the editing or proofreading was atrocious !! The most annoying aspect was the amount of times small words were left out of sentences. It happened lots, and to add insult to injury, at other times they'd appear in sentences where they weren't required. Such obvious mistakes. Words like the/a/to/of......extremely annoying.
There were spelling mistakes that made me wince-like eves and not eaves, Unites States (??), your used in place of you, lightening and not lightning, bizarrely Manchester used in place of Mansfield at one point.
A lot of tense errors-like talk and not talking, turn and not turned, happen and not happened.
Fullstops missed out, in used instead of on, commas omitted then used where not needed and the same for apostrophes. One line totally baffled me..."Right there. I wish I may, first star I see tonight". I don't and didn't understand it at all.
So it was all pretty sloppy and for me it easily cost it one-and-a-half stars. sadly it would put me off downloading anything more by him, too.
January 27, 2008
A noir thriller about a straight-edge police officer who becomes obsessed with the sultry married woman who moves in next door.
This novel was my first foray into noir fiction… and although I wasn’t thrilled with the characters, the plot, likely even this book, I was enthralled with the genre. From the beginning the narration was vivid with imagery for me. It was perfectly gritty and seedy and ridiculous. I imagined a trench coat wearing, chain smoking private dick as the narrator. And a Jessica Rabbitesque seductress. I imagined bryl cream and violence. All in black and white. Of course.
It should be said though, that these images were not necessarily the ones that the author painted. But more of what I wanted to get from the atmosphere of the story.
George Tuttle said of noir fiction: “In this sub-genre, the protagonist is usually not a detective, but instead either a victim, a suspect, or a perpetrator. He is someone tied directly to the crime, not an outsider called to solve or fix the situation. Other common characteristics…are the emphasis on sexual relationships and the use of sex to advance the plot and the self-destructive qualities of the lead characters. This type of fiction also has the lean, direct writing style and the gritty realism commonly associated with hardboiled fiction.”
All this to say, I loved the idea much more than the actual book. But as I have nothing to compare it to, I have to call it great.
This novel was my first foray into noir fiction… and although I wasn’t thrilled with the characters, the plot, likely even this book, I was enthralled with the genre. From the beginning the narration was vivid with imagery for me. It was perfectly gritty and seedy and ridiculous. I imagined a trench coat wearing, chain smoking private dick as the narrator. And a Jessica Rabbitesque seductress. I imagined bryl cream and violence. All in black and white. Of course.
It should be said though, that these images were not necessarily the ones that the author painted. But more of what I wanted to get from the atmosphere of the story.
George Tuttle said of noir fiction: “In this sub-genre, the protagonist is usually not a detective, but instead either a victim, a suspect, or a perpetrator. He is someone tied directly to the crime, not an outsider called to solve or fix the situation. Other common characteristics…are the emphasis on sexual relationships and the use of sex to advance the plot and the self-destructive qualities of the lead characters. This type of fiction also has the lean, direct writing style and the gritty realism commonly associated with hardboiled fiction.”
All this to say, I loved the idea much more than the actual book. But as I have nothing to compare it to, I have to call it great.
Read
August 9, 2011I ended up liking this book because it was so different from what I usually read. While it was noir, it was not so dark to be depressing. Perhaps that's because at times the plot was almost laughable. All in all it was a nice break and really kinda fun. Is that weird?
April 22, 2010
Great hard-boiled/noir crime fiction.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews