Tag: John Hart

The Hush by John Hart (Johnny Merrion #2)

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John Hart is one of my favorite authors. Here’s what others say about the writing of John Hart

“John Hart creates novels that are somehow raw, tender, brutal, and exquisite – all at the same time. Exceptional.” – CJ Box , #1 NYT Bestselling Author

“Hart’s writing soars off the page with a lyricism that probably only James Lee Burke can match.”      – Daily Mail, UK

About the Hush by John Hart

The Hush is the second book writtenby John Hart featuring Johnny Merrimon. The first was The Last Child. So while The Hush is technically a sequel it just doesn’t feel like a series. At least not like the other series books.

The Story

The Hush picks up Johnny  ten years after the actions in The Last Child….from JohnHart’s website…

It’s been ten years since the events that changed Johnny Merrimon’s life and rocked his hometown to the core. Since then, Johnny has fought to maintain his privacy, but books have been written of his exploits; he has fans, groupies. Living alone in the wilderness beyond town, Johnny’s only connection to normal life is his old friend, Jack. They’re not boys anymore, but the bonds remain. What they shared. What they lost.

But Jack sees danger in the wild places Johnny calls home; he senses darkness and hunger, an intractable intent. Johnny will discuss none of it, but there are the things he knows, the things he can do. A lesser friend might accept such abilities as a gift, but Jack has felt what moves in the s, and forgottenwamp: the cold of it, the unspeakable fear.

More than an exploration of friendship, persistence power, The Hush leaves all categories behind, and cements Hart’s status as a writer of unique power.

Final Thoughts

Overall the book is a little different from Hart’s previous books. Hush Arbor is a mysterious place and strange things happen to those who venture into this swampy area. So to get the full impact of the book the reader may need to be one who believes in the supernatural!

However, the end result is that The Hush is another terrific book by an ultra-talented new writer! One of my favorites.

Links

Author’s Website:
Twitter
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Goodreads: John Hart
Goodreads: Redemption Road
Amazon

Redemption Road by John Hart Another Edgar Worthy Novel from Mr. Hart

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Redemption Road - John Hart

Redemption Road – John Hart 

There is a simple reason that John Hart is the only author to win back-to-back Edgars for best novel and I’ll let author David Baldacci tell you what it is…….

“People in publishing have always known that John Hart can flat-out write. His prose conjures comparisons with James Lee Burke in its sultry, melodious alchemy. With Redemption Road Hart has taken it to another level. THE PROLOGUE IS HEART-WRENCHING and the chapters thereafter pull you in like matter to a black hole. Read this novel. And then go back and read all of his others. He’s that good.” – David Baldacci

I’ve been waiting for five years for a new John Hart book and, well, Redemption Road, his latest, was worth the wait!! It may well win Hart his third Edgar for best novel. Again, I’ll let some of his fellow authors tell you about Redemption Road…..

“Big, bold, impossible to put down, Redemption Road had me from page one. John Hart is a master storyteller” – Harlan Coben

Every new John Hart is a credit to the written word. Over the course of five books, he has raised the bar for commercial fiction, deftly blending  the tension, pace and suspense of the classic thriller with characters so richly drawn characters so richly drawn and prose so elegant that his stories are worthy of being called literature…..” – Corban Addison – Author of A Walk Across the Sun

It usually takes me about a week or so to read  a typical novel. I read Redemption Road in two days and I literally could not put the book down on the second day!

The Story

Redemption Road has two main twisting turning story lines The first one opens the book when 13 year-old Gideon Strange leaves his home and drunken father in the middle of the night, He intends to kill the man who murdered his mother  – Adrian Wall. Adrian is an ex-policeman who is scheduled to be released from prison the following morning.

At the same time, Elizabeth Black is recovering from her daringly rescue of eighteen year-old Channing  Shore.  Channing was found by Elizabeth in the basement of a house.chained to a mattress, She  had been brutally raped by two brothers for two days.. After the rescue, Channing’s two unarmed attackers lay dead, both shot eighteen times! Elizabeth was soon after, the focus of a police investigation to determine whether or not she should be prosecuted for murder!

The two stories intersect because Elizabeth has a connection to the Julia Strange murder. She believes that Adrian  was  not the killer. And as one of the few woman involved in the murder investigation she ended up caring for baby Gideon. She has continued to be a surrogate mother to Gideon for the last thirteen years.

Then a day after Adrian’s release from prison, a strangled woman’s body is found draped over the alter of an abandoned church. Everything about her murder matches the murder of Julia Strange. Questions arise! Did Adrian kill again? Did he kill the first time?

Other questions abound! What about Liz? Can she avoid prosecution? What really happened in that basement? Why did she snap and murder those men?

As the story develops so do the characters as the reader learns more about; Adrian’s life both in and out of prison, as well as,  the demons that haunt Liz’s past and leave her hating her father – the Reverend Black. The supporting characters in Redemption Road are as equally well-drawn by Mr.Hart. They include:Liz’s partner on the police force Charlie Beckett, Adrian’s lawyer Crybaby Jones and the  Warden of the prison where Adrian served his time.

/While reading Redemption Road  I would often pause and think that I really should stop  reading and do something else. I would set the book down, think about it, say “Nah”, pick the book up and continue reading.

Bottom Line

Redemption Road is a flat-out five thumbs up book for me! It’s one of those books that works on so many levels. First there’s just the plain fascinating story and then the psychological relationships between  just about everyone. Liz and Adrian, Liz and her father, Adrian and the Warden, Liz and Channing amd Gideon. I could go on and on, so just go read this amazing book! and then all of Hart’s other books! Yeah,they’re that good!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of John Hart

Author’s Website:
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads: John Hart
Goodreads: Redemption Road
Amazon

 

Iron House – John Hart – Is It Nearly a Perfect Novel?

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From the first John Hart book I read Down River I was a fan and so are lots of others.  Hart is the only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels. (Down River and The Last Child) He has also won the Barry Award and England’s Steel Dagger Award for best thriller of the year. So I was excited when I found his new book Iron House in the library last week and Book 34 for 2011 Iron House did not disappoint!

Here’s a quote from Bill Ott’s Booklist Review:

It isn’t as if Hart’s career needed jump-starting. His first three stand-alone thrillers have been greeted by an ever-growing crescendo of praise, including two Edgar Awards. Definitely not the kind of writer who needs a breakthrough book. And, yet, Iron House lifts Hart to an altogether new level of excellence

Thre Story

Julian and Michael are brothers growing up in an orphanage Iron House. Michael is the strong one, Julian the weak. Julian is constantly abused by a gang of thugs. When Julian strikes back Michael comes to his rescue and then runs from the orphanage on the night a rich woman Abigail Vane comes to adopt them. Michael’s run takes him to the streets of New York where he becomes a fixer for a mob boss and Julian becomes a successful children’s author living with his adopted parents Senator Randall Vane and wife Abigail. When Michael wants to leave “the life” to start a new life with his love Elena, problems arise and soon Michael is on a run for his life. A run that leads him back to his brother and Iron House. Soon Michael is embroiled in another mystery at the Vane Mansion where bodies of the gang of thugs are being found! The answer to all his questions that will save his and Julian’s lives lies you guessed it at Iron House!

Final Thoughts

The writing is impeccable, the characters are all flawed and well drawn. From Michael, Julian, Abigail and her bodyguard Jessup and the Senator. Even the secondary characters are fantastic from the mobsters to the residents of the North Carolina hills. The pages fly by and the tension builds until the last pages and all you can say is Wow!  If it’s not my favorite of the year it’s damn close

So in the words of Patricia Cornwell:

If you crave thrillers that are vividly beautiful, graphic and will make you bleed, try John Hart.

Links

Author’s Website:
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads: John Hart
Goodreads: Redemption Road
Amazon

About John Hart

John Hart is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, THE KING OF LIES, DOWN RIVER, THE LAST CHILD, IRON HOUSE, REDEMPTION ROAD, and THE HUSH. The only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels, John has also won the Barry Award, the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for Fiction, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, the Southern Book Prize and the North Carolina Award for Literature. His novels have been translated into thirty languages and can be found in over seventy countries. A former defense attorney and stockbroker, John lives on a farm in Virginia, where he writes full-time. Visit Author Website