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No Good Deed: A Thriller
From Victor Gischler, the author behind the high-octane, action-packed thriller Stay , comes No Good Deed , a suspenseful novel about how an ordinary man--trying to do the right thing--finds himself in an extraordinary situation.
Francis was running late for work when he found the suitcase and the odd card with an email on it. He knew he shouldn't bother but he couldn't resist.
Now Francis is dodging bullets and doing his best to stay alive, wishing he had never bothered with that suitcase full of clothes.
Francis was running late for work when he found the suitcase and the odd card with an email on it. He knew he shouldn't bother but he couldn't resist.
Now Francis is dodging bullets and doing his best to stay alive, wishing he had never bothered with that suitcase full of clothes.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published September 4, 2018
12 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Victor Gischler
371 books414 followersVictor Gischler is an American author of humorous crime fiction.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.
He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.
Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.
He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.
Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 3, 2019
No Good Deed is a thriller which feels like a pulp - in a good way.
A white collar office worker finds a suitcase full of women's underwear with instructions to contact the owner should it be found. When Francis makes the call, the last thing he expects is to be thrown head first into a James Bond cloak and dagger fight for his life - and that of the mysterious suitcase owner.
There's some interesting tech concepts in No Good Deed but the action revolves around Francis and his good deed which lands him in a bad situation.
The bullets and brawls are laced with sharp dialogue and equally sharp scenes of pure adrenaline; there's a cabby car chase which is particularly entertaining and showcases the sense of urgency omnipresent throughout the book.
My rating: 4/5 stars. Side note - the cover doesn't do this book justice!
A white collar office worker finds a suitcase full of women's underwear with instructions to contact the owner should it be found. When Francis makes the call, the last thing he expects is to be thrown head first into a James Bond cloak and dagger fight for his life - and that of the mysterious suitcase owner.
There's some interesting tech concepts in No Good Deed but the action revolves around Francis and his good deed which lands him in a bad situation.
The bullets and brawls are laced with sharp dialogue and equally sharp scenes of pure adrenaline; there's a cabby car chase which is particularly entertaining and showcases the sense of urgency omnipresent throughout the book.
My rating: 4/5 stars. Side note - the cover doesn't do this book justice!
September 5, 2018
Okay, you need to clear your schedule for a few hours. Get yourself something to eat and drink, and get ready for one action packed adventure!
In No Good Deed, Gischler takes us on a thrill a minute adventure that you simply won't want to stop reading.
Francis, our earnest Good Samaritan is so much fun - though he perhaps wishes he weren't quite so good . He wouldn't be in so much trouble! And the other characters are just as much fun.
This is simply a blast of a read and I want more!
*ARC Provided via Net Galley
In No Good Deed, Gischler takes us on a thrill a minute adventure that you simply won't want to stop reading.
Francis, our earnest Good Samaritan is so much fun - though he perhaps wishes he weren't quite so good . He wouldn't be in so much trouble! And the other characters are just as much fun.
This is simply a blast of a read and I want more!
*ARC Provided via Net Galley
September 5, 2018
A fun ride
Who doesn't like a hapless hero thrown into a mystery and tossed around by intrigue? Add a hot woman in a mission, a bunch of thugs, and a ruthless government agent and you get No Good Deed.
Who doesn't like a hapless hero thrown into a mystery and tossed around by intrigue? Add a hot woman in a mission, a bunch of thugs, and a ruthless government agent and you get No Good Deed.
August 3, 2018
Disclaimer: I received a galley of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Poor Francis wakes up to the start of a very long, bizarre, chasing-after one girl, then being chased by another, along with a whole lot of goons, kind of day. How does stuff like this happen to such a nice guy? Try to keep up with Francis and Emma and dont forget the megalomaniac tech-wizard who seems to be behind everything. I read the book in one day. Writing was fast-paced and and characters were on target - I found myself cheering for and booing against different characters. I rate it a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Poor Francis wakes up to the start of a very long, bizarre, chasing-after one girl, then being chased by another, along with a whole lot of goons, kind of day. How does stuff like this happen to such a nice guy? Try to keep up with Francis and Emma and dont forget the megalomaniac tech-wizard who seems to be behind everything. I read the book in one day. Writing was fast-paced and and characters were on target - I found myself cheering for and booing against different characters. I rate it a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars.
July 19, 2021
This one was billed as a thriller but it was more like a light-weight farce.
The characters were uni-dimensional and the plot was simply not that interesting. What should have been an exciting ride was not.
Many of the main character's decisions did not make sense and the book felt like it should have been in the kids / young adult section (except for some of the dodgy scenes).
Definitely not what I was hoping for.
The characters were uni-dimensional and the plot was simply not that interesting. What should have been an exciting ride was not.
Many of the main character's decisions did not make sense and the book felt like it should have been in the kids / young adult section (except for some of the dodgy scenes).
Definitely not what I was hoping for.
February 12, 2019
Rhonda's eyes slid to Francis, held his gaze a moment before returning to the mirror. "You're nice, Francis."
"oh. Uh, thanks."
"I don't do nice."
Ah.
Francis works in a deadend job, which he hates but can't afford to lose. One morning, while racing for work, he happend to glance into an alley and spots a nifty looking crocodile suitcase. On closer inspection he finds it contains women's panties. New unused panties. Francis is intrigued and grabs the suitcase, thinking he'll check it out after work. At the same time he notices there is an email adress attached, presumably for the owner.
So begins a rowlicking tale involving greed, cybernetic skulduggery, thugs, pursuits, car chases and occasional humour.
I've read a number of Victor Gischler's novels now and like 'Go, Go Girls of the Apocalpse' and other in the 'crime' genera he's written, there's usually some underachieving nobody, bored with his life who through no fault of his own, is drawn into an 'adventure' he neither sought nor could imagine. But at the same time discovers qualities in himself, hitherto, unrealised.
So it is with 'No Good Deed'. Good fun and thoroughly entertaining.
4 stars from this reader.
"oh. Uh, thanks."
"I don't do nice."
Ah.
Francis works in a deadend job, which he hates but can't afford to lose. One morning, while racing for work, he happend to glance into an alley and spots a nifty looking crocodile suitcase. On closer inspection he finds it contains women's panties. New unused panties. Francis is intrigued and grabs the suitcase, thinking he'll check it out after work. At the same time he notices there is an email adress attached, presumably for the owner.
So begins a rowlicking tale involving greed, cybernetic skulduggery, thugs, pursuits, car chases and occasional humour.
I've read a number of Victor Gischler's novels now and like 'Go, Go Girls of the Apocalpse' and other in the 'crime' genera he's written, there's usually some underachieving nobody, bored with his life who through no fault of his own, is drawn into an 'adventure' he neither sought nor could imagine. But at the same time discovers qualities in himself, hitherto, unrealised.
So it is with 'No Good Deed'. Good fun and thoroughly entertaining.
4 stars from this reader.
March 25, 2019
I've enjoyed other books by the author and the first two-thirds of the book were enjoyable, but the closer it came to the climax the quicker it got resolved, never answering many of the questions it brought up.
The climax happens quickly and many of the characters that have been developing over the course of the novel either never show up at the climax or never reveal their motivation for their actions. It was disappointing, especially for the main villain's assistant to never know what their reason for acting so was.
The writing flowed well and was solid, I'd read another, but maybe with a little less enthusiasm.
The climax happens quickly and many of the characters that have been developing over the course of the novel either never show up at the climax or never reveal their motivation for their actions. It was disappointing, especially for the main villain's assistant to never know what their reason for acting so was.
The writing flowed well and was solid, I'd read another, but maybe with a little less enthusiasm.
July 18, 2021
“No Good Deed” is a great easy read, lots of action, good characters, and humor thrown in for good measure. Another reviewer stated that the book has a “pulp feel” which I agree with, which is an excellent additional positive about the book. Francis gets drawn into an adventure that pulls him from a dead end job that he is ambivalent about and into an adventure even beyond his imagination. It is definitely worth the time to read this book. I am looking forward to trying other books from the author.
October 23, 2018
I always enjoy Victor Gischler, but this could turn out to be my favorite of his more real world thrillers. The characters are just a lot of fun to spend time with. I'm only slightly mad that it's not, as far as I can tell, the start of a series, so I can spend more time with them every year or two.
Points for the well placed Ink Mage reference as well.
I'm guessing that the publisher felt that the audience that would buy a more accurate SuicideGirls-type on the cover were less likely to be the types to buy as many copies. That's disappointing on a number of levels, none of which should be taken as a reflection on the book itself, which is a blast.
Points for the well placed Ink Mage reference as well.
I'm guessing that the publisher felt that the audience that would buy a more accurate SuicideGirls-type on the cover were less likely to be the types to buy as many copies. That's disappointing on a number of levels, none of which should be taken as a reflection on the book itself, which is a blast.
August 17, 2019
Fun and entertaining, if a little slight. I'm a sucker for the everyman gets pulled into an adventure trope, so I did enjoy it a good bit, though I felt the two leads were short on chemistry, and some of the bad guys got far too much attention paid to them. Also, the main villain lacked any real menace. Still, it was a fun ride, the action scenes were thrilling, the dialogue was snappy, and I'll read any book that has Gischler's name on it. A good, fast read.
March 10, 2024
all's still well that ends well...
one neck of a lesson in altruism. or maybe heroism.or maybe just blind luck with a lot of guts thrown in. at any rate, the story won't take you where you think it will, and when the who-done-its are rounded up, you always know in real time cause you're right there listening to the gunfights. but there's a perfect plot twist ending and poor Enid can't find green grass anywhere. not on either side of the fence.
one neck of a lesson in altruism. or maybe heroism.or maybe just blind luck with a lot of guts thrown in. at any rate, the story won't take you where you think it will, and when the who-done-its are rounded up, you always know in real time cause you're right there listening to the gunfights. but there's a perfect plot twist ending and poor Enid can't find green grass anywhere. not on either side of the fence.
October 1, 2022
Typical rollicking ride, about a group of techies who develop an intuitive algorithm worth millions, but the head techie wants to keep for himself. Next we meet a nice normal guy who finds a suitcase full of panties, which leads to him and a strange woman being chased all over the USA by goons and the NSA. Just a lot of fun.
February 19, 2019
Perfect as usual
Victor Gischler is my favorite author. Well, one of my three or four favorites, to be fair. But I immediately read anything he writes. And this book was no let down. It’s a great story, and I wish it wasn’t over.
Victor Gischler is my favorite author. Well, one of my three or four favorites, to be fair. But I immediately read anything he writes. And this book was no let down. It’s a great story, and I wish it wasn’t over.
December 16, 2020
Awesome
June 12, 2022
I loved it. great character development and a nice ride.
August 10, 2024
Really enjoyed this book. Lots of action (common in Gischler’s book. They read more action movie than thriller). Likeable main character in every man Francis. Pretty easy to follow plot.
December 12, 2024
I love Gischler, he doesn’t miss. The story is super pulp, bold and fun.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews