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Flawless
“Chock-full of all the thriller ingredients. The horror of it will leave even the most seasoned reader gasping,” Booklist A People Magazine “Nail-Biter of the Week.” FLAWLESS That’s how women describe Michael Woodrow. He’s an irresistibly handsome corporate hatchet man, trimming costs by axing employees. He also likes to kill women. FLAWLESS That’s how he balances his professional and homicidal lives until he falls in love with his next-door neighbor… and his father ,is released from prison after serving 18 years for murdering Michael’s mother. FLAWLESS That’s a standard that becomes increasingly difficult for Michael to sustain when a sleazy, but sharp Florida PI closes in. FLAWLESS That’s the perfect word to describe this masterpiece of suspense from Tom Kakonis, author of Treasure Coast and Blind Spot. “An intense, suspenseful thriller…tough to put down,” Lansing State Journal “Gripping, exciting, a finely-crafted thriller,” Grand Rapids Press “Some of the best thriller writing you are likely to find,” Minneapolis Star Tribune “Suspenseful, clever, shocking!” San Antonio Express
428 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Tom Kakonis
18 books5 followersTom Kakonis has been hailed by critics nationwide as the heir-apparent to Elmore Leonard… and for good reason. His stunning thrillers Treasure Coast, Michigan Roll, and Criss Cross, among others, blend dark humor with gritty storytelling for compelling, and innovative crime noir capers packed with unique, sharply drawn characters and shocking twists
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 11, 2015
Sometime back in the late 1990s, I stumbled across Tom Kakonis's great three-book series featuring professional gambler Timothy Waverly, whose business card billed him as an "Applied Probabilities Analyst." Waverly was a unique and very interesting protagonist; the plots were intriguing with a lot of action and just enough droll humor to remind the reader of Kakonis's fellow Michigan author, Elmore Leonard.
I devoured the Waverly trilogy and then found Criss Cross, an equally entertaining standalone from 1990. And then, much to my dismay, I discovered that Kakonis had apparently retired after the last Waverly novel and had not written anything else. I was very pleased to learn then, a number of months ago, that the folks at Brash Books were re-releasing Kakonis's four novels in beautiful new trade paperback editions. Even better, they were also publishing a new Kakonis book, Treasure Coast, which I read as soon as I could get my hands on a copy and which I also thoroughly enjoyed.
It now turns out that Kakonis did, in fact, write two additional novels in the mid-1990s, that were published under the pseudonym, Adam Barrow. Happily, Brash books is republishing these title too, now under Mr. Kakonis's name. The first of the two, which was first published in 1995, is Flawless.
This is a very intriguing tale that focuses principally on three major characters who are anything but flawless. The first is Michael Woodrow, whose appearance, at least, might well be described as flawless. Michael is a young corporate consultant who specializes in healing ailing companies, mainly by axing large numbers of their employees. To say that he's a bit tightly wound would be a gross understatement. He excels at his job, is unmarried and appears to have little interest in women. The problem is that he's enormously attractive to women, especially to a certain kind of woman--ripe, early forties, married and who likes to play around. Once in a very great while, Michael will allow such a woman to pick him up and take him home. But the evening always turns out very badly for the lady involved.
The second principal character is Michael's father, Norman. Once a professor of English literature, Norman is fresh out of prison and now lives with Michael in Michael's condominium near Chicago. As a practical matter, Norman lives there alone, given that Michael is always on the road and often is not home for weeks at a time. Unemployed and on his own, Norman is driven by an inner muse to set down on paper the circumstances of his life, focusing on the events that led to his imprisonment. He spends his days smoking up a storm while staring at a blank page and waiting for inspiration to strike.
Finally, there's Victor Flam, a somewhat seedy, mid-forties private investigator from Palm Beach Florida, who is hired by a wealthy woman named Mrs. Roland Swales. Her daughter, Shelley, was savagely murdered and the police have had no luck in turning up a suspect. Flam takes the case and begins digging into Shelley's life. He too finds little to go on, and none of Shelley's friends or co-workers is able to be of help.
Flam notices that the one thing out of the ordinary that appeared to be going on in the victim's life at the time of her death was the fact that Michael Woodrow's consulting firm had a team working at the place where Shelley was employed. Hoping that one of the team members might have noticed something that no one else did, Flam begins tracking them down.
In the meantime, Norman Woodrow is working on his narrative one morning when he's interrupted by a knock on the door. He opens the door to find the new next-door neighbor, Lizabeth Seaver. The attractive young woman is a school teacher, newly arrived in town, and is just moving into her condo. She's having a problem with her hot water heater and has no phone yet with which to call a repairman.
Norman, normally a solitary soul, is somehow taken with the young woman and agrees to take a look at the problem. The pilot light has died, gas is leaking, and oblivious to the danger, Lizabeth attempts to illuminate the situation by snapping her lighter. Norman snuffs out the flame with his palm, saving both of their lives, and the two begin a curious friendship.
Kakonis sets these characters into motion and the end result is a very unusual and interesting crime novel. I found it riveting and loved watching the way the characters interacted and the way the plot moved toward its surprising conclusion. For most readers, I suspect, the book will rise or fall principally with the character of Norman Woodrow. Norman speaks and writes like the professor of English literature he once was, often to the confusion of the other characters, and he gets a lot of page time, particularly as he reconstructs the story of his life. Personally, I found the character fascinating and totally unique. I was a long time finally getting to this book, but it was well worth the wait.
I devoured the Waverly trilogy and then found Criss Cross, an equally entertaining standalone from 1990. And then, much to my dismay, I discovered that Kakonis had apparently retired after the last Waverly novel and had not written anything else. I was very pleased to learn then, a number of months ago, that the folks at Brash Books were re-releasing Kakonis's four novels in beautiful new trade paperback editions. Even better, they were also publishing a new Kakonis book, Treasure Coast, which I read as soon as I could get my hands on a copy and which I also thoroughly enjoyed.
It now turns out that Kakonis did, in fact, write two additional novels in the mid-1990s, that were published under the pseudonym, Adam Barrow. Happily, Brash books is republishing these title too, now under Mr. Kakonis's name. The first of the two, which was first published in 1995, is Flawless.
This is a very intriguing tale that focuses principally on three major characters who are anything but flawless. The first is Michael Woodrow, whose appearance, at least, might well be described as flawless. Michael is a young corporate consultant who specializes in healing ailing companies, mainly by axing large numbers of their employees. To say that he's a bit tightly wound would be a gross understatement. He excels at his job, is unmarried and appears to have little interest in women. The problem is that he's enormously attractive to women, especially to a certain kind of woman--ripe, early forties, married and who likes to play around. Once in a very great while, Michael will allow such a woman to pick him up and take him home. But the evening always turns out very badly for the lady involved.
The second principal character is Michael's father, Norman. Once a professor of English literature, Norman is fresh out of prison and now lives with Michael in Michael's condominium near Chicago. As a practical matter, Norman lives there alone, given that Michael is always on the road and often is not home for weeks at a time. Unemployed and on his own, Norman is driven by an inner muse to set down on paper the circumstances of his life, focusing on the events that led to his imprisonment. He spends his days smoking up a storm while staring at a blank page and waiting for inspiration to strike.
Finally, there's Victor Flam, a somewhat seedy, mid-forties private investigator from Palm Beach Florida, who is hired by a wealthy woman named Mrs. Roland Swales. Her daughter, Shelley, was savagely murdered and the police have had no luck in turning up a suspect. Flam takes the case and begins digging into Shelley's life. He too finds little to go on, and none of Shelley's friends or co-workers is able to be of help.
Flam notices that the one thing out of the ordinary that appeared to be going on in the victim's life at the time of her death was the fact that Michael Woodrow's consulting firm had a team working at the place where Shelley was employed. Hoping that one of the team members might have noticed something that no one else did, Flam begins tracking them down.
In the meantime, Norman Woodrow is working on his narrative one morning when he's interrupted by a knock on the door. He opens the door to find the new next-door neighbor, Lizabeth Seaver. The attractive young woman is a school teacher, newly arrived in town, and is just moving into her condo. She's having a problem with her hot water heater and has no phone yet with which to call a repairman.
Norman, normally a solitary soul, is somehow taken with the young woman and agrees to take a look at the problem. The pilot light has died, gas is leaking, and oblivious to the danger, Lizabeth attempts to illuminate the situation by snapping her lighter. Norman snuffs out the flame with his palm, saving both of their lives, and the two begin a curious friendship.
Kakonis sets these characters into motion and the end result is a very unusual and interesting crime novel. I found it riveting and loved watching the way the characters interacted and the way the plot moved toward its surprising conclusion. For most readers, I suspect, the book will rise or fall principally with the character of Norman Woodrow. Norman speaks and writes like the professor of English literature he once was, often to the confusion of the other characters, and he gets a lot of page time, particularly as he reconstructs the story of his life. Personally, I found the character fascinating and totally unique. I was a long time finally getting to this book, but it was well worth the wait.
January 19, 2016
This is my 4th read by Kakonis, so I've had a pretty good idea of what to except approaching it and yet he managed to surprise. While still recognizably his work, this one plainly strives for more than just a well written white trash crime tale. Aptly named it seems, Flawless tries and for the most part succeeds at being literature. It put me in mind of Ruth Rendell's work, which I have been reading quite a lot of lately, with its distinctly dark psychological crime drama vibe, albeit Kakonis gives it a distinct American flavor. Moving to a new neighborhood is tough enough, making friends is even more so and yet Lizabeth Seaver does both. Her new neighbors are father and son and she likes both of them to different degrees, romantically and platonically. The Woodrows are good company, intelligent, kind and...secretive. For a good reason. Norman and Michael Woodrow have secrets of lethal variety. That's my version of a cheesy summary, a variation of the one on GR. It is, of course, lacking, because this book is so much more than a tawdry thriller. For one thing it's a very good, very credible meditation on the nature/nurture of evil, attraction, compulsion, redemption and love. For another, it's a strong character study with original and compelling cast to boot, confused, complicated, lonely, emotionally crippled, they are very human and so far from flawless. And yet they try and strive and reach...For Kakonis this is such a departure, this book is much more narrative driven than his usual dialogue powered locomotives. It's longer, thematically heavier, more ambitious, it's verbose, practically prolix to use his word, darker too. The ending was really something too, a weighty sort of dynamo for maximum effect. You can see it coming, but it'll still take you aback. And make you think. Like really good books ought to. Recommended.
October 9, 2015
Flawless (2014) begins with a guy and a gal eyeing each other in a Palm Beach bar. Her name is Shelley Russo; she is fortyish, very randy and a bit ample. His name is—we’ll hold back on that. He is thirtyish, well-dressed, well-spoken, trim, handsome, and has sparkling green eyes. She makes the first move (Oh! Modern Woman! Where were you in my youth?) They chat, they go to her apartment, they undress, and within a very few minutes she is dead—punctured all over by a long pointed object.
Norman Woodrow is a sixtyish ex-con (transgression: murder) living with his son, Michael, in the plush Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois. Norman is solitary, often silent, speaks in academicese, and is distant from his son. Norman Woodrow Ph. D. was once a tenured literature professor and since his release he has been engaged (he says) in writing a biography of a forgotten poet; he is actually writing his biography to find out what went wrong, and this biography is a wonderful addition to the mystery—we actually get to understand Norman and to empathize with an otherwise uninteresting character.
Michael is an executive at a Chicago management consulting firm, adept at wrapping “time and motion” studies into new language and selling the recommendations to clients who will never implement them; he travels a lot and he is thirtyish, well dressed, well spoken, trim, handsome, and has sparkling green eyes. Michael has a Zelig-like way of having consulting gigs in cities where young women are brutally murdered. His recent projects had been in Palm Beach (check), San Antonio (check) and Grand Rapids, Michigan (check).
An attractive 35-year old divorcee named Lizabeth Seaver moves in across the street from Norman and Michael. While Michael is on a business trip, she comes to Norman for assistance. No, it’s not a cup of sugar. The pilot light on her hot water heater is out. He checks it, smells gas, and advises her to call a plumber. Liszabeth seems attracted to Norman, perhaps as just a friendly neighbor, or perhaps more. But when she meets Michael she’s blown away by his looks and manners, and she quickly shifts her allegiance from Norman to him. (I just hate it when that happens.) Lizabeth is a very sympathetic character, and we feel unsettled that she is becoming close to Michael, especially when she utters a phrase heard by several of the dead women—something like “I’m not your mother.”
It’s been six months with no leads on the Russo murder and the cops have moved the case to the refrigerator, well beyond the back burner. So Shelley’s affluent Palm Beach mother hires a Palm Beach detective to ferret out the murderer. His name is Victor Flam and his business card reads “Research, Fact-Finding, Confidential Inquiries.” Flam is a former Marine MP with his own checkered past. Flam eventually focuses on Sanitation Laundry Services, Shelley’s employer, and discovers that on the day of the murder a Chicago consulting firm had wrapped up its three-month analysis of the company’s management practices.
One would think that’s the end of the story—a quick link to Michael and case solved. But not so. Are we being served a red herring? Is there more than one well-dressed, well-spoken, trim, handsome man with sparkling green eyes who happened to be in Palm Beach on the night of the murder?
Kakonis is a master at drawing his characters; his novels are not just mysteries, they are portraits of individuals told through a mystery. Norman, in particular, is finely drawn both in the front story, showing him as a saddened but still hopeful older man, and in the backstory, shown through his autobiography. Kakonis also draws out the vast gray areas through which we stumbleas we make choices through life—-choices made in the gaps between right and wrong, good and bad, that can change our futures at the drop of a pin. Don’t expect a happy ending, but you’ll never expect this book’s ending.
Five stars.
September 2, 2016
This is a mystery/dark/suspense read. Michael the hero in this book is a tragic character. Yes he kills women. I thought that was a joke, but it is not. The thing is he kills them so visciously and brutally. That was a shock to my sensibilities. There should be a warning about this. His psycho behavior stemmed from the fact that he witnessed his father brutally killed his mom when he was just 9 years old.
He met his neighbor, fell in love with her, and tried to not listen to his inner dark voice, telling him to kill. Without treatment for his diseased brain though, there is litte hope of that happening. In the end, what happened is not expected. It is hard to describe without giving anything away.
The writing was long winded and confusing at times, especially the POVs. The analogies and figure of speech read like an English Lit appreciation class. The use of the 'N' word to describe 'starving Africans' was offensive. The ethinic stereotyping of Asians appalling. An example is that they talk as if birds are chirping. The plot at times was very confusing. This is not a good read for me. No, not at all.
***I was provided an ARC by the publishers through NetGalley for a free and honest review***
He met his neighbor, fell in love with her, and tried to not listen to his inner dark voice, telling him to kill. Without treatment for his diseased brain though, there is litte hope of that happening. In the end, what happened is not expected. It is hard to describe without giving anything away.
The writing was long winded and confusing at times, especially the POVs. The analogies and figure of speech read like an English Lit appreciation class. The use of the 'N' word to describe 'starving Africans' was offensive. The ethinic stereotyping of Asians appalling. An example is that they talk as if birds are chirping. The plot at times was very confusing. This is not a good read for me. No, not at all.
***I was provided an ARC by the publishers through NetGalley for a free and honest review***
April 10, 2023
Michael's father killed his mother when Michael was a young child. He is now released from prison, and lives with his son. Michael has a consuiting company and tries to stay above the law. He has a habit of falling in love with older, usually married, women.
I did not care for the language, or sometimes, racial undertones in this book.
It was an okay read, but really not for me.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I did not care for the language, or sometimes, racial undertones in this book.
It was an okay read, but really not for me.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
January 31, 2017
Michael’s a corporate consultant who specializes in fixing rundown companies mainly by getting rid employees. Michael seems to be attracted to older married women who cheat then he kills them. Michael’s father is Norman who lives with Michael but doesn’t see him that much as Michael is on the road a lot with business. Norman had just got out of prison Norman had been a Professor of literature and decided to write about his life especially what lead him to prison. Victor Flynn is a P I who is hired by Mrs Roland Swales as her daughter Shelly was viciously murdered and the police haven’t even found a suspect yet. Victor takes the case and starts digging around in Shelley's life. Victor did notice that at the time of Shelly’s death that Michael Woodrow’s consulting firm had a team working at the place of Shelly’s job. Hoping that one of the people on this team might have noticed something Victor starts tracking them down. While Norman is working on his biography a young woman Lizabeth knocks at his door , she is Norman’s new next door neighbor she needs to call a repairman as her hot water heater is working and her phone isn’t hooked up yet. Norman decides to try to help Lizabeth with her problem and when Lizabeth lights a lighter to give him some light Norman quickly puts it out and saves their life as the heater was leaking gas. From there they start a friendship of sorts. Michael seems to have become a killer after he sees his father Norman brutally kill his mom when Michael was nine. Michael meets Lizabeth and falls in love with her and tries to ignore his demons and urges calling him to kill again.
I couldn’t seem to get into this story and I really did try. It was confusing at times The language was offensive and racist at times also. I also felt this could have been shorter. I just wasn’t crazy about this story was actually bored at times so just wasn’t for me.
I couldn’t seem to get into this story and I really did try. It was confusing at times The language was offensive and racist at times also. I also felt this could have been shorter. I just wasn’t crazy about this story was actually bored at times so just wasn’t for me.
December 26, 2014
Tom Kakonis has good intentions in his writing of “Flawless,” but he has let his propensity for mental gymnastics and wordiness overshadow a credible idea. There are three main characters, all of whom spent most of their time ruminating over their past, mulling over their instant actions, and trying to attach classic utterances to the reasons for every event they are involved in.
I find the resulting murder mystery more tedium than entertainment. The storyline is well thought out and the locations nicely portrayed. But the characters are despicable even when they are supposed to be heroic.
The father seems to have overcome early criminal tendencies and developed into a thoughtful, if remote, senior citizen. It turns out he has lost none of his nefariousness and violent tendencies. The son, a closet maniac, turns out to be a simpering, weak-minded individual who can’t keep his calculative mind together. And the young lady neighbor, who appears to be a step above wonderful at first meeting, is more strumpet than saint. Throw in the denizens of Kakonis’s business world who have never heard of teamwork or integrity, and we have a total bag of serpents that are not only ugly, but send out a warning that advises against approaching this wriggling sack of a novel.
I will advise you that I was able to keep on reading because of the promising plot thought up by the author. It’s different and could be interesting. Unfortunately, when I finished my reading, I was able to move to my next book without much reflection on this book’s merits.
February 3, 2015
Hatchet man - in more ways than one...
1. Michael Woodrow works as a consultant, assessing failing businesses and recommending deadweight and dross to get rid of - a hatchet man. He is very handsome and very troubled.
2. His father, Norman, lives with him, after serving 18 years for killing Michael's mother.
3. Lizabeth moves into the neighborhood and catches the eyes of both men.
Add Victor, slimy private investigator, to the mix and the story is starting to look like a train wreck about to happen.
I appreciated the story building in this tale, the author's use of language. Norman pontificates a bit too much but it fits his character. He used to be a professor and just loves to share his knowledge - of everything.
This is a tale of a serial killer so be aware there are some disturbing scenes. But, to me, the most disturbing took place in a restaurant and had nothing to do with the serial killer. Ewww...
I'm glad I read this story although I can't say I "liked" it. It was dark and thought-provoking and the ending was just right.
NOTE: I received a free advance copy of this book from Brash Books, via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
1. Michael Woodrow works as a consultant, assessing failing businesses and recommending deadweight and dross to get rid of - a hatchet man. He is very handsome and very troubled.
2. His father, Norman, lives with him, after serving 18 years for killing Michael's mother.
3. Lizabeth moves into the neighborhood and catches the eyes of both men.
Add Victor, slimy private investigator, to the mix and the story is starting to look like a train wreck about to happen.
I appreciated the story building in this tale, the author's use of language. Norman pontificates a bit too much but it fits his character. He used to be a professor and just loves to share his knowledge - of everything.
This is a tale of a serial killer so be aware there are some disturbing scenes. But, to me, the most disturbing took place in a restaurant and had nothing to do with the serial killer. Ewww...
I'm glad I read this story although I can't say I "liked" it. It was dark and thought-provoking and the ending was just right.
NOTE: I received a free advance copy of this book from Brash Books, via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
April 13, 2015
This book was a good read. The plot was original and the characters were well developed. This book is hard to categorize as just on type of book. With the characters, Micheal, part murder mystery, why is he so drawn to do the things he does? With Norman, part reflecting on the past, do the sins of the father fall to the son? With Lizbeth part romance is she ready for a relationship with Micheal? With Flam part PI, can he prove his theory? Hard to categorize but a good read. I have to say I thought it dragged on in the middle but I read on and was so glad I did. The end is explosive and well worth the read. I gave it 3 stars based on the fact I felt it dragged a bit and 5 stars for the ending for an average of 4 stars. I thought about this book even after I finished and that doesn't happen very often.
All in all a.good read I would recommend to others. I would read another book by this author.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not effect my review one way or the other.
All in all a.good read I would recommend to others. I would read another book by this author.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not effect my review one way or the other.
January 26, 2015
A dad, Norman, and a son, Michael, meet the pretty new neighbor. All three characters are varying degrees of broken, Norman and Michael from their history, and Lizabeth from her separate history. A quirk of chance sets PI Victor in their path. Quite a bit of the story is told from the point of view of one of the trio and switches to Victor’s. One quibble is that, whether Michael or Norman is the main character in the story, I’d get so caught up in that story, the switch back to Victor was confusing and I couldn’t wait to get back to the trio. Guess that’s not really a quibble. The ending makes absolutely perfect sense, given the history of the characters, but was quite a surprise just the same. Received free copy for review.
August 19, 2015
Have to state I spent so much time looking up word definitions in the built in dictionary on my e-reader it became a distraction to the story. Regretfully due to my age (I think) I will not remember any of those definitions. The story could have been condensed if there were not so many discussions with the voices in the minds of the two main characters. Perhaps we all have those voices in our minds but I am rather sure they are meant to stay in our mind and not vocalized or written down. But if the objective of the story was to point out the emotional conflicts within the minds of disturbed and regressive individuals perhaps it was an overall successful undertaking. Just too many deviations from the plot for my taste but four stars for sure for the overall telling of the tale.
October 27, 2015
I received this as a free pdf download from Brash Books. The story follows three men; the Woodrows, father Norman and son Michael and private detective Victor Flam. Norman, a former prison inmate, is a Ph.D in English and Michael is a time/motion consultant. Flam is hired to find the person responsible for some very gruesome murders and the father and son come into his sights. Each has a distinct voice. Flam is vulgar- this plays well in the story, the Woodrow's are well spoken. The ending is a true surprise.
December 15, 2014
There's always something wrong with a hot guy in books. Well in this case, although Michael is considered a catch, he does have couple of... flaws. More like the urge to kill women and have an incredibly cruel job in which he is brilliant at.
This really reminded me of Dexter and although he actually had some principles, Michael went for women and tries to avoid the investigation. Loved the writing and the story pace, very intriguing.
This really reminded me of Dexter and although he actually had some principles, Michael went for women and tries to avoid the investigation. Loved the writing and the story pace, very intriguing.
February 3, 2015
I received an early copy of Flawless to review and I'm very grateful that I didn't pay for it. The best word to describe this story is "too". Too long. Too racially and sexually degrading. Mr Kakonis seems to also be in love with long words to make us dig out our dictionary to see how intelligent he is. "Pithecanthropine" is a good example. I will not be reading anything else by this author.
June 7, 2018
According to my Kindle I read this book. I don't remember it so it must not have held my interest for long.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews