The Fury

Henry Parker #4

by Jason Pinter

The brother journalist Henry Parker never knew has been shot point-blank in a rat-hole apartment, wasted by hunger and heroin. Stephen Gaines was a man with whom Henry shared nothing - expect a father. Now Henry is forced to question everything he ever knew - and figure out why this man was murdered in cold blood.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Amazon, Mystery Thriller

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Jason Pinter is the bestselling author of HIDE AWAY and A STRANGER AT THE DOOR in his Rachel Marin series, as well as six other novels: the acclaimed Henry Parker series (The Mark, The Guilty, The Stolen, The Fury, and The Darkness), the stand-alone thriller The Castle, as well as the middle-grade adventure novel Zeke Bartholomew: SuperSpy, and the children’s book Miracle. His books have over one million copies in print worldwide and have been optioned for film. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Thriller Award, Strand Critics Award, Barry Award, and Shamus Award, and more

He is the Founder and Publisher of the independent publisher Polis Books, as well as Agora, an imprint launched in 2019 dedicated to diverse and underrepresented voices in crime fiction. He was honored by Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch, which “recognizes young publishing professionals who have distinguished themselves as future leaders of the industry.” He has written for the New Republic, Entrepreneur, the Daily Beast, Esquire, and more. He lives in New Jersey, with his wife and their two daughters. Visit him at www.JasonPinter.com, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @JasonPinter.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A journalist is surprised to learn he has a brother, when the police inform him of his brother's murder.

He pokes around and finds conspiracy.

I didn't really find the conspiracy totally buyable.

[Torsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never read a crime novel with as many blatant errors as this one. I am wondering how this can make it past proofreading and editors?
The story itself is good and the writing not bad, but it is as if it has been churned out too quickly, without considering the fine details. This is a fatal flaw in a detective novel where the readers will be paying close attention in attempt to solve the mystery as he/she goes along.

Examples:
Stephen Gaines is first described as "disheveled, wearing rags" - later, looking back, Henry Parker remembers it as "a flashy suit"?

Henry Parker showers and "throws on a pair of shorts" after which he passes out on the bed. Big point made about no towels to be found.
When he wakes up, startled by the phone he is "wearing nothing but a towel" ?

Admittedly small trivial details, but just no good in a detective novel.

Also I get irritated that Harold Pinter finds it necessary to reintroduce characters when they were already described once earlier in the book. He does this several times and finds it necessary to summarize the plot several times. Obviously he expects his readers to have a very short attention span...

Michael Connelly has commented "Jason Pinter knows what he is doing"
I have to disagree.
Read Connelly instead - or almost anyone else. This one sucks pretty bad.

[Alice Zaharas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let’s start off with, yes the writing isn’t that amazing. Another 3.5/4ish stars book. There’s nothing all that flashy about this BUT what has me giving a higher star count is that I did not guess the ending, it was fast paced, it kept my attention, and I enjoyed it well enough. I wasn’t dying to find out the ending by any means.

But still a not bad, fast, easy reading thriller. And truth be told, there’s something good for the soul with an easy read after other more intense books. The cleanser you might need and what I did after the last couple series I’ve read.

[Katy M · Rating 2 out of 5]

2020 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book with a character in their 20s.

This book was ridiculous. There were bunches of continuity errors. Such as the main character got out of the shower, there were no towels so he put on a pair of boxers fell asleep, was awakened by the phone, jumpted out of bed and his towel fell off so he was naked. Then, he kept talking about how he left home 10 years ago, then it was 8, then it was 10, then it was 8 again. He read an old interview of a murder victim. He said that he had a son who was going to be 15 next month. The next page he's trying to track down this son and hopes he remembers something about his father's murder as he was 8 when it happened.


Then there was stuff that didn't make any sense. The murder happened in NY. The main suspect lives in Oregon. He was extradited back to New York. Then he was sitting in jail for like a week waiting to be indicted. What?

They acted like chocolate covered strawberries were not a perishable item.

He had to go through a whole bunch of shenanigans to pick his girlfriend up from a club which were totally not necessary.

I could go on and on. The story itself wasn't bad, but the nonsensicalness of all the details killed it.

It ended on a semi-cliffhanger. Luckily for me, I don't really care. I doubt I'll ever read this author again. Apparently editors and proofreaders are a thing of the past.

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

In these days of print journalism's decline, we are seeing quite a number of mysteries featuring investigative reporters, including Jason Pinter's compelling Henry Parker series. "The Fury" asks the question "Am I my brother's keeper?" Our hero, a New York Gazette reporter, confronted by a homeless-looking junkie who begs for his help, brushes him aside, and later finds out that this stranger, identified as his half brother, has been murdered.

To investigate the slaying, Henry, along with his girlfriend Amanda, travels to Oregon to see his estranged father, a most unpleasant, brutish man. His father is charged by the NYPD with the murder, and Henry undertakes a dangerous investigation in an effort to find out who really killed his half brother.

Pinter is an excellent storyteller who writes good, serviceable prose with natural-sounding dialogue. There's plenty of action, a fast pace, and quite an assortment of convincing characters, likable and not. In the final chapter, after we know the identity of the murderer, we also find out that there are more revelations to come, and the epilogue sets us up for the next exciting installment, "The Darkness."

[Caity · Rating 1 out of 5]

More of the same repetitive drivel about Henry Parker and his perfect-but-damaged girlfriend, Amanda.

I couldn't even finish it.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series featuring a New York City journalist who can't seem to help getting himself into al kinds of trouble. This time he ends up investigating the death of a half brother he never knew he had.

[Scot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment. The hero is supposed to be a star crime reporter, making a name for himself in the tough city. A lot is made of the death of journalism, which is true, but the sort of newsroom culture this character operates in disappeared decades ago already. So the basic setting is unrealistic.

Add to that lots of errors that should have been caught by someone at the proofreading stage. Even more irritating, there are continuity errors. At one one point he gets out of the shower and there are no towels so he air dries and throws on boxers then takes a nap. (a needless bit of info, by the way) Minutes later, a knock at the door makes him grab his towel to cover himself as he goes and answers it. Huh?? There are other sloppy inconsistencies, such as how old different characters currently are. The emotional relationships between characters don't make sense often.

This is book four in a series. It talked enough recap about the first three, which I never read, so that I feel I wouldn't have to go read them now to get any more info. That's not a smart marketing move on the author's part. And I feel cheated, because this book doesn't really end, but rather tells the reader to read book five to complete the narrative and see what happens. I do not have enough continuing interest to accept that offer. Began reading another, much better written book immediately after putting this one down, and felt refreshed.

[Sarah Butland · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book written by Pinter and I didn't need to read 1-3 of the Henry Parker series to understand and enjoy it thoroughly. I rated it 4 stars because I was appalled by the lack of editing - an example includes using "meet" instead of "met". Minor issues and didn't take away from the overall story but still took me a second to stop and read it again to get it. And that's annoying when it's a mainstream author. Not everyone is perfect, I'll likely have a few errors in this review but nonetheless, it's disappointing to see so many oversights in one novel.

I will definitely look out for Henry Parker stories again as I connected well with the young journalist who is curious about things maybe he shouldn't be. Alluding to past events that shaped his life and that of his girlfriend (s).

When Parker is first approached by a man who looked homeless, he wasn't comfortable as his co-worker was recently attacked in the same area. He had no idea that stopping and talking to him could have saved the man's life but maybe it didn't matter.

The twists in this novel urge me to read the next in the series though I am curious about the first installments, too.

If you enjoy a good fast paced mystery and can overlook the editing, this is a great book!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

E-Reaer.

Henry Parker works at New York Gazette, as a reporter. His life changed because he found out he had brother, Stephen Gaines, who was murdered.

Henry took leave of absence to investigate who killed his brother.

Henry & dear friend, Amanda, flew to an aiport, close to Bend, Oregon.  He hadn't visited his parents, in many years.

They there for a short time, when the Bend Police officers had warrant to arrested Henry's father, per NYC Police Department.

Amanda is a lawyer, in NY State.  She told Henry's Dad to sign th waiver, so that the detective & officer were able fly to NYC.

Henry 's Dad did enough assets to be released before he go on trail by Grand Jury, in few months.  He could afford a lawyer, so they got a public lawyer.  

There are too many characters to list in book.  But hope you will read this good book to the end.

I hope you will enjoy this book as much I did?

[George F Greenwald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like an author who can lay out a good plot and then fill in the body of the book. I rarely read mystery stories but took a chance on this one and was not at all disappointed. My only regret was that I started with the fourth book in the series.

Mr. Pinter did a very creditable job with this book. In the ebook edition there are some typos, but not so serious that they detracted from the flow of the story. My only critical issue is that he puts a lot of information into the though process of the main character. Not a serious issue, but one that point to the fact that some of those thoughts could take place as part of the interaction with other characters. In all, I think this is a very readable and enjoyable book.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason Pinter, The Fury (Mira, 2009)

The Fury is the fourth novel in Pinter's Henry Parker series. Had I known this, I would probably have not had Vine ship it to me, as I haven't read the first three books in the series. It doesn't help that I also missed in my skim of the product description that the book is published by Mira, and my encounters with Mira-published novels have, to date, been entirely unsatisfactory. This did, however, give me the chance to address two questions that have been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now. The first is what a book written by a male author and published by Mira would look like. The second is whether it's possible to read a truly episodic series out of order (or whether Parker's enduring Spenser novels are an anomaly in that regard). I now have answers to both, and they are about as I feared.

In this one, Henry is approached by a junkie at the beginning of the novel. He shoos the guy away, uneasy thanks to one of his reporter colleagues having just been assaulted the day before outside the offices. That night, he gets a call from a homicide detective. It seems the junkie, whose name is Steven Gaines, has been murdered execution-style, and that Parker may have been the last one to see him alive. The detective on the phone then drops a big bomb in Henry's lap which I won't reveal here, since the jacket copy actually gets it right for once and keeps all the spoilers out. In any case, Henry ends up needing, and quickly, to find out who killed Stephen Gaines. And thus the mystery begins.

I'll address the second question I had first, because it's by far the easier answer. I haven't read the first three novels in the series, and now I don't think I have any need to; Pinter goes way, way overboard in reminding the readers about events from previous books. There's none of the subtlety of the Spenser novels (which, for the most part, I also read out of order), where Robert Parker just integrated the events of previous books and went on with the story; Pinter feels the need to stop every time one of those subtle moments drops by and have Parker ruminate (with all the cud-chewing imagery that word should bring to mind) about the event(s) in question.

And, before tacking the first question, let me add a codicil to that above: the final plot twist (which comes only a few pages after the climactic plot twist, which is an entirely different, and equally badly set-up, animal) seems to exist here solely to set up the events in Henry Parker Book Five (the title of which does not, thank all that's holy, have anything to do with Half-Blood Princes). As such, it seems all too convenient given a number of observations Henry Parker makes earlier in the book. (Of course, if that's Pinter's goal all along, I'm entirely wrong about all this, but that is not something we'll know until reading Henry Parker and the Half-Blood... oh, forget it.)

Okay, so now. “What would a book by a male author published by Mira look like?”. Perhaps it's my limited knowledge of Mira's work (and if you've read Erica Spindler, you may understand my reticence to read more than a handful of Mira-published books), but those few Mira books I've come into contact with have all been written by women, and have all been the suspense equivalent of Harlequins. I don't want to call them “romantic suspense”, because there are some authors who have historically done that genre very well (two words: Barbara Michaels), and I don't want to cheapen those earlier novels. Men are not traditional writers of romantic suspense novels, so I asked myself the question. And to be fair, Jason Pinter is not a writer of romantic suspense, but I think Mira mandated that sort of angle. And thus we have Amanda, Henry Parker's better half. Not that I have anything against Amanda, as a character, at all. In fact, she was my favorite character in the book (aside from the nasty, ingratiating gossip reporter, Tony Valentine, who reminds me of far too many people I actually know). No, what bugged me about Amanda is that, in the same way Pinter stops the action to ruminate on scenes from earlier novels again, he also stops to ruminate on Amanda. The passages in which this happens are entirely separate from the rest of the text, and could have been excised without damaging the book in any way. Thus my belief that Mira mandated emphasizing the romance angle (and my corresponding belief that Pinter added those passages after finishing the novel, making no attempt at all to integrate them into the story).

David Thomson has said in more than one critical analysis of over the years that documentaries about the making of certain films would likely have been far more interesting than the films themselves. Perhaps it's my inner conspiracy theorist talking, but I have a similar feeling here—I think the account of the writing of The Fury would probably have been a better book than The Fury itself is. But while I realize the tone of this review has been relentlessly negative, I must add as a footnote that Pinter does one thing very well. He keeps the reader turning the pages. It took me a while to get into the book, whose first three or four chapters are phenomenally slow (and I find that odd in a series novel), but once I did, I finished the rest of it over the course of a day and a half. It's not great literature, nor is it even great genre writing, but there's enough “what happens next?” to make it worth reading if you're stuck in an airport and have nothing else with you. ** ½

[Sharon Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I gave this 5 stars, there was tons of stuff wrong with it. It got 5 stars because of the story but the presentation was lacking. There were so many typos and left out words. Some parts were confusing as to how old the murder victim’s son was when his dad was killed. I won’t bother with the next book. I don’t really care to continue with this reporter and his messed up parents and unbelievable girlfriend. This actually only deserves 3 stars.

[Tina Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic fourth book!

Henry Parker is not just a reporter, but a very good detective, and his buddy, Jack is back from rehab! Well, that’s at the end of this fantastic book! Henry gets himself in deep yet again because his father is arrested for murder! The hits just keep coming to Henry! Well worth reading!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fast paced crime novel with interesting characters and a complex plot.

Very fast paced crime novel with interesting characters and a complex plot. There is enough information for this book to stand alone but to fully understand the characters you should start at the beginning of the series.

[TheMysteryMO (Mike O) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Henry Parker (reporter) series. I like the Henry Parker character alot and the suspenseful pace of the book was good. I now move onto THE HUNTERS which is an ebook novella that bridges THE FURY with the newest release THE DARKNESS. I do recommend that you read the series in order which starts with THE MARK.

[P J Van Benthusen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book!

You have to love these characters. Trouble always seems to be close and Henry does seem to find it. As usual there is more going on than you think. I love the plot and how everyone gets involved. Can't wait for the next one. Glad to see Jack is back.

[Debbi Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these books but I'm always disappointed in the reveal of the perpetrator and the motivations. It's the characters and their relationships and backstories that appeal enough to me to keep me reading them.

[Dwight Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tense, crime ridden city

A man is killed. He turns out to be the half brother of a young hot shot NYC reporter. The reporters father is jailed for the crime. The reporter digs and digs, through other murders and large amounts of drugs, to find the truth.

[Erinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw the epilogue “twist” coming the minute the character was introduced. Also, I found it extremely unbelievable that the main character would go to any effort to defend his unlivable father or unknown brother. This was just a very long boring read.

[GW · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Fury

Sorry, I just couldn't finish the book. I made it to 47% and then threw in the towel. The characters are wishy-washy and unrealistic and I discovered that I just didn't care what happened to them.

[Paul Lariviere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

Not a world I ever want to be a part of, but have read enough to understand these types of things probably happen more frequently than we can imagine. Rooting for Henry all the way!

[Marianne Stehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of the series so far. It did not have the thrills the others had. Introduces characters that are not as interesting and leaves the newsroom too much. I. hope the next one gets back on track.

[James N Fulton, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner

I had to read this one because of other stories by the author. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed it very much and finished it in a couple of sittings. I will definitely read more from this author.

[Christopher Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brisk, intense, gripping, and suspenseful read filled with great twists and turns. Jason Pinter does it again!

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting plot but wasn't the usual thriller I read. It was just ok for me and maybe would have been better had I read the previous books.

[paulette sarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery

Loved this book .It you guessing from the beginning.The main character seems somewhat of a wimp though. Can't wait to see what happens in the w book.

[Alice inthe Eve]

rambles. fills lines with boring talk. boring as f.

[Arthur Carron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and will read more books by Jason Pinter, the book kept my interest from start to finish.

[Marilyn Ruttan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Was really good story, I was pleasantly surprised by the characters and their storylines. Found it interesting and very riveting