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Jack Dantzler
The List
Detective Jack Dantzler always believed his father was killed by a sniper in Vietnam. Dantzler’s world is rocked when a stranger shows up and informs him that his father died in Laos, and was killed by the CIA. Dantzler asks the stranger how he can uncover the real truth. The stranger tells Dantzler there is only one man who can help him—the legendary assassin called Cain. Dantzler contacts Cain, and Cain agrees to help. But when a U.S. general is assassinated in Las Vegas, Cain’s priorities change. He knows who killed the general, and he knows the names of the men who ordered the hit. He also knows they must pay for their sins, and he’s the one who will collect the bill. Cain and Dantzler are on the trail of dangerous men who will stop at nothing to save their empire, an empire built on greed, treason and murder. But what Cain doesn’t know is that a Russian assassin has him in her crosshairs. The hunter has become the hunted. The List is a fast-paced thriller that takes readers on a deadly journey, and proves once again why Night Owl Review called Tom Wallace a “powerful and compelling” writer.
191 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2013
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Tom Wallace
80 books16 followersTom Wallace is the author of two previous detective novels, What Matters Blood and The Devil’s Racket, both set in Lexington, Kentucky, where he currently lives. The Heirs of Cain will be his first novel published by Medallion Press. It is the story of a legendary assassin who must track down a former comrade hired to kill the U.S. president and three top Middle East leaders.
Tom spent many years as a successful, award-winning sportswriter/editor in his native Kentucky. He authored five sports-related books, including the highly popular Kentucky Basketball Encyclopedia, an in-depth history of the University of Kentucky’s legendary hoops program. He has contributed articles and columns to numerous national sports magazines, and has also done writing/editing on two national bestsellers by basketball coach Rick Pitino—Success Is A Choice And Lead To Succeed.
Tom is a Vietnam vet, an avid reader, and an admittedly snobbish movie guy. He is also an active member of Mystery Writers of America and the Author’s Guild. Tom’s two artistic icons are Marlon Brando and Leonard Cohen.
Tom spent many years as a successful, award-winning sportswriter/editor in his native Kentucky. He authored five sports-related books, including the highly popular Kentucky Basketball Encyclopedia, an in-depth history of the University of Kentucky’s legendary hoops program. He has contributed articles and columns to numerous national sports magazines, and has also done writing/editing on two national bestsellers by basketball coach Rick Pitino—Success Is A Choice And Lead To Succeed.
Tom is a Vietnam vet, an avid reader, and an admittedly snobbish movie guy. He is also an active member of Mystery Writers of America and the Author’s Guild. Tom’s two artistic icons are Marlon Brando and Leonard Cohen.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 12, 2013
Tom Wallace’s latest thriller, The List, brings together two characters from his previous novels, the dedicated cop Jack Dantzler and the ruthless assassin known as Cain, and sends them on a mission that twists both their pasts into a “sordid saga of a few men whose desire to make huge sums of money trumped loyalty to the United States.”
Both of Dantzler’s parents were killed when he was a child—his father, Johnny, killed in action in Vietnam, his mother, Sarah, murdered several years later. It was his mother’s murder that drove Dantzler to become a cop in the first place, but despite his admirable track record and reputation as perhaps the best homicide detective in Lexington, he was never able to find her killer. The List opens with Dantzler receiving a visit from a Vietnam veteran who claims that not only is there more to Johnny Dantzler’s death, but that Sarah Dantzler was killed for trying to unearth the truth. The veteran is unable to say much more, but leaves with, “Find Cain. If you seek answers to your questions, he’s your best bet for finding them. However… the smart play, the safe play, would be to let the ghosts from the past rest in peace.”
While Dantzler’s investigation that kick-starts the plot, The List is less his story and more a series of scenes, strung together like distinct multicolored beads on the thread that is Apollo Enterprises, a private security firm from which the United States army rents mercenaries. Wallace constructs detailed portraits of every character and point of view, laying out their motivations and allowing the reader to watch the story unfold from multiple angles. Dantzler—the man who is both a cop and a vengeful son. The top dog at Apollo whose reach extends into the most powerful circles of the U.S. government and who can make problem people disappear with a wave of his hand. The intrepid investigative journalist determined to expose his company’s more nefarious—and treasonous—activities. The Russian assassin both in awe of Cain and after his blood. And of course, Cain himself.
Cain is a fascinating and wonderful creation, a character who is both terrifying and mesmerizing to watch. A Vietnam veteran who once served with Dantzler’s father, Cain first made a name for himself as a bringer of death during the war. Although decades have passed since, his age is no obstacle to his lethal abilities. He dispatches his victims efficiently and never once contemplates the rights and wrongs of his bloody profession, viewing himself not as an assassin, but a soldier—someone who obeys orders to track down and eliminate enemies. As Wallace puts it, “for him, opponents were nothing more than obstacles that had to be cleared away, and emotion wasn’t required when removing an obstacle.” Cain’s steadfast loyalty to his friends, including Dantzler, is the only sign of humanity beneath his otherwise psychopathic cold-bloodedness, and yet it is enough to make him a person rather than a weapon, a character rather than a plot device. He also possesses a dry wit—and a twisted sense of humor.
Where Wallace excels as an author is in his ability to make his characters come alive. He deftly utilizes the unique tools of his medium, the written book, to give them purposes and personalities, to allow the reader to get to know them through their back stories and internal thoughts as well as their actions. Not all his characters are sympathetic—in fact, many are deeply unlikable—and many possess the larger-than-life personalities characteristic of the genre. Nevertheless, they are a convincing and thoroughly entertaining cast to read about.
The List reads like a best-of demonstration of Wallace’s strengths—his skills in characterization and his talent for suspense, not to mention the flair with which he writes his dialogues. Wallace’s efficient and straightforward writing make it easy to get lost in the story. As with Wallace’s previous thriller, Gnosis, I ended up finishing this book in less than two days. Some plot points could be improved upon, but all in all, this book makes for an absorbing and enjoyable read, the kind that had me incessantly turning the pages.
Both of Dantzler’s parents were killed when he was a child—his father, Johnny, killed in action in Vietnam, his mother, Sarah, murdered several years later. It was his mother’s murder that drove Dantzler to become a cop in the first place, but despite his admirable track record and reputation as perhaps the best homicide detective in Lexington, he was never able to find her killer. The List opens with Dantzler receiving a visit from a Vietnam veteran who claims that not only is there more to Johnny Dantzler’s death, but that Sarah Dantzler was killed for trying to unearth the truth. The veteran is unable to say much more, but leaves with, “Find Cain. If you seek answers to your questions, he’s your best bet for finding them. However… the smart play, the safe play, would be to let the ghosts from the past rest in peace.”
While Dantzler’s investigation that kick-starts the plot, The List is less his story and more a series of scenes, strung together like distinct multicolored beads on the thread that is Apollo Enterprises, a private security firm from which the United States army rents mercenaries. Wallace constructs detailed portraits of every character and point of view, laying out their motivations and allowing the reader to watch the story unfold from multiple angles. Dantzler—the man who is both a cop and a vengeful son. The top dog at Apollo whose reach extends into the most powerful circles of the U.S. government and who can make problem people disappear with a wave of his hand. The intrepid investigative journalist determined to expose his company’s more nefarious—and treasonous—activities. The Russian assassin both in awe of Cain and after his blood. And of course, Cain himself.
Cain is a fascinating and wonderful creation, a character who is both terrifying and mesmerizing to watch. A Vietnam veteran who once served with Dantzler’s father, Cain first made a name for himself as a bringer of death during the war. Although decades have passed since, his age is no obstacle to his lethal abilities. He dispatches his victims efficiently and never once contemplates the rights and wrongs of his bloody profession, viewing himself not as an assassin, but a soldier—someone who obeys orders to track down and eliminate enemies. As Wallace puts it, “for him, opponents were nothing more than obstacles that had to be cleared away, and emotion wasn’t required when removing an obstacle.” Cain’s steadfast loyalty to his friends, including Dantzler, is the only sign of humanity beneath his otherwise psychopathic cold-bloodedness, and yet it is enough to make him a person rather than a weapon, a character rather than a plot device. He also possesses a dry wit—and a twisted sense of humor.
Where Wallace excels as an author is in his ability to make his characters come alive. He deftly utilizes the unique tools of his medium, the written book, to give them purposes and personalities, to allow the reader to get to know them through their back stories and internal thoughts as well as their actions. Not all his characters are sympathetic—in fact, many are deeply unlikable—and many possess the larger-than-life personalities characteristic of the genre. Nevertheless, they are a convincing and thoroughly entertaining cast to read about.
The List reads like a best-of demonstration of Wallace’s strengths—his skills in characterization and his talent for suspense, not to mention the flair with which he writes his dialogues. Wallace’s efficient and straightforward writing make it easy to get lost in the story. As with Wallace’s previous thriller, Gnosis, I ended up finishing this book in less than two days. Some plot points could be improved upon, but all in all, this book makes for an absorbing and enjoyable read, the kind that had me incessantly turning the pages.
April 3, 2014
Tom Wallace's latest thriller, "The List," is nonstop action with four events converging at the end. Wallace weaves multi-level plots that's part crime, part political, and part espionage. The novel begins with a stranger visiting detective Jack Dantzler, bearing insights into the mysterious deaths of Dantzler's parents when he was a child. From there, other crimes are uncovered as the man known simply as Cain becomes involved in the investigation that leads to discovery of political and corporate corruption. Wallace's novel is a page-turner that never lets up until the very end.
February 22, 2013
A fast paced well written piece of fiction that will keep you turning the pages. Hated to see it end. Cain once again is "A mans Man" who gets the job done.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews