What do you think?
Rate this book
John Becker #2
Close to the Bone
FBI Agent John Becker stalks a brilliant icepick-wielding assassin who kills for profit and pleasure, tracking him down to the U.N. Reprint.
96 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 22, 1992
4 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
David Wiltse
50 books32 followersDavid Wiltse was born in 1940 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska and currently lives in a small town in Connecticut. He has written plays for stage, screen and television and won a Drama Desk award for most promising playwright for Suggs (first produced at Lincoln Center in 1972). Always popular with Bookhaunts readers, his novels include the John Becker Novels and Billy Tree/Falls City Novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 2, 2022
Good, but rather dated thriller by Wiltse that pits a world-class assassin against an FBI agent. Through a variety of sources, the FBI is tipped that an assassin is heading to the USA, but beyond his being funded via Libya, they have no clues on the target. The FBI agent, Becker, is our main protagonist, and he has a checkered record, having killed several perps in 'self-defense'. Yet, he is something of a marvel, being able to get inside the head if you will of various perps. He also has some major issues with an abusive upbringing, but that is never very clear.
The assassin, your basic sociopath, also had a rather abusive upbringing in the States, but has been working in the Middle East for various terrorist groups for years, and then was picked up and trained by the Russians to be an agent, but ended up in a dank prison for not obeying the rules. This follows a basic trope established by Ludlum and such-- FBI agent versus stone-cold killer-- and works pretty well. Some interesting characters and action scenes make for a fun read, but ultimately, nothing to memorable. 3 cold war stars!
The assassin, your basic sociopath, also had a rather abusive upbringing in the States, but has been working in the Middle East for various terrorist groups for years, and then was picked up and trained by the Russians to be an agent, but ended up in a dank prison for not obeying the rules. This follows a basic trope established by Ludlum and such-- FBI agent versus stone-cold killer-- and works pretty well. Some interesting characters and action scenes make for a fun read, but ultimately, nothing to memorable. 3 cold war stars!
February 10, 2018
I didn't realise this was a prequel to the first John Becker book. Never mind, it was pretty damn good. A Canadian man who has just renewed his passport is found dead sooner than planned. It is the manner of his death that is interesting - an ice pick through the ear. A similar method was recently used to despatch a known broker of terror. This gets the attention of the FBI who call in Becker to help track this guy down and foil whatever plot he has hatched.
The killer is planning an important hit and intends for the blame to fall on a Zionist group thereby sparking international tensions. Can Becker stop him before he unleashes his on the world?
Written in 1992, this book is only slightly dated yet still chock full of drama and suspense. I'm enjoying the series so far.
The killer is planning an important hit and intends for the blame to fall on a Zionist group thereby sparking international tensions. Can Becker stop him before he unleashes his on the world?
Written in 1992, this book is only slightly dated yet still chock full of drama and suspense. I'm enjoying the series so far.
March 13, 2018
"His grandmother could no longer negotiate the stairs, so Leon Brade took his victims to the basement."
There are thriller authors, and then there is David Wiltse. There are authors such as John Sandford who keep pumping out glorious and solid crime thrillers year after year, David Wiltse focuses on the quality rather than the quantity. Where has this man gone? His thrillers surrounding the unusual FBI agent John Becker remain some of the strongest additions to ever appear in the genre. Wiltse's thrills, much like his writing itself, is crafted with the beauty of poetry.
'Close to the Bone' is the second novel of the John Becker series and is a hyper-violent cat-and-mouse game between two dangerous men; a political assassin and an unhinged FBI agent who finds himself having too much in common with the men he hunts. John Becker remains the most interesting character I have ever read within the thriller/crime genre, he is unnerving and intriguing, flawed and dangerous, hero and killer. 'Close to the Bone' is a good starting point for readers, even though it is the second addition in a series of six. The novel serves as a prequel to the first 'Prayer for the Dead'. Wiltse deserves his placement on the top shelf, next to names like Sandford, Lehane, Child, and Harris, because he just might be superior to them all.
There are thriller authors, and then there is David Wiltse. There are authors such as John Sandford who keep pumping out glorious and solid crime thrillers year after year, David Wiltse focuses on the quality rather than the quantity. Where has this man gone? His thrillers surrounding the unusual FBI agent John Becker remain some of the strongest additions to ever appear in the genre. Wiltse's thrills, much like his writing itself, is crafted with the beauty of poetry.
'Close to the Bone' is the second novel of the John Becker series and is a hyper-violent cat-and-mouse game between two dangerous men; a political assassin and an unhinged FBI agent who finds himself having too much in common with the men he hunts. John Becker remains the most interesting character I have ever read within the thriller/crime genre, he is unnerving and intriguing, flawed and dangerous, hero and killer. 'Close to the Bone' is a good starting point for readers, even though it is the second addition in a series of six. The novel serves as a prequel to the first 'Prayer for the Dead'. Wiltse deserves his placement on the top shelf, next to names like Sandford, Lehane, Child, and Harris, because he just might be superior to them all.
June 1, 2024
Becker an operative in the terrorist field is after a hired serial killer after a high level foreign government leader. Much action happening with the FbI agent and the assassin, along with those used by both sides along the way.
January 30, 2018
2nd in series. Another good read.
January 30, 2024
So good! Loved it! Highly recommend!
December 8, 2021
That fucking ending…. I connected to this character in such an emotional way that it was just so fucking good. I don’t believe everyone will truly get it, but if you do… you’ll be in love and in horror.
(Also this would be the first book to start with for the series, not the prayer for the dead)
(Also this would be the first book to start with for the series, not the prayer for the dead)
February 27, 2013
This is the second in the John Becker series, first published in 1992. The first one pitted Becker against a serial killer. The opening sentence of this one: "His grandmother could no longer negotiate the stairs, so Leon Brade took his victims to the basement." Everybody says to grab your reader on the first page; it's rare that it happens in the first sentence. That admirably tight sentence implied that this book would only be a retread of the first, and I was somewhat disappointed. But Wiltse was just teasing readers like me. Becker dispatches Brade in the first chapter and then the real book begins. It is essentially The Day of the Jackal, only set in NYC, with Yassir Arafat instead of Charles DeGaulle as the intended victim. Strange to read a story of terrorism in pre-9/11 New York. It is cat and mouse between the almost superhuman assassin and the almost superhuman Agent Becker. An excellent page-turner that successfully kept my heart racing from beginning to end, in spite of knowing all along how it would have to come out.
March 16, 2016
Well done suspenseful thriller featuring FBI agent Becker. In this novel he is in pursuit of a cold blooded assassin who has a penchant of using an ice pick in the ear as his modus operandi. Starts a little slow but builds up nicely to an exciting climax as the assassin gets ready to kill a world leader
April 6, 2014
Another excellent book. I like this more than the first one. Once again it concentrates more on the characters with moments of thrilling action and not so much plot twists. I'm kind of tired of plot twists, so I'm enjoying this series quite a bit.
Spoiler:
Once again there's a woman who's so crippled by loneliness that she turns into a tool. Hoping the pattern won't keep. It would get dull.
Spoiler:
Once again there's a woman who's so crippled by loneliness that she turns into a tool. Hoping the pattern won't keep. It would get dull.
October 12, 2014
Another superior thriller by David Wiltse in the John Becker series. Here, the FBI profiler with an uncanny knack for getting into the heads of psychopaths, races against time to catch a ruthless international terrorist before he strikes at a UN convention in New York.
Fast-paced and tightly-plotted, this is a much better novel than your run-of-the-mill thriller.
Fast-paced and tightly-plotted, this is a much better novel than your run-of-the-mill thriller.
November 22, 2011
Can Agent Becker stop this assassin who loves to kill people by jamming an ice pick in their ear. This is a thriller and the terrorist doesn't hesitate or discriminate on his victims. this on will keep you up at night.
September 22, 2008
Terrific writer! Quickly sets a thrilling ride! Not for the fainthearted.
Main character John Becker is a mixture of Lucas Davenport and Harry Bosch.
Main character John Becker is a mixture of Lucas Davenport and Harry Bosch.
December 31, 2010
Read it so long ago. Remember it being an amazing book. I mean the way he kills them....... Plan on re-reading it soon.
Read
September 4, 2013Always interesting to see a pre 9/11 portrayal of an anti terrorism unit. Pretty creepy to see the hero with demons at least as large as the villain's.
September 23, 2013
A little dated but a quick, thrilling read.
May 31, 2014
It held my interest but I've read better espionage stories
August 13, 2015
The book began and ended with a bang. I will be looking for more by this author.
July 2, 2015
I liked the protagonist, but the villain was too unbelievable. There are better books out there.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews