Sniper

by Vaughn C. Hardacker

When a sniper kills four people on Boston Common, Boston homicide detective Mike Houston and his partner Anne Bouchard are sent to investigate the case. Amidst the blood and terror, Houston discovers similarities, likenesses-the killer’s positioning, his choice of victims, and his code of ethics-between the crime scene and his own training as a US Marine scout and sniper. And with the staging of the scene set for prime shock value, Houston has to wonder what it is this murderer intends to accomplish.The connection is confirmed in the worst possible way when the sniper strikes again, this time killing Houston’s ex-wife, severing what’s left of the bond between Houston and his estranged daughter, Susie. It’s personal now, and as the death toll rises, Houston and Bouchard will stop at nothing to find the cold-blooded sniper who’s making a mockery of their department. In a final gesture of cat and mouse depravity, the killer kidnaps Susie, luring Houston to an island on a remote lake in Maine for a deadly, sniper-to-sniper showdown.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction-novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: Fiction

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2014

About the author

Vaughn C. Hardacker is a writer. He has completed five novels and numerous short stories. He is a member of the New England Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and has published short stories in three anthologies: Mouth Full of Bullets; Best of Year One, My Teacher Is My Hero, and Deadfall, Level Best Books' sixth annual anthology of New England crime and mystery stories. His most recent novel, MY BROTHER'S KEEPER was released in July, 2019. Three of his novels (Sniper, The Fisherman, and Wendigo) were finalists for the Maine Literary Awards. H He regularly blogs with The Maine Crime Writers Blog (http://maincrimewriters.com) and his own blog (http://toughguyswrite.blogspot.com).

He is a veteran of the U. S. Marines and served in Vietnam. He
holds degrees from Northern Maine Technical College, the
University of Maine and Southern New Hampshire University.
He lives in Maine.

At this time has two novels under contract with his publisher, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., both mystery thrillers.

Reviews

[Simone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Houston, we have a problem.

Forgive me for that – I HAD to go there. In a book jam-packed with one cliché after another it just felt appropriate! I am not keen on the cop thriller genre but this one was free so what the heck! plus, I wanted something short to give me a little break from a longer book I am determined to finish.

Perhaps I am biased but to me these types of books are all too cliché: a hard-as-nails-tough-guy-determined cop with rocky past, shady characters milling about in the periphery, a solid partner to help pick up the pieces when it all falls apart, perhaps a little love story thrown in, find the murderer before he kills again race against time … and that’s not even related to the plot! same same same thing every time!

I won’t get into specific plot points of this book because I don’t want to inadvertently post a spoiler but it played out like a B-movie. I should have known when I read the line “deadly, sniper-to-sniper showdown” in the synopsis. GROAN.

This story was on par with every other murder, cop, find-the-bad-guy adventure. Nothing about it really stood out. For me, it was just ok.

Barely.

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult book for me to rate. The plot and locale were 5's. The bad guy was a real bad dude, easy to hate so that was a 5. However the character's actions, though not impossible, were improbable to me. All the events occur in 10 days so the gamut of emotions the main characters exhibited were compressed into a small time window. This seemed significantly disjointed to me which left me unsatisfied and agitated while reading. Ultimately I rated a 3 since it was entertaining, just not particularly probable.

[Matthew Cost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Houston must face his demons from the past as he tries to navigate the present as a Boston homicide detective. Sniper is a thrilling cat and mouse game between two vets striving to put old differences away but somebody dying is the only way to achieve that.

[Burt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get the impression that this is author Hardacker's first attempt at a 'full length' novel (he seems to be best known for his short stories), at least a novel that really could have used a lot more research into the finer points on the skills of a trained Marine Corps sniper. It appeared that the author obtained accurate, yet fairly limited information on military sniper training and worked at placing that information into the behavior of the 'bad guy' character he was attempting to develop. It was ultimately a reasonable police story with the sniper committing the crime and the cop playing a little "Catch-up" on the tactics and techniques of a trained military sniper who was plying his trade in civilian world killings. I thought it was an okay police story just lacking depth when the author discussed sniper skills, actions, and weapons as they pertained to his story.

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing. As a Bostonian and Stephen Hunter fan, I was very excited about reading this book. Unfortunately, the plot was strained and the dialogue was terrible. I honor Mr Hardacker's service, but this was not a good read.

[Jamesm1975 · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's alright. pretty basic thriller, nothing special. basic story. only one twist which wasn't very twisty. some things not explained satisfactorily. Quick and easy read but very forgettable.

[Stephen A. Roddewig · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good concept, but the plot felt rushed. I will say that the side characters were what really shined for me. Jimmy the mobster and the game warden were great. The idea of a cop striking a casual alliance with an underworld figure drew my interest, and considering the story is set in Boston, I imagine this arrangement could have been based on real history.

What bothered me the most is that the sniper sticks around to taunt the cops at one point. For a different shooting, he parks his van in a bus lane, drawing the attention of multiple bystanders before he even takes the shot. Is he trying to be caught? Part of what made the DC Sniper (who the killer is clearly based on) so effective was that he always took shots from unseen locations and used a getaway driver to quickly and effectively exfiltrate.

However, the audiobook was free (I'm an Audible member, so not sure if that applies to everyone), so I certainly am not complaining about value for my dollar. It was entertaining, the side characters felt fresh, and I kept chuckling at the narrator's inability to insert any kind of emotion into his thick Boston accent. Since this isn't Audible, I'm not factoring the performance into this review.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

My 13yo son and I played a game of picking books for each other. This is the random book he picked for me. It wasn't written horribly, but clearly there was some limitations around the author's understanding of human motivation. The villain's motivations are never made truly clear. Is it revenge he's after or proving he's the best? How did he get all these other snipers on his side? How did he get the major involved? She didn't even know his sob story until near the third act. Why would she ever get involved in this? The book offers us the explanation that she wants to prove she can be a good a sniper as any man. That doesn't in any way provide motivation for an active military person to suddenly want to be a part of a kidnap & kill plot. The final fight is anticlimactic. You'd think the big climax between snipers would be an intense, strategy heavy showdown. Instead you have characters just walking around making dumb decisions and stumbling from one scene to the next. Overall a fast, easy read (finished in one morning) and keeps you interested enough, but skip if you prefer characters with realistic motivations.

[Karen Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boston detective Mike Houston investigates and then becomes the target of a sniper who involves him in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Houston and his partner Anne Bouchard track the sniper through the streets of Boston before they discover that he has a personal vendetta against Houston from their time as Marines serving in Somalia.

I don't usually read reviews before I crack open a book, but a glance at one used the word cliche. They may be right, but if you like old style cop shows like Hunter, The Rookies and S.W.A.T., you will enjoy this fast paced tale of cops versus the bad guy. Leave your troubles at the door and climb on board for a great old fashioned story. There is also a great subplot of Houston's ex-brother in law and childhood friend who is now the head of a criminal empire in South Boston that Houston calls on to help go after the sniper when their fuel hits very close to home for the cop.

I made it through this book in about three days and loved every minute of it! Highly recommended!

[Jackie Martello · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I read the second book in the series first and loved it so much I bought the whole rest of the series. I was a little disappointed in this book (his first ever published) and it clearly showed how much an author can evolve and improve. I thought this book was written to adhere to some external formula instead of just allowing it to be honest and organic. The book contains a lot of feminine “feels”, dramatic relationship dialogue, and even some idiotic politically correct cliched sentiments weighing down a story supposedly about snipers, killers and combatants.

[Bill Hooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, for whatever that is worth, this was a very good read. It was exciting, intriguing, and made you want to keep turning pages. I thought the sniper versus sniper showdown, did not merit the build-up that the whole book had been giving. But, the action was fast and furious, the lead characters were interesting, and the plot (I thought) was excellent. It may not be for everybody, but it hit a home round with me.

[Adrian Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disgruntled and disfigured sniper vet with a vendetta against a former sniper buddy now a cop. Crazed Urban sniper scenario, taking out random innocents then specific targets. Finale is mano a nano. Sniper vs sniper. Story was too predictable. Includes coo partners love interest, ex spouses, estranged adult kids, alcoholic cops.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A former Marine sniper begins operations in Boston. His end target is Detective Mike Houston, himself a former Marine sniper in Somolia. The end game is a sniper versus sniper battle to the death in a wilderness area. The author has researched the subject which results in a realistic background.

[John Breidinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!

Plenty of twists and turns in a real world, contemporary novel. Hardacker is great! A tremendous page turner! I’ll try another one!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid story

[hemlet kiai · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting read.

[Patricis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a hard time getting into this book but decided that would complete. It got better the more into the book

[Sian · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 45%

[Tenley Skolfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced murder mystery. Give it a try!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the type of book I usually pick up but I'm glad I choose this one. It's thrill packed with just a touch of romance. Two police officers from Boston commit to finding a sniper plaguing their city. It becomes personal when the sniper kidnaps the daughter of detective Mike Houston. The story travels to the woods of Maine where only one survives. A page turner for sure

[Wendy Koenig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bang out of the gate read. You're hooked from the very beginning. Hard to put down.

The characters are believable, easy to bond with, and larger than life. You want to meet these people.

Easy to follow, easy to visualize.

A quick and exciting first novel. Looking forward to the sequel, "The Fisherman".

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging, quick read. The author, Vaughn Hardacker, uses his experience as a Marine along with research material on Marine Corps Scout/Snipers, to move the book along. I look forward to reading more from him.

[Rodion Musaev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average

[Curtis Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story line. Have read a lot of sniper novels and this rates with the best. Wish there was a sequel.

A fantastic story line. Have read a lot of sniper novels and this rates with the best. Wish there was a sequel.