Already Gone [Kindle Edition]

When a book starts out with the main character getting a finger lopped off by a couple of hoods, and proceeds to get weird from there, well, you can consider yourself warned. This isn't your standard thriller, isn't your standard mystery; it isn't a standard anything. It's like a printed version of a carnival fun-house, where everything is off-kilter, shocks and surprises become the norm, and nothing is quite what it appears. And it's unforgivingly addictive. Don't even think about picking it up if you have anything else to do for the day.

I won't even try to summarize the plot, because I can't give any detail without giving away some of the surprises. Suffice to say, you'll be seeing the world through "9-finger" Jake's eyes, trying to figure out why his whole world is coming apart. Although he's not an entirely sympathetic fellow, it's awfully hard not to empathize with his plight. None of the characters are fully fleshed out, but I believe that's deliberate, to keep the reader off-balance and guessing.

If I was to nit-pick, the one flaw this book has is Jake's behaviour. Given his background as a hard-bitten child of the streets, he can be awfully naïve at times, and tends to get man-handled a lot. I can understand showing some restraint in order to keep his marriage together, but he really does seem overly dainty.

Most books tend to have a character or style that reminds me of another character or author. Not this one: it's one of those rare books that's truly innovative and unique. It's absolutely brilliant, easily in the top three of about 100 books I've read in the past year. I'd highly recommend this to just about anybody!

I just put this book down and practically ran to the computer to write this review. If you like a good thriller, buy this book. Mystery? Buy this book. Page-turner? Ditto.

I discovered John Rector's work by accident. I saw and liked the cover art for "The Grove," thought the description was intriguing, and took a chance on it. It turned out to be one of my favorite books of the year: taut, suspenseful, and a terrific exploration of a wounded mind. I then went right to Rector's "The Cold Kiss," and found the same qualities there that I had loved before: riveting suspense, believable characters, and more than a few gasp-out-loud moments. Needless to say, I was eager to see what Mr. Rector would come up with next, and I wasn't disappointed. "Already Gone" is a terrific thriller, following a college professor with a questionable past as his life unravels around him at a breakneck pace. One of the things I liked most about the novel was its opening: the reader barely has cracked it open when an act of shocking violence occurs. We don't know why it occurs or anything about the hero. But then, rather than jumping into a ton of background and exposition, Rector gives us tiny bits and pieces about the story's hero, leaving his past - and all the "Why's" of the story - a mystery for quite some time. As a reader who doesn't like things obviously spelled out, I found this choice brilliant. Once the plot gets going, you'll meet some unforgettable characters and be taken through some incredible and creative twists - all of which I found in keeping with the story, style, and genre. Once I hit the halfway point, I couldn't put it down and read well into the night.

One thing: I noticed on this page that one reader talked about how sadistic the novel's violence is. I seem to recall a similar comment on the page for "The Grove." I don't know if it's the same person, but regardless, I totally disagree. Rector's stories are dark, to be sure, but "sadistic" is absolutely overkill. His style is lean and direct, even sparse, but never gratuitous. (I'd bet that the reviewer prefers more old-fashioned mysteries.)

Rector is the real deal, and I hope he finds the audience he deserves. Give this book a shot, as well as "The Grove" and "The Cold Kiss."

You have to admire this novel's very strong, clean and straightforward writing style. It evokes the noir feeling of a 1940s "B" crime flick in tone and its characters. There is a credible sense of threat and foreboding well maintained throughout the novel. The story is full of hard-drinking men, classic gangsters and women who are dames (unblinking opportunists). The storyline is also pretty good. A young man who started a successful academic career but has a rough past suddenly finds his life going south. He is viciously attacked outside a bar; his new wife disappears and he is continuously harassed by a cop and a shadowy group of toughs in suits. Increasingly desperate to find out what happened to his wife, the protagonist is sucked up into situation that rapidly becomes beyond his control. The story ends in a very unexpected and maybe not completely credible way (my opinion.)

For all its real strengths, "Already Gone" is less successful when it crosses the line into excess. The book's protagonist is too frequently completely clueless about what's happening around him. The author has also made him a perpetual punching bag for the bad guys. Other characters radically morph as the tale is told. While the latter process is sometimes a strength, I thought it ultimately went overboard. This is a book done with some skill but which comes up somewhat short on reflection.