White Star

by James Stewart Thayer

Once a military sniper, Owen Gray wants to live out his life peacefully as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York, but an unknown killer, a Russian ex-sniper and former rival, challenges him to the ultimate duel

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Military Fiction, Suspense, War

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 7, 1995

About the author

James Thayer is the son of a wheat farmer, and he was raised in Spokane and the farm country in eastern Washington. He graduated from Washington State University and the University of Chicago Law School, and now teaches novel writing at the University of Washington extension school where in 2015 he received the Excellence in Teaching Award in the Arts, Writing and Humanities. The New York Times Book Review says his "writing is smooth and clear. Deceptively simple, it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm that only confident stylists achieve.” His The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel is a leading manual for fiction writers. Thayer is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the International Thriller Writers. He and his family live in Seattle.

Reviews

[Athena · Rating 1 out of 5]

White Star had a lot of potential at the beginning. In Manhattan, defense lawyer Owen Gray witnesses the shooting of a mobster he couldn't prove guilty. His friend Detective Pete Coates thinks it's a personal grudge against the mobster, until people who know Owen Gray are being killed one by one. Gray had prior experience as a superior sniper, but no matter how hard he tries to move on his past comes back to haunt him in the form of one Nikolai Trusov. Trusov's physical description resembled that of Frankenstein; tall, barrel chested, and hideous to look at. The Russian Trusov is so skillfull that no one can seem to catch him. Adrian Wade, from the State Department of Moscow, arrives to inform Coates and Gray what she knows about Trusov, which is pretty impressive. I didn't like her character as she came off as brazen and insecure about her gender so she had to compensate by being cold. This book was definitely suspenseful, but it got frustrating and then boring quickly. The details were overwhelming and outweighed the actual story. I learned a lot about guns and woods, though.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good thriller

I enjoyed reading this. Good chase sequence followed by an exciting sniper duel at the end. There's also a little romance and a nice buddy plotline.

[Daniel Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turned for sure

Moving story with action, adventure and a hint of romance. Wishing the story would have continued. Great job Mr Thayer.

[Sean Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read: everything necessary to build a compelling, dramatic, engaging "can't-put-it-down" book—and very finely written

Although a seemingly bizarre mix of courtroom drama, investigative research, military hardware & procedures, and snipers—both modern and historical—and a "fight-to-the-death" shoot 'em up, Thayer's exemplary skill at composition as well as storytelling makes this a truly exceptional book.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining read. At times predictable but the writing and execution were very well done and made for a hard to put down book! If I had one gripe it would be that it was a fairly short book but that also worked to its advantage in this case.

[Lee Pischke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it as a pure work of fiction. The technical inaccuracies are far too many to get into. The skill and equipment required to make long range shots have a limit......there are so many variables at 1300 yards that luck becomes one of them to a certain extent.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nao é nada de excepcional mas é uma boa historia para ler um domingo à tarde. Bem escrito, mas com alguns pormenores em demasia que tornam o livro por vezes um pouco massante. Adorei a parte do atirador ter uma familia de meninos adotados, é q parte mais ternurenta da história.

[Matt Croome · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read this when I was around 15/16, when it was first published. This was the first book that really got me into reading. This will always be a special book for me and didn't disappoint second time round.

[Andy Shakeshaft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok

[Archana Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely engaging thriller, it delves deep into the world of snipers. The detail of the snipers' minds are as dangerous as they are vulnerable.
A very well written plot...

[Pieter D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good premise, strong military detail, but found the timeline slightly stretched. Well worth the read!!

[Gillian Ferry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much what you would expect. More information on guns and snippers than I would feel the need to know and overly long.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner, for sure.

I closed my eyes, to avoid seeing the blood and gore, then remembered it was a book, not a movie.

[Frank T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant read and a decent pace. I love reading books like this and the technical aspects of the story give the story a sense of authenticity.

[Paul F Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve owned 5 copies of this book since 1996. I’ve loaned one each to my brother and father ... never got any back as well from friends. The book is that good! It sucks you in in the first 2 chapters and then you cannot put it down. If you know who “White Feather” or “Carlos Hathcock” was ... I need to say no more!

I dare you to try and put it down!!!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don't remember when I last read this novel. I'm guessing its been maybe five years. Enough time not to remember much of it all, only that I enjoyed it.

I now realize my enjoyment is limited to maybe the last 15% of the entire novel. It's not a terrible story but it does move quite slowly to get to the climatic conclusion. And what a RAMBO conclusion that was.

The roles of Cat & Mouse often change. The author does an pretty impressive job of playing point-of-view tennis without backtracking or repeating.

The only reason this took so long to re-read (an entire summer!) had more to do with Life than w Story. There is story here: a small group of unique characters, realistic dialogue (that featured some timestamps like Gameboy and car phone) and oh the bloody violence.

Not just the violence but handy tips for wannabe snipers in the wilderness. I even learned how to react when an active and angry nest of wasps is shot down from a tree onto your face.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

White Star by James Thayer

Thayer introduces Owen Gray, present job, prosecutor, previous job, Marine Sniper, credited with 96 kills in Vietnam, named White Star. Unknown to Gray, his last kill has haunted him for decades, convinced that he'd killed another Marine Sniper with his last shot. As a case He's been prosecuting goes awry, suddenly, the freed man is murdered on the courthouse steps. Days later another low life is executed the same way. Suddenly, Owen is in the hunt again, his opponent a Russian sniper with 86 kills and drawing a direction bead on Owen and anyone around him. A nationwide manhunt seeking the Russian ends in the mountains of Idahol. The outcome will tear your heart out as Owen seeks to come out on top of this sniper to sniper battle. You're welcome to the pages that entwined you to keep turning them to the end. Thanks for letting me get to know a new writing style and a new series. Don't pass this one up.

[Krait · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character is obviously based on Gunnery Sargeant Carlos Hathcock, a legend in the US Marine Corps. And the climax of the book is a sniper dual a la Vasily Zaytsev verses Erwin Konig during the battle of Stalingrad.

Rather a compelling read for those interested in snipers and long range shooting. However, I wonder if Thayer ever tried to fold a five pointed star from paper without using sissors. Not so easy.

[KarenC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for the faint-of-heart; plenty of violence. For those who like the rugged, but dangerous outdoors. Some information, if accurate, about being a sniper is interesting, such as descriptions of lying in wait for a target and what is involved in being a good sniper. Some slow spots with overly long descriptions. A bit too gruesome for my taste.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the character connection between Owen and Trusov was similar to that of Burnham and Holmes from "Devil in the White City"; they're similar people but one is inherently evil while the other is inherently good. The revealing of this throughout the book made it a very intense and interesting read. Plus it was really violent, which I totally liked.

[Nicua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be both disturbing and enjoyable at the same time. There were some scenes and parts that I did not enjoy at all, but others have stayed with me. I love the thought of an unlikely hero who does not want to be one and ends up doing something great. Might not read it again, but enjoyed it the first time.

[Ansaldik · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the very few books I've ever tossed aside without finishing. The dialog is stilted and completely unrealistic. The main character is not " complex" or "multidimensional", but rather a mishmash of incongruent traits that remove any realism. Once the plot left NYC and began wandering nature lessons in the theoretical hot pursuit by a rogue Russian psychopath, I'd had enough.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the espionage, political thriller books so I can talk about them with my husband because that is what he likes to read. This was actually quite good. Two snipers face off against each other. Lots of history for the characters.

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dueling snipers.

This was an abridged 3 hour audio version; that is too much abridgement to make it a smooth ride. Basically, we got a short version of the set up then the full blown final fight. That final fight was 4 star good though.

[Walt Mccluskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

White star

Very complete story line with all of the twists and turns that makes for a thriller mystery of whether good will prevail in the end. This would be difficult as a movie but not impossible with the characters I pictured in my mind as I read the tale. Highly recommended.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a fun book about snipers.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action and excellent in depth details about specific subjects, such as snipers.

[waits4thebus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sniper story, merging history with present day. Fun!

[James Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have only been two or three books I have been unable to put down once starting them. This is one of them. It was immensely gripping and suspenseful down to the very last page. Incredible!

[Greg Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while on deployment nearly 15 years ago and scenes from it will pop into my head even to this day.