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Rooster
John Gallo is a professional hitman with a history that’s spattered in blood and littered with bodies. Known in the criminal underworld as Rooster, Gallo is an assassin suffering from mental illness and constantly battling the black dog of depression that stalks him. When able to crawl out of his downward spiral and throw himself into the job, he’s a proficient, stealthy and unforgiving killer. A relentless wheeler-dealer in the game of death.
But now he finds there’s a price on his head. A vendetta that could have been placed by anyone in the gangland underground. And everyone wants to collect. From two-bit street punks to the highest echelons of organized crime. The Mafia. Yakuza. Russians. Chinese. Every crime syndicate that’s ever been on the bullet-end of his gun is now taking aim at him, intent on ending the reign of the Rooster.
After making a fast break from New York with a young actress rescued from certain death at the hands of the Chinese mob, Rooster is on the run and headed to his native Boston and promised refuge with his on-again, off-again criminal associate Grace. He quickly learns Beantown’s dark underbelly is only interested in welcoming Rooster home so thugs and gangsters can line up to seize the prize that is his head.
Determined to solve the mystery of who wants him dead and exact his own revenge, Rooster uncovers a deadly plot with tendrils that stretch across the country, revealing a conspiracy designed to achieve the ultimate retribution.
From the author of The Isle and Mister White, and proudly presented by Grey Matter Press, the multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated independent publisher.
But now he finds there’s a price on his head. A vendetta that could have been placed by anyone in the gangland underground. And everyone wants to collect. From two-bit street punks to the highest echelons of organized crime. The Mafia. Yakuza. Russians. Chinese. Every crime syndicate that’s ever been on the bullet-end of his gun is now taking aim at him, intent on ending the reign of the Rooster.
After making a fast break from New York with a young actress rescued from certain death at the hands of the Chinese mob, Rooster is on the run and headed to his native Boston and promised refuge with his on-again, off-again criminal associate Grace. He quickly learns Beantown’s dark underbelly is only interested in welcoming Rooster home so thugs and gangsters can line up to seize the prize that is his head.
Determined to solve the mystery of who wants him dead and exact his own revenge, Rooster uncovers a deadly plot with tendrils that stretch across the country, revealing a conspiracy designed to achieve the ultimate retribution.
From the author of The Isle and Mister White, and proudly presented by Grey Matter Press, the multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated independent publisher.
210 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2021
About the author
John C. Foster
31 books28 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
Other authors publishing under this name are:
John C. Foster
John C. Foster
Other authors publishing under this name are:
John C. Foster
John C. Foster
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 23, 2021
Relentless, brutal, revenge-driven noir with a powerful emotional core. Compelling stuff.
July 24, 2021
Rooster is a fast, fun ride as the reader is dragged along in the life of John Gallo a.k.a. Rooster. Dragged along not just in the life, but in the head as well. A big win for Foster on this novel is the first-person point of view utilized. Readers will enjoy the way the off-the-cuff humor mingles with intense violence. It's impossible to avoid the John Wick connections, but Rooster feels a bit more manic and hold-on-to-your-armrest-y. Foster has crafted a unique entry in crime fiction with Rooster.
October 30, 2021
Foster's latest novel is a suspenseful page-turner - I read ROOSTER in just a few days, which is rare for me. Beyond the suspense and action, the hitman protagonist of this story is a tragic soul struggling with depression, and you can't help but sympathize him even as he kills... a lot of people. As always, Foster's prose is noir at its best - paying ironic homage to the pulpy classics of old with just the right blend of humor and profound insight. Highly recommended for all fans of suspense, noir, and stories that hit you with a rolling series of punches of action, humor, and dark reflection.
August 13, 2021
Rooster is an absolutely riveting noir suspense novel with a fascinating and formidable anti-hero. Bodies pile up and suspense relentlessly builds as the reader is drawn into the gritty world of a professional killer surrounded by equally dangerous enemies. Okay, there's that. There's also the wonderful writing itself. Two scenes (neither of them violent) are burned into my memory: one in which the protagonist is getting a tattoo in memory of a lost comrade and the second a simple transaction where a man is being fitted for an expensive suit by two elderly men who obviously know their craft very well and, as the scene continues, reveal that they've been extremely good at other skills as well.
December 24, 2022
Rooster. Man, what a time to be alive. Great stuff here by John Foster. Manic most times but with a clear voice and great pacing, this was a blast. In more ways than one, of course. Throw in a very valid reason why this is all going down, and yes, I can see why it is time to ‘settle up’. Go forth, seek out, purchase and enjoy. Tell ‘em a fan of the Rooster sent ya.
August 16, 2021
Rooster did something I rarely feel books do. While one is watching the character of Rooster crash through the seedy underworld with brutal efficiency fed by his lived experience and his own struggles with the value of his life, it functions as a travelogue of sorts. Rooster is being pursued on all sides and it readily shows, but as he careens through locations, the author richly describes those locations as almost living, grasping, hungry locations. Foster's words paint a picture of the cities as engines of indifference that are always hungry for fuel provided seemingly by the suffering of those in them - they do not care about Rooster or their other citizens because one gets the sense they will progress and continue on regardless of the outcomes as they are not as dependent on the people in them as the people are dependent on them. I begin the review with this observation because it is indicative of how powerful and efficient Foster's work is - while the world of Rooster may be one of violence, chaos, and survival, it is richly and efficiently realized. The darkness at the core of the story infects and bounces off everything as underbellies are exposed and questions are answered only to leave new questions - but all to good effect.
Foster's protagonist plays narrator and guide, but he is troubled on so many levels that he became, for me, an examination of his own rights. For Rooster, the gears are always turning, the losses always mounting, and the values are always fluid, but yet there is something written into the character that seems so consistent as well. Rooster is not a hero, nor is he a villain. He is somewhere between a product of society and a force of nature - and he does not know what he can do about it, but he does know what he can do for it - and that is exact tolls on those he is paid to and, then, on those who pursue him.
There's been many assassins on the run stories, but Foster's protagonist is neither flawlessly efficient or ultracool. He is a rare breed of hired gun in this type of fiction - he is the troubled everyman type who finds himself trapped often by his actions, but unrelenting in his ability to keep going, even when part of him pushes to resign himself to death.
In a world where games like Hitman give us the ultra cool assassins, where ladies' man spies are a dime a dozen, and where villains can be stock, Foster gives us something more - he gives us a hired gun that is just as likely to turn that gun on himself - to question his actions, to cope with their outcomes, and to almost end his own life.
Rooster is worth a read for all these reasons. In my thinking, if one merged Divine Right's Trip with The Bourne Identity and spiraled in just a taste of The Stranger , one might get a sense of this book. Those are elements that, to me, seem to echo here. Rooster is most assuredly a murderer for hire, but he also has to piece together why the tables have turned and to do so, he goes on one winding road trip.
This is the type of novel that my father, a man who was obsessed with action packed, shoot 'em up, explosive movies- would say would be a great movie... and in all fairness, it would be, but also because it packs something so human into the protagonist. There's self loathing, yet a will to survive. There's loss and pain, but the ability to move forward and take the next job or survive the next day. It could be that Rooster is arriving at just the right time - because we may not all be assassins trying to find why the tables have turned, but we are all finding ways to keep moving forward in a world that has changed. Rooster is the hitman we need in these pandemic times, perhaps.
A rapid fire read, you can read it for action and enjoy it, but you may get hit by the more problematic and humanitarian plights woven into it as well. A rare feat well done by Foster!
Foster's protagonist plays narrator and guide, but he is troubled on so many levels that he became, for me, an examination of his own rights. For Rooster, the gears are always turning, the losses always mounting, and the values are always fluid, but yet there is something written into the character that seems so consistent as well. Rooster is not a hero, nor is he a villain. He is somewhere between a product of society and a force of nature - and he does not know what he can do about it, but he does know what he can do for it - and that is exact tolls on those he is paid to and, then, on those who pursue him.
There's been many assassins on the run stories, but Foster's protagonist is neither flawlessly efficient or ultracool. He is a rare breed of hired gun in this type of fiction - he is the troubled everyman type who finds himself trapped often by his actions, but unrelenting in his ability to keep going, even when part of him pushes to resign himself to death.
In a world where games like Hitman give us the ultra cool assassins, where ladies' man spies are a dime a dozen, and where villains can be stock, Foster gives us something more - he gives us a hired gun that is just as likely to turn that gun on himself - to question his actions, to cope with their outcomes, and to almost end his own life.
Rooster is worth a read for all these reasons. In my thinking, if one merged Divine Right's Trip with The Bourne Identity and spiraled in just a taste of The Stranger , one might get a sense of this book. Those are elements that, to me, seem to echo here. Rooster is most assuredly a murderer for hire, but he also has to piece together why the tables have turned and to do so, he goes on one winding road trip.
This is the type of novel that my father, a man who was obsessed with action packed, shoot 'em up, explosive movies- would say would be a great movie... and in all fairness, it would be, but also because it packs something so human into the protagonist. There's self loathing, yet a will to survive. There's loss and pain, but the ability to move forward and take the next job or survive the next day. It could be that Rooster is arriving at just the right time - because we may not all be assassins trying to find why the tables have turned, but we are all finding ways to keep moving forward in a world that has changed. Rooster is the hitman we need in these pandemic times, perhaps.
A rapid fire read, you can read it for action and enjoy it, but you may get hit by the more problematic and humanitarian plights woven into it as well. A rare feat well done by Foster!
September 9, 2021
His close acquaintances know him as John Gallo. Business contacts may refer to him by any number of plausible pseudonyms. But they all fear him as Rooster, a highly efficient, extremely effective hitman who takes pride in his ability to take care of his business. Unfortunately for those who find their names on his list, his business is death. But an extended career dealing in blood can only have detrimental consequences, even for the most hard-hearted of people, and Gallo lives with unrelenting depression, not to mention a taste for alcohol. Through a first-person narrative, we are given front row seats for Gallo’s innermost thoughts, including memories from a troubled childhood and thoughts of self-harm. It really allows us to get under his skin and see the criminal underworld through his bleak point of view.
After a chance passing encounter with a beautiful woman in a restaurant run by a Chinese organised crime gang, Gallo suddenly finds himself the target of an assassination attempt. But the danger doesn’t pass when he escapes the first attack, as he soon realises every hired gun in every gang wants to collect the bounty on his head, and they won’t stop just because he puts up a fight. The mystery of who ordered the hit and why propels the main plot as Gallo spends the book shooting himself out of one tight situation, only to fall headlong into the next. He meets a motley crew of allies and low-level criminals along the way, some helpful but most simply waiting their turn to double-cross Gallo and collect the money for themselves. But our protagonist sees through almost all of these ruses, thanks to a lifetime of experience in this field of work, and a deep mistrust of almost everyone. He is a complex character, no doubt. Not simply a one-dimensional tough guy who keeps everyone and everything at arm’s length; as mentioned earlier, he suffers from serious mental health issues and they are conveyed with class and humanity.
There are intense action scenes throughout, beginning in New York City before Gallo flees to Boston where even distance doesn’t save him from the reaching grip of the kill order. Foster revels in the detailed descriptions of the violence and body trauma, but it never feels excessive. Actually, it is in keeping with the dark, noir style that is evident from page one and all the way through. It is something that is perceptible throughout much of his previous work, where it was often paired with a horror or supernatural element. With Rooster, he takes us on a tour of the murky and sinister world of assassins for hire and organised crime, femme fatales and bloody revenge. At the same time, he takes us on a tour of two locations with which he is clearly familiar in the cities of Boston and New York. Most of the book takes place in the latter, but there is still enough detail in the former to add texture to his prose. The places and people are perfectly captured by Foster, like a series of snapshots, displaying the streets and businesses, pedestrians and patrons, with which Gallo interacts. Naturally, not every scenario will be lifted directly from real-life, however he clearly uses what he observes in these places to convey a desired tone for the story, and succeeds in spades.
There is plenty within these pages to satisfy fans of dark crime fiction, from the fast-paced and often brutal action, playing out like a dark action movie on the movie screen in our minds, to the mystery at the core of the story. Who wants Gallo dead, and why? With more twists and turns than a high-speed car chase through the gloomy city streets of NYC, readers may well be surprised by the revelation, but will be exhilarated by the ride. Gallo isn’t the typical cold-hearted tough guy protagonist that most noir stories seem to have; he has depth and layers that ought to make him irredeemable, ghosts from his past that haunt him and hunt him more effectively than any hired gun. But, sharing the journey with him, dodging bullets and punches, seeking some kind of retribution, we may well find ourselves relating with the troubled and broken man beneath the killer exterior. As long as Foster is our tour guide into the murky depths of death and revenge, we know we’re in for an exciting and gratifying time.
After a chance passing encounter with a beautiful woman in a restaurant run by a Chinese organised crime gang, Gallo suddenly finds himself the target of an assassination attempt. But the danger doesn’t pass when he escapes the first attack, as he soon realises every hired gun in every gang wants to collect the bounty on his head, and they won’t stop just because he puts up a fight. The mystery of who ordered the hit and why propels the main plot as Gallo spends the book shooting himself out of one tight situation, only to fall headlong into the next. He meets a motley crew of allies and low-level criminals along the way, some helpful but most simply waiting their turn to double-cross Gallo and collect the money for themselves. But our protagonist sees through almost all of these ruses, thanks to a lifetime of experience in this field of work, and a deep mistrust of almost everyone. He is a complex character, no doubt. Not simply a one-dimensional tough guy who keeps everyone and everything at arm’s length; as mentioned earlier, he suffers from serious mental health issues and they are conveyed with class and humanity.
There are intense action scenes throughout, beginning in New York City before Gallo flees to Boston where even distance doesn’t save him from the reaching grip of the kill order. Foster revels in the detailed descriptions of the violence and body trauma, but it never feels excessive. Actually, it is in keeping with the dark, noir style that is evident from page one and all the way through. It is something that is perceptible throughout much of his previous work, where it was often paired with a horror or supernatural element. With Rooster, he takes us on a tour of the murky and sinister world of assassins for hire and organised crime, femme fatales and bloody revenge. At the same time, he takes us on a tour of two locations with which he is clearly familiar in the cities of Boston and New York. Most of the book takes place in the latter, but there is still enough detail in the former to add texture to his prose. The places and people are perfectly captured by Foster, like a series of snapshots, displaying the streets and businesses, pedestrians and patrons, with which Gallo interacts. Naturally, not every scenario will be lifted directly from real-life, however he clearly uses what he observes in these places to convey a desired tone for the story, and succeeds in spades.
There is plenty within these pages to satisfy fans of dark crime fiction, from the fast-paced and often brutal action, playing out like a dark action movie on the movie screen in our minds, to the mystery at the core of the story. Who wants Gallo dead, and why? With more twists and turns than a high-speed car chase through the gloomy city streets of NYC, readers may well be surprised by the revelation, but will be exhilarated by the ride. Gallo isn’t the typical cold-hearted tough guy protagonist that most noir stories seem to have; he has depth and layers that ought to make him irredeemable, ghosts from his past that haunt him and hunt him more effectively than any hired gun. But, sharing the journey with him, dodging bullets and punches, seeking some kind of retribution, we may well find ourselves relating with the troubled and broken man beneath the killer exterior. As long as Foster is our tour guide into the murky depths of death and revenge, we know we’re in for an exciting and gratifying time.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews