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Jack Dana #1
Killer, Come Hither
From the master observer of upper-crust New York life comes a sly, pacey international thriller ranging from the suites of an elite Manhattan law firm to the tidy elegance of Sag Harbor and the rough and tumble western plains of Brazil.
Jack Dana is a star history student at Yale with a bright career in academia ahead of him. But after 9/11 he feels it is his duty to change course. As a Marine infantry officer he is deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Severely wounded in combat, he begins writing a novel about his wartime experiences while surgeons at the Walter Reed Hospital patch up his pelvis. Jack then moves to Manhattan to live with his uncle Harry, a partner in a leading New York law firm and Jack's surrogate father. With Harry's help he quickly finds a publisher, and the book's swift success launches Jack as a professional writer. After a second successful publication, Jack feels entitled to a vacation and leaves for a three-month trip to South America. The isolation from modern life on a ranch in western Brazil suits him perfectly, but on his way back home he looks at his e-mails and finds shocking news: his uncle Harry is dead, hanged in his Sag Harbor summer home, clearly a suicide.
Horrified and incredulous, Jack digs into the facts surrounding his uncle's death. Aided by Harry's most trusted associate, Kerry Black, with whom Jack falls in love, and by his college friend Scott Prentice, who now works for the CIA, Jack discovers that Harry had pierced the secret of his most important client, Abner Brown, a right-wing multibillionaire notorious for backing extremist causes: Alongside his legitimate businesses, Brown owns and operates parallel criminal enterprises. The stakes and dangers are huge. Harry's death now seems anything but a suicide. And in order to avenge his uncle, Jack might have to circumvent the law and take matters into his own hands. Begley's taut, intelligent thriller takes readers from the knotty politics of New York law firms to the intimacy of life on the Long Island shore, all with his trademark wit and nuance.
Jack Dana is a star history student at Yale with a bright career in academia ahead of him. But after 9/11 he feels it is his duty to change course. As a Marine infantry officer he is deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Severely wounded in combat, he begins writing a novel about his wartime experiences while surgeons at the Walter Reed Hospital patch up his pelvis. Jack then moves to Manhattan to live with his uncle Harry, a partner in a leading New York law firm and Jack's surrogate father. With Harry's help he quickly finds a publisher, and the book's swift success launches Jack as a professional writer. After a second successful publication, Jack feels entitled to a vacation and leaves for a three-month trip to South America. The isolation from modern life on a ranch in western Brazil suits him perfectly, but on his way back home he looks at his e-mails and finds shocking news: his uncle Harry is dead, hanged in his Sag Harbor summer home, clearly a suicide.
Horrified and incredulous, Jack digs into the facts surrounding his uncle's death. Aided by Harry's most trusted associate, Kerry Black, with whom Jack falls in love, and by his college friend Scott Prentice, who now works for the CIA, Jack discovers that Harry had pierced the secret of his most important client, Abner Brown, a right-wing multibillionaire notorious for backing extremist causes: Alongside his legitimate businesses, Brown owns and operates parallel criminal enterprises. The stakes and dangers are huge. Harry's death now seems anything but a suicide. And in order to avenge his uncle, Jack might have to circumvent the law and take matters into his own hands. Begley's taut, intelligent thriller takes readers from the knotty politics of New York law firms to the intimacy of life on the Long Island shore, all with his trademark wit and nuance.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2015
13 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Louis Begley
44 books86 followersLouis Begley is an American novelist.
Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryi at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician. He is a survivor of the Holocaust due to the multiple purchases of Aryan papers by his mother and constant evasion of the Nazis. They survived by pretending to be Polish Catholic. The family left Poland in the fall of 1946 and settled in New York in March 1947. Begley studied English Literature at Harvard College (AB '54, summa cum laude), and published in the Harvard Advocate. Service in the United States Army followed. In 1956 Begley entered Harvard Law School and graduated in 1959 (LL.B. magna cum laude).
Upon graduation from Law School, Begley joined the New York firm of Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate; became a partner in January 1968; became of counsel in January 2004; and retired in January 2007. From 1993 to 1995, Begley was also president of PEN American Center. He remains a member of PEN's board of directors, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His wife of 30 years, Anka Muhlstein, was honoured by the French Academy for her work on La Salle, and received critical acclaim for her book A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine.
His first novel, Wartime Lies, was written in 1989. It won the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first work of fiction in 1991. The French version, Une éducation polonaise, won the Prix Médicis International in 1992. He has also won several German literature prizes, including the Jeanette Schocken Prize in 1995 and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Literature Prize in 2000.
His novel About Schmidt was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jack Nicholson.
Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryi at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician. He is a survivor of the Holocaust due to the multiple purchases of Aryan papers by his mother and constant evasion of the Nazis. They survived by pretending to be Polish Catholic. The family left Poland in the fall of 1946 and settled in New York in March 1947. Begley studied English Literature at Harvard College (AB '54, summa cum laude), and published in the Harvard Advocate. Service in the United States Army followed. In 1956 Begley entered Harvard Law School and graduated in 1959 (LL.B. magna cum laude).
Upon graduation from Law School, Begley joined the New York firm of Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate; became a partner in January 1968; became of counsel in January 2004; and retired in January 2007. From 1993 to 1995, Begley was also president of PEN American Center. He remains a member of PEN's board of directors, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His wife of 30 years, Anka Muhlstein, was honoured by the French Academy for her work on La Salle, and received critical acclaim for her book A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine.
His first novel, Wartime Lies, was written in 1989. It won the PEN/Hemingway Award for a first work of fiction in 1991. The French version, Une éducation polonaise, won the Prix Médicis International in 1992. He has also won several German literature prizes, including the Jeanette Schocken Prize in 1995 and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Literature Prize in 2000.
His novel About Schmidt was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jack Nicholson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 16, 2018
And now, finally, I understand why I got this book for 3€ instead of 12€.
Because it's a terrible book and I shouldn't even have paid the 3€ for it.
It's supposed to be about (pointless) violence, revenge and corruption among rich Americans (well, at least that's what the author says). But really, just from reading it's clear that the book isn't really about much of anything.
Jack Dana, ex-military, successful author and real contender for Most Boring Main Character Imaginable™, is kind of sad when his uncle, a successful lawyer (everyone in this book is successful and rich and smart), commits suicide and suspects it wasn't really a suicide at all.
The plot goes on from there, pretty much in the way you'd expect, and nothing unexpected ever happens. You might think there's some mystery (Who could've killed the uncle? And why??), but there really isn't. It's all pretty clear almost immediately.
The characters are flat and one-dimensional, and their '''realtionships''' to each other are kept as simple as possible. There's good people and there's bad people, and the 'good people' are all Jacks's friends and completely interchangeable. They just do whatever he needs them to do. Jack and Kerry's relationship is particularly bad, because the author tries so hard to make you believe they truly love each other. They've met once or twice at parties. They meet again after Jack's uncle has died. They fall in love immediately. After a week of dating Jack loves her more than anything, decides to marry her and plans to leave her everything in his will. YA romance is nothing compared to this.
The writing is also, uh, interesting. For some (stylistic?) reason the author decided to use no quotation marks or any other sign when someone is speaking and when not. The narrator parts, indirect speech and direct speech just merge together and everything and everyone sounds exactly the same. The fact that the book also has a 1st person narrator doesn't really improve things either. Is he speaking? Thinking? Wait, who's speaking now? Who knows! And who cares!
This felt like it was written based on one (1) vague plot idea and in a matter of 2 weeks, and if it wasn't actually that's even worse.
Because it's a terrible book and I shouldn't even have paid the 3€ for it.
It's supposed to be about (pointless) violence, revenge and corruption among rich Americans (well, at least that's what the author says). But really, just from reading it's clear that the book isn't really about much of anything.
This is bullshit too, her replied, and you're taking way too much of my time. Once again, what do you want?
I want you to send this guy to me. Send him to kill me, because I'm going to kill him instead, and that is what I want. I want to kill him. I want to watch him die. And you better be quick. There are only so many days before I release the stuff I have to the government.
Jack Dana, ex-military, successful author and real contender for Most Boring Main Character Imaginable™, is kind of sad when his uncle, a successful lawyer (everyone in this book is successful and rich and smart), commits suicide and suspects it wasn't really a suicide at all.
The plot goes on from there, pretty much in the way you'd expect, and nothing unexpected ever happens. You might think there's some mystery (Who could've killed the uncle? And why??), but there really isn't. It's all pretty clear almost immediately.
The characters are flat and one-dimensional, and their '''realtionships''' to each other are kept as simple as possible. There's good people and there's bad people, and the 'good people' are all Jacks's friends and completely interchangeable. They just do whatever he needs them to do. Jack and Kerry's relationship is particularly bad, because the author tries so hard to make you believe they truly love each other. They've met once or twice at parties. They meet again after Jack's uncle has died. They fall in love immediately. After a week of dating Jack loves her more than anything, decides to marry her and plans to leave her everything in his will. YA romance is nothing compared to this.
The writing is also, uh, interesting. For some (stylistic?) reason the author decided to use no quotation marks or any other sign when someone is speaking and when not. The narrator parts, indirect speech and direct speech just merge together and everything and everyone sounds exactly the same. The fact that the book also has a 1st person narrator doesn't really improve things either. Is he speaking? Thinking? Wait, who's speaking now? Who knows! And who cares!
This felt like it was written based on one (1) vague plot idea and in a matter of 2 weeks, and if it wasn't actually that's even worse.
April 27, 2015
Begley's book has two competing elements that don't quite mesh. It is a novel about revenge (a retired US Marine/successful author avenges the death of his beloved high-level lawyer uncle by a mega-rich client), but it is a novel set among the upper crust world that Begley writes about in his other novels. The tone derives from the second element; the action from the first. There is a clubby old-boy feel to it that doesn't mesh with the murderous actions that set the main character into action, nor his choice of how he plans to bring down the people responsible for his uncle's death. It also has a feel of an earlier age to it, probably that of the 1930s, say, with its assumptions about honorable behavior and family and personal connections. (I don't mean to disparage honorable behavior, but the tone is somewhat at odds with the intent to murder.) It's a good book, but you never have the sense that the central character is in danger (nor does he think so), so the tension doesn't build as intended. When Dana kills the person he means to kill, it's like reading about rat extermination rather than a highly emotional act of revenge.
The title supports my argument, I think.
The title supports my argument, I think.
March 25, 2015
Louis Begley usually pens literary novels. But with Killer, Come Hither, he shows his multi-dimensional talent. He's written a taut thriller based on several thoughts and fantasies that have personally plagued him over the years since he and his parents escaped wartime Europe during the Holocaust.
This is not a wartime or Holocaust novel. It takes place in Manhattan and Sag Harbor, New York. The protagonist, Jack Dana, is a former soldier and now a bestselling writer whose uncle has mysteriously committed suicide. Knowing his beloved uncle as well as he does, Jack suspects foul play and is forced to investigate, eventually taking matters into his own hands. Louis Begley's deft hand has penned a thriller every bit as compelling as the best "thriller" writers. Five well-earned stars and kudos to the author.
Mark Rubinstein
This is not a wartime or Holocaust novel. It takes place in Manhattan and Sag Harbor, New York. The protagonist, Jack Dana, is a former soldier and now a bestselling writer whose uncle has mysteriously committed suicide. Knowing his beloved uncle as well as he does, Jack suspects foul play and is forced to investigate, eventually taking matters into his own hands. Louis Begley's deft hand has penned a thriller every bit as compelling as the best "thriller" writers. Five well-earned stars and kudos to the author.
Mark Rubinstein
July 5, 2017
Meh, it's ok. I guess it's believable and that in the 21st century in America you could go around telling every second person of your plan to murder the hired killer who murdered your Uncle and they wouldn't then call the police. Or that an FBI guy would supply you with an exploding hand gun. Or that someone in their 30's would have a speech pattern like a wizened old 50 year old explaining things to a junior partner in a law firm.
February 5, 2019
I loved the plot and the characters were amazing. It was the writing style that I had a small problem getting through. Overall, a good story and characters that were amazing.
October 22, 2021
This book is bad. It makes me wonder about the person who recommended it to me. It wasn’t realistic in the least. The writing was choppy. I couldn’t care less about the characters. If this is someone’s attempt to dumb down his literary books, he went way too far.
April 11, 2015
The protagonist of Louis Begley’s newest novel is Jack Dana, a former Marine Corps Infantry officer who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan before being badly wounded and returning home. He is now, seven years later, a bestselling writer, with two books behind him and a third in its early stages. He is a self-described warrior, as were his father and grandfather before him. Having attended Oxford and Yale and invited to join the Society of Fellows at Harvard, there also following in his forebears’ footsteps. The latter was a graduate of Harvard College and had been awarded the Navy Cross and Silver Star; his grandfather the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.
Now his only remaining relative is his father’s brother, Harry [now Jack’s surrogate father], a prominent New York attorney, who himself had graduated with honors from Harvard College and Harvard Law and was a leading partner at a prominent New York law firm. Shockingly, en route home after a long over-due vacation in Brazil, Jack discovers that his beloved uncle is dead, having been found hanging in his Sag Harbor home in the exclusive east end of Long Island.
Jack becomes convinced that his uncle had not committed suicide, especially after he is told that Harry’s secretary was also dead, after an apparent accident that had put her in the path of an oncoming subway train, one day after Harry’s body was discovered. He believes that both deaths had to be connected to the law firm and its largest client, a Texas oilman and right-wing multi-billionaire and activist whose political beliefs had him “somewhere to the right of the John Birch Society and Attila the Hun.” Aided by Scott Prentice, his closest friend since their days at school, and Kerry Black, recently made partner at the firm and Jack’s lover, he pursues his own investigation. Soon, faced with the near impossibility of finding the man who he believes caused his uncle’s death, the meaning of the title becomes clear: Jack decides he must make the man come to him,
It was a bit disconcerting to me that, as the novel is written in the first person, nowhere in the book do quotation marks appear, and it was initially off-putting, to have to realize in the middle of a paragraph that what appears on the page is not exposition, but a conversation between two people. But I hasten to add that when the plot, and the suspense, kicks up a notch or three, about mid-way through the novel, I didn’t even notice that, I was so busy turning pages. A thoroughly enjoyable read, and recommended.
Now his only remaining relative is his father’s brother, Harry [now Jack’s surrogate father], a prominent New York attorney, who himself had graduated with honors from Harvard College and Harvard Law and was a leading partner at a prominent New York law firm. Shockingly, en route home after a long over-due vacation in Brazil, Jack discovers that his beloved uncle is dead, having been found hanging in his Sag Harbor home in the exclusive east end of Long Island.
Jack becomes convinced that his uncle had not committed suicide, especially after he is told that Harry’s secretary was also dead, after an apparent accident that had put her in the path of an oncoming subway train, one day after Harry’s body was discovered. He believes that both deaths had to be connected to the law firm and its largest client, a Texas oilman and right-wing multi-billionaire and activist whose political beliefs had him “somewhere to the right of the John Birch Society and Attila the Hun.” Aided by Scott Prentice, his closest friend since their days at school, and Kerry Black, recently made partner at the firm and Jack’s lover, he pursues his own investigation. Soon, faced with the near impossibility of finding the man who he believes caused his uncle’s death, the meaning of the title becomes clear: Jack decides he must make the man come to him,
It was a bit disconcerting to me that, as the novel is written in the first person, nowhere in the book do quotation marks appear, and it was initially off-putting, to have to realize in the middle of a paragraph that what appears on the page is not exposition, but a conversation between two people. But I hasten to add that when the plot, and the suspense, kicks up a notch or three, about mid-way through the novel, I didn’t even notice that, I was so busy turning pages. A thoroughly enjoyable read, and recommended.
April 15, 2015
There is nothing new. Our struggles are age old. Unique stories must come through the complexity of the characters and the author's intricate knowledge of the real-life circumstances that effect the imaginary vision and the fictional characters.
In Louis Begley's KILLER, COME HITHER the author's knowledge of the social and business dynamics within a Manhattan law firm kept me turning the pages. The details make the novel interesting, complex, and exciting.
The plot begs the reader to examine... What would you be willing or insane enough to risk to avenge the murder of the most important person in your life?
Jack Dana has more at stake than most of us. An academic, after 911, Jack places his plans on hiatus and joins the military. Soon, he becomes captain, but more importantly he is trained to kill.
After a serious injury on the battlefield. Jack is sent stateside to heal at Walter Reed. During his recovery he returns to his academic roots and begins writing. His first novel is a bestseller. But, despite his success, there are subtle hints of the captain's struggles with the academic. While alive, his Uncle Harry provides the stability the two parts of Jack's personality needs to maintain balance.
Unfortunately, Uncle Harry ends-up dead and the dichotomy within Jack becomes dominated by the captain posing a threat to the comfortable life that the novelist has come to enjoy. The captain's obsessions can't be tamed and Jack risks everything, love, fame, freedom and perhaps sanity to avenge his uncle's murder,
Bravo, for Louis Begley's KILLER, COME HITHER!
In Louis Begley's KILLER, COME HITHER the author's knowledge of the social and business dynamics within a Manhattan law firm kept me turning the pages. The details make the novel interesting, complex, and exciting.
The plot begs the reader to examine... What would you be willing or insane enough to risk to avenge the murder of the most important person in your life?
Jack Dana has more at stake than most of us. An academic, after 911, Jack places his plans on hiatus and joins the military. Soon, he becomes captain, but more importantly he is trained to kill.
After a serious injury on the battlefield. Jack is sent stateside to heal at Walter Reed. During his recovery he returns to his academic roots and begins writing. His first novel is a bestseller. But, despite his success, there are subtle hints of the captain's struggles with the academic. While alive, his Uncle Harry provides the stability the two parts of Jack's personality needs to maintain balance.
Unfortunately, Uncle Harry ends-up dead and the dichotomy within Jack becomes dominated by the captain posing a threat to the comfortable life that the novelist has come to enjoy. The captain's obsessions can't be tamed and Jack risks everything, love, fame, freedom and perhaps sanity to avenge his uncle's murder,
Bravo, for Louis Begley's KILLER, COME HITHER!
March 3, 2015
A Weak Legal Mystery
When he was growing up, Jack Dana's Uncle Harry, a Manhattan attorney, was an important part of his life and remains so after Jack is wounded in Afganistan. After finishing a novel, Jack returns from a vacation in South America to learn that his beloved uncle has committed suicide after being forced into retirement.
Jack is shocked. He begins digging into the facts surrounding his uncle's death and finds there are many loose ends. He's helped in this by Kerry, a young female partner in his uncle's firm, and Scott, a school friend. Things are not as they seem at the law firm, and Jack wants to know why.
This is a poorly written book. It starts slowly with an extensive account of Jack's early life and his relationship with Uncle Harry. Told in the first person, the story drags. These is no sparkling dialog, or interesting description.
Jack is a self-centered, boring character. Likewise, Kerry, who becomes his lover, is predictable and dull. Their motivations are hard reconcile with the plot. Kerry, for example, was Uncle Jack's favorite, but did nothing to defend him when he was being forced out of the firm.
The plot is predictable. The villain is obvious from the early pages even before the suicide. I can't recommend this book. Mystery books that take you through the life of the protagonist before getting to the decisive event are poorly done. I wanted to like this book. This concept is intriguing, but the execution didn't live up to my expectations.
I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.
When he was growing up, Jack Dana's Uncle Harry, a Manhattan attorney, was an important part of his life and remains so after Jack is wounded in Afganistan. After finishing a novel, Jack returns from a vacation in South America to learn that his beloved uncle has committed suicide after being forced into retirement.
Jack is shocked. He begins digging into the facts surrounding his uncle's death and finds there are many loose ends. He's helped in this by Kerry, a young female partner in his uncle's firm, and Scott, a school friend. Things are not as they seem at the law firm, and Jack wants to know why.
This is a poorly written book. It starts slowly with an extensive account of Jack's early life and his relationship with Uncle Harry. Told in the first person, the story drags. These is no sparkling dialog, or interesting description.
Jack is a self-centered, boring character. Likewise, Kerry, who becomes his lover, is predictable and dull. Their motivations are hard reconcile with the plot. Kerry, for example, was Uncle Jack's favorite, but did nothing to defend him when he was being forced out of the firm.
The plot is predictable. The villain is obvious from the early pages even before the suicide. I can't recommend this book. Mystery books that take you through the life of the protagonist before getting to the decisive event are poorly done. I wanted to like this book. This concept is intriguing, but the execution didn't live up to my expectations.
I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.
April 22, 2015
Killer, Come Hither is a murder mystery and it succeeds on that level but Begley’s style is one that will either work for you or not. For me, it did not. The trouble lay with the dialogue. Begley chose to format it without using quotation marks making it difficult to know the difference between a character’s thoughts and when they were speaking. If they were thinking in-between speaking it was even more confusing. Some authors can pull this off but not in this case. There is also an extensive use of exclamation points, which makes the characters sound over-caffeinated.
The plot could have been interesting but these stylistic choices made this a no-go for me.
The plot could have been interesting but these stylistic choices made this a no-go for me.
November 6, 2017
Awful. Just plain awful. Stilted writing. Completely unrealistic dialogue (with no quotation marks used!). Stupid, far-fetched plot/story. Like The Firm But a ga-billion Times worse. I haven’t hated a book this much in a long time, probably because I stop reading books that are this bad before I finish. I shoved through this one because it was SO bad that I thought there was going to have to be some sort of plot twist to redeem it a bit. But no. Just bad. I bet it took Begley about half a day to write this dreck.
September 7, 2017
Interesting enough story, but I found the writing style off-putting.
May 23, 2024
the shittiest crime novel ever written
August 5, 2024
Quick read. I found the initial character building and story interesting while the rest was a bit cliche.
January 19, 2025
If you are a conservative, this book is not for you. The bad guys listen to Fox News and they are always right wing conservatives. Begly spoils the story by inserting his own politics.
September 14, 2025
Ein komplett missglückter Krimiversuch, Anhäufung von Klischees und reichlich Übersetzungmissgeschicke. Leider Zeitverschwendung.
May 17, 2015
Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Killer, come Hither,' An Action Filled Mystery by Louis Begley.
Crossroads and decisions in life create a portrait of who we become. They help us to develop and grow. The reasons for those decisions are often necessary, yet at times enough thought does not go into the choice. How those resolves shape us is different for everyone.
In Killer, Come Hither by Louis Begley we are introduced to Jack Dana, an avid student from Yale with an amazing future ahead of him. When 9/11 happens, he makes a decision to join the military, to bring safety back to his country. Injured by a snipers bullet, he begins writing as he heals at the Walter Reed Hospital. His uncle is an attorney and with his connections, Jack's work is published. A surrogate father figure he means a great deal to Jack. With Jack's work becoming successful, he has much to be grateful for.
During a three month sojourn to South America, Jack learns that his beloved uncle is dead, clearly suicide by hanging. Jack does not believe the verdict and begins digging with the help of his uncle’s associate Kerry black and a college friend Scott Prentice who now works with the CIA. When Jack discovers the truth he knows that honesty may not prevail, for a great deal of money and power is involved. Can he bring the killers to justice as they deserve, or must his rogue tendencies be the executor of their integrity.
Begley develops a great persona for Jack, he is sharp, vulnerable, and bold, an eclectic mix of differences that make him at once flawed, but both honest and courageous. Kerry is a great addition to bring out the softer side and she also adds a tenseness that grips you. The knowledge and power of Jack's friend Scott Prentice brings it all together into an intriguing yet painful mystery.
This is a deep look at morality and morals. Can money create that feeling of being above the law. There is a certain incredulity of feeling as you wonder if politics and wealth could really create such a horrifying ending for a man who did so many things right. Begley does a great job of making you feel as though you are looking at true occurrences.
If you enjoy mystery and suspense you will find this the work for your library. Begley takes you to a place that is uncomfortable. Be prepared to spend some time on this work for you will have difficulty putting it down. His characters stay with you in the end.
Crossroads and decisions in life create a portrait of who we become. They help us to develop and grow. The reasons for those decisions are often necessary, yet at times enough thought does not go into the choice. How those resolves shape us is different for everyone.
In Killer, Come Hither by Louis Begley we are introduced to Jack Dana, an avid student from Yale with an amazing future ahead of him. When 9/11 happens, he makes a decision to join the military, to bring safety back to his country. Injured by a snipers bullet, he begins writing as he heals at the Walter Reed Hospital. His uncle is an attorney and with his connections, Jack's work is published. A surrogate father figure he means a great deal to Jack. With Jack's work becoming successful, he has much to be grateful for.
During a three month sojourn to South America, Jack learns that his beloved uncle is dead, clearly suicide by hanging. Jack does not believe the verdict and begins digging with the help of his uncle’s associate Kerry black and a college friend Scott Prentice who now works with the CIA. When Jack discovers the truth he knows that honesty may not prevail, for a great deal of money and power is involved. Can he bring the killers to justice as they deserve, or must his rogue tendencies be the executor of their integrity.
Begley develops a great persona for Jack, he is sharp, vulnerable, and bold, an eclectic mix of differences that make him at once flawed, but both honest and courageous. Kerry is a great addition to bring out the softer side and she also adds a tenseness that grips you. The knowledge and power of Jack's friend Scott Prentice brings it all together into an intriguing yet painful mystery.
This is a deep look at morality and morals. Can money create that feeling of being above the law. There is a certain incredulity of feeling as you wonder if politics and wealth could really create such a horrifying ending for a man who did so many things right. Begley does a great job of making you feel as though you are looking at true occurrences.
If you enjoy mystery and suspense you will find this the work for your library. Begley takes you to a place that is uncomfortable. Be prepared to spend some time on this work for you will have difficulty putting it down. His characters stay with you in the end.
February 15, 2015
I was really looking forward to reading Killer, Come Hither and was very disappointed in the book. A very weak story line with weak characters and written in first person format really left a lot to be desired.
The story line was very predictable and you can figure out the "whodunit" by the first 50 pages. There were a couple of places where a major event happened and it was never brought up again. Lack of understanding of the rules of being a lawyer with conflicts of interest was completely left out and made the story even weaker.
The characters, especially Jack Dana, were so pompous and self centered it was laughable. Also I am not a fan of prose but I will give 4 or 5 star rating (as in Cormac McCarthy's The Road) if the storyline is good. I just couldn't see it in this book and I will not be recommending this book to others. In fact, I would pass on it.
The story line was very predictable and you can figure out the "whodunit" by the first 50 pages. There were a couple of places where a major event happened and it was never brought up again. Lack of understanding of the rules of being a lawyer with conflicts of interest was completely left out and made the story even weaker.
The characters, especially Jack Dana, were so pompous and self centered it was laughable. Also I am not a fan of prose but I will give 4 or 5 star rating (as in Cormac McCarthy's The Road) if the storyline is good. I just couldn't see it in this book and I will not be recommending this book to others. In fact, I would pass on it.
May 6, 2015
The protagonists in Dennis Lehane, Michael Connoly, and Lewis Begley's books live in different social strata, but they share a noir perspective on life. Mr. Begley describes the moral issues his chareacter, Jack Dana, quite clearly--is it morally permissible to execute justice personally or must one always use the process society provides for punishing the law breaker. Many scholars have written that moving from private vengence to public justice is one of the chief qualities of a civilized society. Mr. Begley's character opts for personal justice and the author does not defend it, except for writing that it feels right to do so. Conflict resolved?
Moral issues aside,I was dissatisfied with nook. The characters were stick figures and unatractive, the dialogue unconvincing and the plotting was simple minded. This is the first book I have read by Mt. Begley and probably the last.
Moral issues aside,I was dissatisfied with nook. The characters were stick figures and unatractive, the dialogue unconvincing and the plotting was simple minded. This is the first book I have read by Mt. Begley and probably the last.
February 10, 2016
What a strange piece of writing this was.
Starts slowly, burns a bit about a third of the way through, then lags when it should be exciting, as our protagonist is investigating a murder and corporate crime, and preparing to avenge his uncle. A sense of anachronism pervades the book. I felt these characters would be better off stuck in a spy novel from the 1930s, and our characters not knowing how iPhones or birth control works only made the feeling worse.
My first Begley, and certainly won't be my last, as he has real talent and skill - I so appreciated his facility in jumping from one point on our locally historical timeline to the next - but I was left feeling quite empty, as the skill did nothing for this rote plot.
Starts slowly, burns a bit about a third of the way through, then lags when it should be exciting, as our protagonist is investigating a murder and corporate crime, and preparing to avenge his uncle. A sense of anachronism pervades the book. I felt these characters would be better off stuck in a spy novel from the 1930s, and our characters not knowing how iPhones or birth control works only made the feeling worse.
My first Begley, and certainly won't be my last, as he has real talent and skill - I so appreciated his facility in jumping from one point on our locally historical timeline to the next - but I was left feeling quite empty, as the skill did nothing for this rote plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2015
Killer ... worked okay (just okay, but okay) as a thriller but the writing style was often clunky and the voice unexplainably outdated as if Sherlock or Dr. W were narrating (which could be fine, but it didn't work for me). And I wouldn't bother to comment - because so what - it's a suspense read - but the writer, in earlier books, which weren't suspense, has written a few fine novels. He is not in top form.
August 21, 2015
Former Marine vet and best selling author Jack Dana returns from a long trip to South America. On his return he discovers that his beloved uncle committed suicide. He begins to suspect that he might have been murdered instead. His uncle was partner in a prominent law firm and his primary client was an unsavory billionaire businessman. With the help of his uncle's protege and his best friend who happens to be a CIA agent, he decides to investigate further.
March 13, 2016
Somewhat of a departure for Begley, sort of a whodunit, but with his familiar themes, the privileged lives of the affluent, right down to the prep schools and ivy league. The nephew of a Wall Street lawyer looks into the mysterious circumstances of his death. While parts of the unraveling of the mystery were a bit convoluted, it was an overall good (and fast) read. One negative about all Begley books: No quotation marks in dialogue!
April 26, 2015
Good read
It is an entertaining book, good read for a plane ride. The characters are either simpatico or obvious hateful. Not much background information, descriptions and at times felt "rushed"
It is an entertaining book, good read for a plane ride. The characters are either simpatico or obvious hateful. Not much background information, descriptions and at times felt "rushed"
August 17, 2015
Rather ordinary story, not much of a mystery to this murder, told in a style that made me uncomfortable, by a character that is completely sure of himself and each step that he takes, although the author sees no need for quotation marks.
June 12, 2016
This was an audiobook and I didn't really care for the reader. Not sure if I would have liked the book more if I had read it, rather than listened to it. Maybe I'll read the next in the series in print format.
July 17, 2016
The overall plot was interesting, but I would like a bit more character detail
There are only 6 CDs so the length of the story is shorter than many thriller novels
The ending was a bit rushed.
The reader, R. C. Bray, has a very solid voice, especially for the strong lead male character.
There are only 6 CDs so the length of the story is shorter than many thriller novels
The ending was a bit rushed.
The reader, R. C. Bray, has a very solid voice, especially for the strong lead male character.
February 2, 2017
I was well written and enjoyable, but the tone and the content just didn't seem to match. I think I'll try another by this author to see if I like it any better.
April 25, 2015
This is a slight detour from his novels of acutely observed upper crust love and lust but Begley remains one of our most under-appreciated writers.
January 27, 2016
Decent mystery, anticlimactic ending.
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