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Wilson Mystery #1
Darwin's Nightmare: A Mystery
Hard-hitting crime fiction from the author of Tin “Fans of Charlie Huston and Chuck Palahniuk will probably enjoy Darwin’s Nightmare” (Sacramento Book Review). Wilson spent his entire life under the radar. Few people knew who he was or how to find him. Only two people even knew what he really did—working jobs for one very bad man, illegal jobs no one could ever know about. Wilson was invisible—until the day he crossed the line and risked everything to save the last connection to humanity he had, earning the hatred of a vengeful mob boss, a man who claimed he was Charles Darwin’s worst nightmare. Moving even deeper into the underworld of Hamilton, Ontario, he became a ghost in the city—until one day he took on what seemed like a simple job. Steal a bag from the airport and hand it off. No one said what was in the bag, and no one mentioned who the real owners were or what they would do to get it back. But the bag would set into motion a violent chain of events from which no one will escape untouched . . . “A very good series.” —Booklist “Merciless but honest about being monstrous, Wilson is worthy to stand next to Loren Estleman’s Peter Macklin and Donald Westlake’s Parker.” —Publishers Weekly
189 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 27, 2019
Darwin's Nightmare by Mike Knowles introduces a criminal only known by the name "Wilson." Wilson now works alone pulling off heists, other money paying crime jobs and performs tasks ordered by the local crime lord who has nicknamed himself as "Darwin's Nightmare" because he believes he is the top of the crime heap.
Little is known about Wilson and after ordered to steal a package from apparent inept part-time, pretending criminals looking for a big payoff of their own, Wilson is soon caught between the crime lord and the owners of the package, the Russian mob.
Wilson is clearly no "anti-hero" and a cold-blooded thief, with the only two friends being that of a bar owner and the bar owner's wife.
The writing and story are of the upper-tier of pulp-noir crime writing and recommended for those that enjoy novels like the Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake) Parker series.
Little is known about Wilson and after ordered to steal a package from apparent inept part-time, pretending criminals looking for a big payoff of their own, Wilson is soon caught between the crime lord and the owners of the package, the Russian mob.
Wilson is clearly no "anti-hero" and a cold-blooded thief, with the only two friends being that of a bar owner and the bar owner's wife.
The writing and story are of the upper-tier of pulp-noir crime writing and recommended for those that enjoy novels like the Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake) Parker series.
Want to read
March 4, 2019Synopsis: Wilson worked jobs for one very bad man. Illegal jobs. One day changed everything and he earned the hatred of a vengeful mob boss.
February 26, 2015
The term “action novel” does not seem to be widely used, anyway not as widely as “action movie”. Mike Knowles’ “Darwin’s Nightmare” is almost a clinically pure action novel, which means that virtually the entire text describes action - beating people up, getting beaten up, killing other people in order not to get killed by them, and performing various evasive maneuvers. There is virtually nothing else in the book; no characterizations and no psychological or sociological observations. This may sound as if I were ridiculing the convention of the novel, yet is not a criticism – I prefer the “pure action” convention over pretentious attempts of the majority of modern crime fiction writers to convey more than just action in their novels, while they have no skills or depth to do that, and usually nothing interesting to say. At least, Mr. Knowles is honest when he gives the reader a book of non-stop beatings and killings instead of inane, amateur philosophizing so common in the horrid works of Dan Brown, James Patterson, and many, many others.
Wilson is a freelance criminal who at the moment works for an Italian mob boss in Hamilton, Canada. His assignment is to steal certain bag at the airport. He succeeds at the task, but the theft sets an avalanche of consequences that involve not only Italian, but also Russian mob, and various other criminals. Many, many people die trying to get the bag. During short breaks in current maiming and killing, Wilson brings back memories of his parents' criminal past, his own beginnings in the trade, and various maimings and killings from the past. By coincidence, while I was reading "Darwin's Nightmare" on the trolley, I listened to an old Jefferson Airplane's song, "Crown of Creation". Yeah, the human race is precisely the crown of creation.
What I actually dislike about the novel are the rare instances when the author goes outside the "pure action" convention and, for instance, writes about how Wilson's parents stole only from rich people or how Wilson himself only kills people who deserve it, and how it all relates to Darwin's theory.
Two and a half stars.
Wilson is a freelance criminal who at the moment works for an Italian mob boss in Hamilton, Canada. His assignment is to steal certain bag at the airport. He succeeds at the task, but the theft sets an avalanche of consequences that involve not only Italian, but also Russian mob, and various other criminals. Many, many people die trying to get the bag. During short breaks in current maiming and killing, Wilson brings back memories of his parents' criminal past, his own beginnings in the trade, and various maimings and killings from the past. By coincidence, while I was reading "Darwin's Nightmare" on the trolley, I listened to an old Jefferson Airplane's song, "Crown of Creation". Yeah, the human race is precisely the crown of creation.
What I actually dislike about the novel are the rare instances when the author goes outside the "pure action" convention and, for instance, writes about how Wilson's parents stole only from rich people or how Wilson himself only kills people who deserve it, and how it all relates to Darwin's theory.
Two and a half stars.
January 29, 2010
Not only is the author from the city I come from, but the story is also. It was fantastic reading a book, and knowing the neighborhoods being discussed. That was a first for me.
I loved the characters in this book! I was anxious to keep reading until the end. I just couldn't put the book down! That good!!!
If you love a scary story with action, and some graphic parts, then grab a copy! I am definitely putting this on my annual recommendation list!
I loved the characters in this book! I was anxious to keep reading until the end. I just couldn't put the book down! That good!!!
If you love a scary story with action, and some graphic parts, then grab a copy! I am definitely putting this on my annual recommendation list!
May 9, 2017
Wilson is a loner and works for Paolo, an Italian mobster in Hamilton, ON, doing jobs that Paolo doesn't want to do and doesn't want any connection to. Paolo asks Wilson to intercept a bag at the airport and give it to Julian, Paolo's right hand man. Sounds like an easy job, right? The next thing Wilson knows he's caught in the middle of a battle between the Italian mob and the Russian mob, and both want him dead. He has to use all his experience and cunning to make sure he survives.
This is the first (of six) in the Wilson series ... I had read the second one a couple weeks ago and liked it enough to start at the beginning and read the series. It was fun to read a book set in Hamilton, which isn't too far from Toronto.
I liked the writing style. It was blunt and to the point. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence. Despite his occupation and the characters he encounters, I found Wilson likable. In this book, we find out about his childhood and how/why he is the way he is today.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/05...
This is the first (of six) in the Wilson series ... I had read the second one a couple weeks ago and liked it enough to start at the beginning and read the series. It was fun to read a book set in Hamilton, which isn't too far from Toronto.
I liked the writing style. It was blunt and to the point. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence. Despite his occupation and the characters he encounters, I found Wilson likable. In this book, we find out about his childhood and how/why he is the way he is today.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/05...
October 10, 2017
Enjoyable hard-nosed crime fiction where the lead character is also a bad guy who commits crimes for money. Lots of violence, but that's to be expected in this genre. Looking forward to reading the next entry in this series.
March 8, 2022
Excellent; Continuing character: Wilson; a criminal gets caught between his Italian bosses and Russian Mafia after pulling a job and extreme violence results; the back story of how Wilson grew to be the man he is provides both context and details on a life of crime
July 1, 2023
I read a couple of the Wilson series a few years ago, came across this book #1 and decided to read it.
Spoilers ahead.
It's not really a mystery per se. Wilson is an independent criminal. I wouldn't call him a con man or an assassin but he does both of those things. He's basically a criminal who steals things but isn't afraid to kill, which he is good at and does a lot of.
The back story is given as the story progresses. Basically his parents were high end thieves who stole stuff. They are killed in a burglary or something like that (unspecified in book) and he was brought up by an uncle. As a teen(?) he decided to become a con (or a crim) and his uncle taught him everything he knew.
He came under the notice of the mafia big boss when he saved a barkeeper who refused to give protection money. He killed the local mafia boss and his family but agreed to work under the big mafia boss in order to save his barkeeper friend. That's the back story.
In this book, he is tasked by the boss to steal a bag. The bag happens to be data/information that belonged to the Russian mob. This leads to a violent confrontation between the Russians and the Italians. Wilson is drawn in because he was unknowingly used to take the bag.
As with the other books in the series, there isn't a lot of subtlety in the writing. There is a lot of blood and violence. Gangsters are shot left and right, though civilians are left alone. It's like one of those vigilante series except that Wilson is also a gangster, though to make the series palatable to most of the audience, he does have a moral code. Unfortunately, his moral code isn't strong enough to make this series best seller popular.
I'm not sure when the series was written but it reads like pulp fiction from the 70's, though it's probably about 20 year later. If you like short, quick and violent criminal fiction, this series is for you.
Spoilers ahead.
It's not really a mystery per se. Wilson is an independent criminal. I wouldn't call him a con man or an assassin but he does both of those things. He's basically a criminal who steals things but isn't afraid to kill, which he is good at and does a lot of.
The back story is given as the story progresses. Basically his parents were high end thieves who stole stuff. They are killed in a burglary or something like that (unspecified in book) and he was brought up by an uncle. As a teen(?) he decided to become a con (or a crim) and his uncle taught him everything he knew.
He came under the notice of the mafia big boss when he saved a barkeeper who refused to give protection money. He killed the local mafia boss and his family but agreed to work under the big mafia boss in order to save his barkeeper friend. That's the back story.
In this book, he is tasked by the boss to steal a bag. The bag happens to be data/information that belonged to the Russian mob. This leads to a violent confrontation between the Russians and the Italians. Wilson is drawn in because he was unknowingly used to take the bag.
As with the other books in the series, there isn't a lot of subtlety in the writing. There is a lot of blood and violence. Gangsters are shot left and right, though civilians are left alone. It's like one of those vigilante series except that Wilson is also a gangster, though to make the series palatable to most of the audience, he does have a moral code. Unfortunately, his moral code isn't strong enough to make this series best seller popular.
I'm not sure when the series was written but it reads like pulp fiction from the 70's, though it's probably about 20 year later. If you like short, quick and violent criminal fiction, this series is for you.
August 7, 2009
As the pages flip by, and bones break, and tendons rupture, and blood spurts, and bullets pierce flesh, the crunchy dialogue and pungent narrative drives Darwin’s Nightmare to new heights of hard-bitten cynicism. Knowles’ world is one unrelieved by humour or compassion. Wilson is a monster, but he has become one to survive the other, far worse monsters that populate his world. This is kill or be killed, Darwin’s theory put into brutal practice.
Such tales of unrelieved pessimism can easily wear out their welcome, but like the best practitioners of the genre, Knowles keeps his story moving, his action clear, and his character engaging even when he’s been shot and possibly bleeding to death.
Read the rest of the review here.
Such tales of unrelieved pessimism can easily wear out their welcome, but like the best practitioners of the genre, Knowles keeps his story moving, his action clear, and his character engaging even when he’s been shot and possibly bleeding to death.
Read the rest of the review here.
April 22, 2011
A pretty good crime thriller, although the hero is a little too cool for school. My only complaint is that the story's hero is a little cold blooded, especially with the high body count.
June 26, 2013
A bit didactic at times, and not a particularly sympathetic protagonist, which made it a bit less exciting than it could have been. Still, solidly plotted, and decent pacing.
August 5, 2016
A violent and fast-paced novel about organized crime, set in Hamilton, Ontario. Must read other books by Mike Knowles.
January 23, 2015
It was ok. Kept my attention right the way through. Unlikeable characters who blaze away at each other without a cop in sight. May be worth reading another of Mr Knowles books
Want to read
February 4, 2018Feb 2018 not on TRACS
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews