Tuesday, August 28, 2018

book reveiw: "The Second Life of Nick Mason"...

... written by Steve Hamilton, who is according to the jacket blurb a 'New York Times Bestselling Author'. I listened, rather than read, as I found the randomly selected Talking Book as a set of seven Cd's on the shelf in the library. It was filled with the F-word and gratuitous violence. If you like bloody murderous rages, and lots of expletives, you would most certainly enjoy the book. Even though there were  a number of homicides and obscenities through out, my thought is it is excellent material for a screenplay. R-rated, but fast paced and tightly written.

Even though it was filled with foul language, and descriptions of unnecessary gore, it was an interesting tale, based in Chicago, where the protagonist grew up. Nick was sent to prison in Terre Haute, sentenced 25-to-life for killing a federal agent. Even though he was  not the one who pulled the trigger, he was part of a drug smuggling scheme gone wrong.  Five years into his sentence, he encountered a mobster who was running his very profitable, successful business from the inside, filled with books and personal items that are not usually allowed in the inmate population. Recruited to be a hit man, he is released, and returns to Chicago. Set up in an expensive apartment, with high end autos to drive and a bogus job in a ritzy restaurant, he soon finds what he is obligated to do in return for his freedom.

The plot involved dirty cops, drugs, and of course, plenty of blood and gore splashing across the screen it it were a movie. Lots of fast cars and chases, with sirens and flashing lights tearing through the city streets in the dead of night, piles of bodies in abandoned houses, women in need of rescue. The usual expected from paid assassins, with lots of loose threads left hanging at the end, leaving the perfect opportunity for a sequel.

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