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Sharky's Machine
This thriller sweeps from Nazi-occupied Europe to the deadly opulence of Hong Kong's brothels, and from the steel-and-glass fortress that houses one of the world's mightiest financial empires to the depths of the criminal underworld.
479 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
75 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
William Diehl
47 books170 followersWilliam Diehl was an American novelist and photojournalist.
Diehl was fifty years old and already a successful photographer and journalist when he decided to begin a writing career. His first novel, Sharky's Machine, which became a movie by the same name was directed by and starred Burt Reynolds. Diehl saw the movie shot on location in and around his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
Following the success of Sharky's Machine, Diehl relocated to St. Simons Island, GA in the early 80's where he lived for the next 15 years before going back to the Atlanta area. While living on St. Simons, he completed eight more novels, including Primal Fear, which also became a movie by the same name starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. Diehl died at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on November 24, 2006, of an aortic aneurism. He was a resident of Woodstock, Georgia at the time of his death and was working on his tenth novel.
Diehl was fifty years old and already a successful photographer and journalist when he decided to begin a writing career. His first novel, Sharky's Machine, which became a movie by the same name was directed by and starred Burt Reynolds. Diehl saw the movie shot on location in and around his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
Following the success of Sharky's Machine, Diehl relocated to St. Simons Island, GA in the early 80's where he lived for the next 15 years before going back to the Atlanta area. While living on St. Simons, he completed eight more novels, including Primal Fear, which also became a movie by the same name starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. Diehl died at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on November 24, 2006, of an aortic aneurism. He was a resident of Woodstock, Georgia at the time of his death and was working on his tenth novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 24, 2023
This was written in 1978 so a lot of the things one would consider overdone in a detective story had not been done all that much yet. (Maybe?) This story had all the cliche tropes of a 70s cop movie. I watched the 1981 movie version. It was way weaker than the the book. They cut out a lot that made the book different from the other movie police procedurals. (To save money?) I blame the screenwriter for cutting out so much and dumbing it all down. (Turns out the screenwriter Gerald Di Pego later wrote the movie scripts for The Forgotten and Phenomenon, etc.) Burt Reynolds stared in it and directed it. He was as wooden as plywood. Anyway, stick to the book.
Sure, it had a lot going on but the action and characters kept it moving and interesting. I was not expecting a few chapters of X rated descriptions. Though it seemed more books in the 70s tended to go that direction.
This was William Diehl’s first book and he was trying really hard, so there were a few problems with the plot being over-the-top, with twists placed there only to surprise the reader. If you don’t think too hard it’s a fun romp and makes for a fast page turner. I have read 4 other Diehl books and they were all better. Primal Fear, Show of Evil, Reign in Hell, and Chameleon. Next I’m reading his “27”(a.k.a. “The Hunt”), and “Hooligans”.
Book 4 stars. Movie 2 stars.
Sure, it had a lot going on but the action and characters kept it moving and interesting. I was not expecting a few chapters of X rated descriptions. Though it seemed more books in the 70s tended to go that direction.
This was William Diehl’s first book and he was trying really hard, so there were a few problems with the plot being over-the-top, with twists placed there only to surprise the reader. If you don’t think too hard it’s a fun romp and makes for a fast page turner. I have read 4 other Diehl books and they were all better. Primal Fear, Show of Evil, Reign in Hell, and Chameleon. Next I’m reading his “27”(a.k.a. “The Hunt”), and “Hooligans”.
Book 4 stars. Movie 2 stars.
June 5, 2023
Quaaludes, opium, cocaine, speed, poppers: And that's just in one sex scene! SHARKY'S MACHINE, published in 1978, is very much a Seventies detective novel, but that does not mean it is dated. In a genre where originality is a dirty word, SHARKY'S MACHINE, set in 1975, combines two tropes: One is the millionaire madman who plots to take over the world, in this case by putting his political puppet in the White House, and the other is the rogue cop, Sharky, busted down to the Vice squad for his heroics on the first page, who investigating a routine case stumbles upon the conspiracy. The fun of this novel comes not from the plot to seize the presidency nor the predictable ending, Sharky can't lose, remember, but from the details of Seventies life Diehl accumulated and threw into the gumbo soup: Martial arts? Check. Disco? Check? Jimmy Carter running for president? Check. Token Black cop on "Sharky's Machine" or crew? Check. (Although Diehl does not have a gift for Black Southern slang. His Black cop, Livingstone, just uses "turkey" and "motherfucker" a lot.) Clinical sex copied from Harold Robbins? Check. Pin Ball parlors? Check. (Yes, they play an important part in the madman's political scheme.) On the basis of the old Hollywood saying that "an action thriller is only as good as its villain" SHARKY'S MACHINE works like a souped-up deuce. A la' Ernest Blofeld the schemer is a genius who speaks various languages and adopts multiple guises in hatching a plot that he boasts "has taken me thirty years to complete". All that stands between him and global power is one dirty cop and his Machine. Perfect reading for a hot Saturday afternoon.
July 20, 2014
This novel is a thumping good read.
You are probably familiar with the film version of this novel, first published in 1978. This past weekend, I ran across this book at a library book sale in Newport News, and just read it for the first time. It’s an exciting edge of the seat experience that moves along at just the right speed; a novel that stayed on my mind when I wasn’t reading it, even though I had seen the film version. It involves a likable cast of police detectives in a sort of combination 87th Precinct/Lustbader/Ludlum-esque thriller, with a healthy dose of the film noir “Laura” stirred in.
The characters are well drawn, believable, and entertaining. Don’t you sometimes love a novel wherein the good guys are really good, and the bad guys are really bad? This novel keeps the reader in ever increasing suspense, building to a colorful, frenetic, fiery climax that would have been much too expensive for Hollywood to film; so the ending of the novel is much more spectacular than that of the film. This novel includes explicit sex and violence, both handled very well by a first time author. One of the best things about the book for me was the idea of every day, real people street detectives happening upon a conspiracy of movers and shakers (with its origin in history and stolen wealth, and its eye on the future of the USA) and deciding to take it down. As Balzac said, “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime”.
Like a number of 1970’s thrillers (Marathon Man, The Boys from Brazil, etc.) this story has its origins in World War II. It’s not surprising that authors who lived through that time would use the major event of their lives as a springboard for their tales of intrigue and evil. Also, this novel is great fun to read, another quality shared by many of the best suspense novels of the 1970’s, and something I find lacking in a lot of today’s “thrillers”.
This novel reads as if it were written specifically for Burt Reynolds. The book’s cinematic qualities, along with the persona of Sharky, play to Reynolds’s strengths as an actor who, when this book was published, was at the height of his powers and popularity. It’s difficult to read this novel, even now with a fresh eye, and not picture Burt Reynolds as Sharky.
Speaking of the film, I’ve read that John Boorman was originally set to direct, but left the project. Reynolds took over as director, and working with several of his friends, created what is reportedly his most financially successful motion picture as a director.
The author, William Diehl, also appears briefly in the film, and receives screen credit as the character “Percy”. He is seen in conversation with Charles Durning, and is called out by a hooker who is under arrest in the division squad room, provoking an intense reaction. Sharky’s Machine was Diehl’s first novel, and he went on to write nine more before his death in 2006, including Primal Fear which was made into a film starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. Diehl was already over 50 years old when he began his career as an author, and made an impressive debut with Sharky’s Machine.
You are probably familiar with the film version of this novel, first published in 1978. This past weekend, I ran across this book at a library book sale in Newport News, and just read it for the first time. It’s an exciting edge of the seat experience that moves along at just the right speed; a novel that stayed on my mind when I wasn’t reading it, even though I had seen the film version. It involves a likable cast of police detectives in a sort of combination 87th Precinct/Lustbader/Ludlum-esque thriller, with a healthy dose of the film noir “Laura” stirred in.
The characters are well drawn, believable, and entertaining. Don’t you sometimes love a novel wherein the good guys are really good, and the bad guys are really bad? This novel keeps the reader in ever increasing suspense, building to a colorful, frenetic, fiery climax that would have been much too expensive for Hollywood to film; so the ending of the novel is much more spectacular than that of the film. This novel includes explicit sex and violence, both handled very well by a first time author. One of the best things about the book for me was the idea of every day, real people street detectives happening upon a conspiracy of movers and shakers (with its origin in history and stolen wealth, and its eye on the future of the USA) and deciding to take it down. As Balzac said, “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime”.
Like a number of 1970’s thrillers (Marathon Man, The Boys from Brazil, etc.) this story has its origins in World War II. It’s not surprising that authors who lived through that time would use the major event of their lives as a springboard for their tales of intrigue and evil. Also, this novel is great fun to read, another quality shared by many of the best suspense novels of the 1970’s, and something I find lacking in a lot of today’s “thrillers”.
This novel reads as if it were written specifically for Burt Reynolds. The book’s cinematic qualities, along with the persona of Sharky, play to Reynolds’s strengths as an actor who, when this book was published, was at the height of his powers and popularity. It’s difficult to read this novel, even now with a fresh eye, and not picture Burt Reynolds as Sharky.
Speaking of the film, I’ve read that John Boorman was originally set to direct, but left the project. Reynolds took over as director, and working with several of his friends, created what is reportedly his most financially successful motion picture as a director.
The author, William Diehl, also appears briefly in the film, and receives screen credit as the character “Percy”. He is seen in conversation with Charles Durning, and is called out by a hooker who is under arrest in the division squad room, provoking an intense reaction. Sharky’s Machine was Diehl’s first novel, and he went on to write nine more before his death in 2006, including Primal Fear which was made into a film starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. Diehl was already over 50 years old when he began his career as an author, and made an impressive debut with Sharky’s Machine.
October 19, 2012
I read the book because I get obsessed with the Burt Reynolds movie from time to time. I actually like the book a little better; some of the stuff they omitted in the movie worked for me. Sure, one of the characters is a "sadistic homosexual", but his gratuitous love scene was something else... You can't really fault a police procedural peppered with World War II plotlines, coked-up assassins AND NINJAS!!!!!
August 3, 2012
This is one of those books you want to read when you play hooky from work on a rainy day. Entertaining, but not too demanding. There is not really a mystery, but there is some suspense generated by how the whole thing comes together, and at least one good plot surprise.
There were a couple of things that bugged me, though.
Spoilers ahead:
1. I don't like "love at first sight" as a plot device. It rings hollow.
2. The whole thing loses credibility when The Nosh goes into that building alone. He has been built up as a smart guy - a nerdy, very intelligent guy. Too smart to do something entirely stupid. That scene made me like the book much less because it wasn't what that character would do.
There were a couple of things that bugged me, though.
Spoilers ahead:
1. I don't like "love at first sight" as a plot device. It rings hollow.
2. The whole thing loses credibility when The Nosh goes into that building alone. He has been built up as a smart guy - a nerdy, very intelligent guy. Too smart to do something entirely stupid. That scene made me like the book much less because it wasn't what that character would do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2012
If you are a fan of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, then you'll likely be at home with Sharky's Machine that focuses on a detective named Sharky who is quick to forgo police procedures and pump some well-deserved lead into criminals.
The story is set in 1975 Atlanta, with short sections set in 1944 Italy and 1959 Hong Kong that eventually tie into the main story. This was Diehl's first novel written in 1978, and there are a few surveillance technologies that are outdated, but they weren't a huge distraction. The story was a little slow in bringing together the three different time frames, and you don't really understand the complete tie-in until you are approximately 75% into the story.
After reading two of Diehl's works, he seems to like drawn out sex scenes that don't really add anything to the story. You can skip over these sections if you don't care for this kind of content. Given the story focuses on detectives in the 1970's, there are many expletives laced throughout the dialogue, which seems authentic to the way I would imagine these people would talk. I mention these things because they may be turn-offs for some readers.
Overall, I thought the story was OK, but nothing special. There was one minor surprise, but for the most part the story was on rails in that you followed along a linear path without any major deviations from where you might think the story would go.
The story is set in 1975 Atlanta, with short sections set in 1944 Italy and 1959 Hong Kong that eventually tie into the main story. This was Diehl's first novel written in 1978, and there are a few surveillance technologies that are outdated, but they weren't a huge distraction. The story was a little slow in bringing together the three different time frames, and you don't really understand the complete tie-in until you are approximately 75% into the story.
After reading two of Diehl's works, he seems to like drawn out sex scenes that don't really add anything to the story. You can skip over these sections if you don't care for this kind of content. Given the story focuses on detectives in the 1970's, there are many expletives laced throughout the dialogue, which seems authentic to the way I would imagine these people would talk. I mention these things because they may be turn-offs for some readers.
Overall, I thought the story was OK, but nothing special. There was one minor surprise, but for the most part the story was on rails in that you followed along a linear path without any major deviations from where you might think the story would go.
December 20, 2017
This book is FUN. Don’t think about it too much...just go with it, hang out with the fun characters, and go for a wild ride. There is so much going on in this book from WWII plots to speed-popping assassins to...giant pinball machines. Yes. You have to read it to understand. I love the movie with Burt Reynolds too. It’s just good fun to me.
October 29, 2019
Burt's movie is better. The novel is overlong, sleazy and padded with way too much backstory on the villains. Can't really slight Diehl for this because that's the way a lot of thrillers were written in the 70s.
April 20, 2023
It is a bit dated. The back story of the villains was a long. The first half is slow but the pace picks up the second half which is why I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. I enjoyed the police procedural part.
December 1, 2015
Excellent thriller and it still holds up well from a novel from the 1970s. Gritty and tense. Loved it. This was turned into film in 1980 and I think it was pretty good too.
June 14, 2024
The only reason I'm giving this book 5 stars is because I have an unhealthy obsession with the film version starring Burt Reynolds and Rachel Ward, from 1981. The film is utterly ridiculous in the best possible way, just over the top with plot holes, bullets flying, Charles Durning screaming at everyone, fingers getting lopped off, a sinister villain with a twirly mustache, a disco soundtrack, a bonkers performance by the late great Henry Silva as a coked out assassin, and more fake blood than all of the Halloween films combined. It also has what was, at the time, the most daring stunt ever committed to film: stunt man Dar Robinson diving out of a window of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Atlanta, with no wires, and free falling for the climactic scene.
For years I kept telling myself I would read the book, and the time finally came. The plot here more or less follows the movie; Sharky, an Atlanta detective, and his "machine" of fellow cops, are trying to protect a high priced prostitute from a ruthless criminal trying to silence her. Diehl's writing is a little iffy and stale in places, but he keeps things moving, and has an ear for hardboiled dialogue and action sequences. If you laugh at it a little while reading, that's part of the enjoyment.
I would say to anyone even mildly interested, watch the movie first. If you get hooked, then read this book. It's a big pile of violent, crazy nonsense, completely implausible at every turn, and I just loved it.
For years I kept telling myself I would read the book, and the time finally came. The plot here more or less follows the movie; Sharky, an Atlanta detective, and his "machine" of fellow cops, are trying to protect a high priced prostitute from a ruthless criminal trying to silence her. Diehl's writing is a little iffy and stale in places, but he keeps things moving, and has an ear for hardboiled dialogue and action sequences. If you laugh at it a little while reading, that's part of the enjoyment.
I would say to anyone even mildly interested, watch the movie first. If you get hooked, then read this book. It's a big pile of violent, crazy nonsense, completely implausible at every turn, and I just loved it.
May 16, 2020
Не, че книгата ме ядосва, за да ѝ дам едно, просто не съм изпитвала такава безподобна скука от много време насам. Под "полицейски екшън" явно разбирам нещо съвсем различно, а Дийл е твърде, твърде суховат за мен, чак ти присяда.
June 13, 2023
Man it was a wild ride, man. Opens with a gold heist in WWII Italy. Then there's an assassination in Hong Kong. Then another one in present day (1970s) Atlanta. We don't know what's going on but Sharky unravels the ol mystery over an uneven 475 pages. There's a bad guy who's gonna make this other guy president and they are both banging the same hooker. But it turns out that hooker needs to go because she might be able to tie the bad guy to one of the latest murders. Sharky is a former narcotics cop who gets busted down to vice for shooting a man named Mary on a public bus. He forms up a team and stakes out the hooker's place because they think she might be extorting people. He eavesdrops on an overly long Chinese-themed sex scene between the hooker and the bad guy. There are lots of titty and vagina and natural lubrication descriptions. It's long. Anyway it seems the hooker gets murdered soon after and Sharky decides he's in love after previously sharing some soup with the hooker and listening to her use her kegels on the bad guy. There's a climactic ending that goes down at the grand opening a of the bad guy's Asian inspired theme park called 'Pachinko!' and all of the antagonists (bad guy, future president and mafia hitman dressed as a clown) are killed in the wake of a malfunctioning pinball-shaped amusement ride.
I'd seen the Burt Reynolds movie and it was way less weird than the source material. Fun but a bit too long for what I was reading.
I'd seen the Burt Reynolds movie and it was way less weird than the source material. Fun but a bit too long for what I was reading.
September 19, 2014
Huh. Basically masturbation, drugs and violence...not always in that order and often together. Well written for it's time, and I can see the appeal. The copy I got used had a different cover, and when opened, a topless woman. Guess I oughta catch the film now.
December 7, 2009
I loved this book and I loved the movie.
November 9, 2020
“Sharky’s Machine” is a standalone book from the 1970s penned by William Diehl. The book was quite a best seller which also inspired the movie with Burt Reynolds as Sharky.
Sharky is a top Atlanta undercover cop who runs afoul of the brass when an attempted drug deal goes bad, resulting in a shootout on a crowded city bus. Even though no one but the drug dealer was hurt, the press has a field day with the event, and Sharky winds up being sent to the Vice Squad, a dumping ground for similar cops who have had a falling out with the powers that be. Sharky discovers that he's working with some good, experienced detectives who are tired of busting streetwalkers and flashers and want some real action. They soon get their wish and thus begins the tale.
"Sharky's Machine" takes place in 1975. The tale follows Detective Sharky, who after a controversial shooting, is demoted from Homicide to Vice in the Atlanta Police Department. But it is in Vice, wherein Sharky uncovers the biggest crime caper of his career, and finds a femme fatale in the form of Domino. Domino works for - and runs afoul of - a criminal mastermind, whose biggest score stems from World War II. He also has two vanity projects going: one is the potential presidential candidate; the other is a lavish theme park, which plays a major role in the book's climax.This makes for a very fast paced read, and readers will find themselves easily getting swept up in the case. Sharky and his fellow cops make for scruffy, likable underdogs, and they have a knack for astute observation and clever deduction.
The book has the essential ingredients you'd want in a thriller: clever dialogue, major plot twist, exciting action set pieces, and a suspenseful finale. I would recommend that you read the book first and then watch the movie. And for an average thriller fan, you would quite enjoy “Sharky’s Machine”
Sharky is a top Atlanta undercover cop who runs afoul of the brass when an attempted drug deal goes bad, resulting in a shootout on a crowded city bus. Even though no one but the drug dealer was hurt, the press has a field day with the event, and Sharky winds up being sent to the Vice Squad, a dumping ground for similar cops who have had a falling out with the powers that be. Sharky discovers that he's working with some good, experienced detectives who are tired of busting streetwalkers and flashers and want some real action. They soon get their wish and thus begins the tale.
"Sharky's Machine" takes place in 1975. The tale follows Detective Sharky, who after a controversial shooting, is demoted from Homicide to Vice in the Atlanta Police Department. But it is in Vice, wherein Sharky uncovers the biggest crime caper of his career, and finds a femme fatale in the form of Domino. Domino works for - and runs afoul of - a criminal mastermind, whose biggest score stems from World War II. He also has two vanity projects going: one is the potential presidential candidate; the other is a lavish theme park, which plays a major role in the book's climax.This makes for a very fast paced read, and readers will find themselves easily getting swept up in the case. Sharky and his fellow cops make for scruffy, likable underdogs, and they have a knack for astute observation and clever deduction.
The book has the essential ingredients you'd want in a thriller: clever dialogue, major plot twist, exciting action set pieces, and a suspenseful finale. I would recommend that you read the book first and then watch the movie. And for an average thriller fan, you would quite enjoy “Sharky’s Machine”
November 24, 2020
I've wanted to read this book since I saw the film nearly 40 years ago. I'd purchased a few editions of the book over the years, but had not read the book. I finally got to it!
The book is very good. I found the back story excessive and likely more an issue of a first time writer. The first chapters being edited to one more focused would've made the bulk of the police procedural more powerful. The film needed more back story. The happy compromise missed.
Getting past the back story, the Sharky and Machine part is excellent in approach and writing. The dialogue - especially for a first time writer - is extraordinary. The back and forth and the rest is as I've witnessed with my involvement with law enforcement over the decades.
The bad guys are another story. Diehl is trying to create some believable bad guys, but I get the impression he didn't want to make them too evil and held back more than he should have. The suspense is also thwarted near the end. At that point I didn't care what happened to the bad guys.
I wanted to read more of the "Machine". I wish Diehl had picked up the McBain waning series and continued with an Atlanta based version. GREAT characters.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 6 out of ten points.
The book is very good. I found the back story excessive and likely more an issue of a first time writer. The first chapters being edited to one more focused would've made the bulk of the police procedural more powerful. The film needed more back story. The happy compromise missed.
Getting past the back story, the Sharky and Machine part is excellent in approach and writing. The dialogue - especially for a first time writer - is extraordinary. The back and forth and the rest is as I've witnessed with my involvement with law enforcement over the decades.
The bad guys are another story. Diehl is trying to create some believable bad guys, but I get the impression he didn't want to make them too evil and held back more than he should have. The suspense is also thwarted near the end. At that point I didn't care what happened to the bad guys.
I wanted to read more of the "Machine". I wish Diehl had picked up the McBain waning series and continued with an Atlanta based version. GREAT characters.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 6 out of ten points.
July 12, 2021
Recommended.
Slightly dated. The sexual descriptions are "unambiguous" as one reviewer on Amazon put it. For a 1978 novel they must have raised some eyebrows.
The description of the action is at times unclear and/or inconsistent to the point that it doesn't make sense or flow, but not all the time. I found myself caring about certain characters more than others. Probably a very good read then and a good read now.
I do have another of his on my shelf that I'll get to, just not right away.
The movie, directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, was very good but deviated from the book somewhat so do not read this expecting the same plot and actions seen in the movie.
Slightly dated. The sexual descriptions are "unambiguous" as one reviewer on Amazon put it. For a 1978 novel they must have raised some eyebrows.
The description of the action is at times unclear and/or inconsistent to the point that it doesn't make sense or flow, but not all the time. I found myself caring about certain characters more than others. Probably a very good read then and a good read now.
I do have another of his on my shelf that I'll get to, just not right away.
The movie, directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, was very good but deviated from the book somewhat so do not read this expecting the same plot and actions seen in the movie.
January 23, 2023
La primera mitad del libro aporta bastante poco, de hecho, leyendo la sinopsis, ya se extrae lo único transcendente que ocurre. Bastante aburrido, estuve a punto de abandonar en más de una ocasión.
Después comienza lo que es la investigación, mucho más ágil y dinámico, mejorando bastante, hasta llegar al final, donde desciende de nuevo.
Situaciones un tanto forzadas en un libro que no me ha convencido y es una pena, porque varios personajes tienen potencial.
Después comienza lo que es la investigación, mucho más ágil y dinámico, mejorando bastante, hasta llegar al final, donde desciende de nuevo.
Situaciones un tanto forzadas en un libro que no me ha convencido y es una pena, porque varios personajes tienen potencial.
August 28, 2024
Very ,"1970s" America, flares, black pimps, 1970s slang. Reminded me of 70s Shaft Rochard Roundtree type movie.Seemed very dated, more sore than 30's Agatha Christie's books. Initially was put off by 1970s feel, but really got into it. It's Diehl's first novel. Pretty good, his later books are much better, but this is worth a read
October 26, 2020
Really good book. I enjoyed this throughly. I picked this book up while we were on vacation because I had seen the old Burt Reynolds movie. It is every bit as good as the movie with more information and better character depth.
March 1, 2025
It’s hard to believe this tripe was written by the author of the classic Primal Fear. This one has a convoluted and ridiculous plot, laughable/creepy sex scenes, and more adjectives than a thesaurus. Avoid.
August 26, 2018
Terrific read
The story kept me to on my toes with every page. Not going to analyze, all I'm doing is word filling here. Read it, you'll enjoy it.
The story kept me to on my toes with every page. Not going to analyze, all I'm doing is word filling here. Read it, you'll enjoy it.
July 22, 2020
Read in 1979. Mystery adventure thriller about a lost shipment of Nazi gold. Later a Burt Reynolds movie. I read more William Diehl after this
July 23, 2022
Not my favourite
I reread Hooligans and Thai Horse on a regular basis, but I don’t think that I’ll be coming back to this one.
I reread Hooligans and Thai Horse on a regular basis, but I don’t think that I’ll be coming back to this one.
September 30, 2023
Great Read up to the very End
Loved it and by the way Burt Reynolds was the perfect actor for Sharky’s part in the movie !!!
William Diehl is a great author on to the next book!!!
Loved it and by the way Burt Reynolds was the perfect actor for Sharky’s part in the movie !!!
William Diehl is a great author on to the next book!!!
March 30, 2024
Dull, ugly book. Strange choice to devote so much space to how the big bad guy earned his money when absolutely none of it had anything to do with the plot.
April 13, 2025
Great story with a thrilling and actually comical ending.
October 13, 2024
Senator Donald Hotchins is een man vol ambities. Hij staat op het punt door te stoten tot de hoogste functie ter wereld. Hotchins stelt zich kandidaat voor het presidentschap van de Verenigde Staten. Hij kan niet vermoeden, dat de vrouw die hij liefheeft en deman van wiens geld hij afhankelijk is geheimen verborgen houden, die he in één klap voor altijd kunnen breken.
Domino Brittian, Hotchins' beeldschone maitresse, heeft een clandestiene nevenfunctie als hoogst exclusieve callgirl, wier klanten grof worden gechanteerd.
Victor DeLaroza, internationaal speelgoedmagnaat en geheime geldschieter van Hotchins, gaat tot het uiterste om zijn duistere verleden te verhullen.
Voor Sharky, rechercheur, die wegens zijn obstinate karakter voortdurend in conflict is met de politie-etablishment, lijkt het aanvankelijk een routine-opdracht. Totdat hij de geluidsbanden heeft gehoord, waarop Domino telefonisch de erotische wensen van haar dure klanten bevredigt. Zijn werk wordt een obsessie. Steeds dieper raakt Sharky verstrikt in Domino's levensgevaarlijke web.
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Omdat ik, toen ik het boek las, nog geen beoordelingen en mening gaf over boeken is het voor mij niet mogelijk om nu een juiste waardering aan het boek te geven. Ik hoop in de aankomende jaren tijd te vinden om dit boek weer op te pakken om opnieuw te lezen, zodat ik ook dit boek een waardering kan geven.
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Boekinformatie
©1979
Originele titel: Sharky's machine
ISBN: 90.10.02995.6
Dit boek is in 1981 verfilmd als Sharky's Machine met Burt Reynolds als rechercheur Sharky en Rachel Ward als Domino in de hoofdrollen. Er schijnt een remake in de maak te zijn die in 2008 uitkomt.
Domino Brittian, Hotchins' beeldschone maitresse, heeft een clandestiene nevenfunctie als hoogst exclusieve callgirl, wier klanten grof worden gechanteerd.
Victor DeLaroza, internationaal speelgoedmagnaat en geheime geldschieter van Hotchins, gaat tot het uiterste om zijn duistere verleden te verhullen.
Voor Sharky, rechercheur, die wegens zijn obstinate karakter voortdurend in conflict is met de politie-etablishment, lijkt het aanvankelijk een routine-opdracht. Totdat hij de geluidsbanden heeft gehoord, waarop Domino telefonisch de erotische wensen van haar dure klanten bevredigt. Zijn werk wordt een obsessie. Steeds dieper raakt Sharky verstrikt in Domino's levensgevaarlijke web.
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Omdat ik, toen ik het boek las, nog geen beoordelingen en mening gaf over boeken is het voor mij niet mogelijk om nu een juiste waardering aan het boek te geven. Ik hoop in de aankomende jaren tijd te vinden om dit boek weer op te pakken om opnieuw te lezen, zodat ik ook dit boek een waardering kan geven.
---
Boekinformatie
©1979
Originele titel: Sharky's machine
ISBN: 90.10.02995.6
Dit boek is in 1981 verfilmd als Sharky's Machine met Burt Reynolds als rechercheur Sharky en Rachel Ward als Domino in de hoofdrollen. Er schijnt een remake in de maak te zijn die in 2008 uitkomt.
March 30, 2010
A complex story beginning in Italy during WWII of greed and
power brokering that climaxes in Atlanta on police detective
Sharky's turf.
power brokering that climaxes in Atlanta on police detective
Sharky's turf.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews