Jude HardinKirja-arvosteluja

Good read while it lasted, but just too short ... no time for suspense or development.

More lean, nasty fun from the Dead Man series. Not much to set it apart from others in the series, but an entertaining quick read.

A pale comparison to the original Lee Child novels. Set 100 years in the future yet feels like 1980s. Phones on the corner, practically no progress that is discernible until the last chapter when it goes wild. The premise is very weak...why people want to kill the main character is ridiculous. . I was hoping for some identifiable Reacher characteristics besides just being large and good fighter.

October 21, for P.I. Nicholas Colt, a day that bad always happens. This time Everett Harbaugh wants him to find his sperm donor father, the day that Everett disappears.

Twenty-six years after she disappeared the remains of a woman are found. The daughter turns to Nicholas Colt, private investigator, to prove it was murder. His investigation takes him to Chicago, the home of Detective Jack Daniels. Jack and her partner are investigating the death of a doctor.
Interesting and enjoyable mysteries.

It's Halloween, so we have a police officer (Jack Daniels), a P.I. (Nicholas Colt) in a bar when the bad guy in a bugs bunny mask walks in. An enjoyable short story.

Good read while it lasted, but just too short ... no time for suspense or development.

Be wary of free collections. I struggled through this one as it was way too dark and bleak for my taste. But I would have stopped before the end had I known how ridiculous the ending was going to be. Seriously. I deleted the collection from my kindle and am now going to move on with my life.

No Escape is the third book in the Jack Reacher Experiment series, following the adventures of Jack Reacher clone Rock Wahlman in the year 2098. Because why not.

This third entry in the series is much better than the previous one, taking place two months after the rushed and monumentally coincidental events of Moving Target. The storyline is much more streamlines and gets back on track as Rock and Kasey reunite, with the deadly Mr. Tyler.

The most disappointing thing about this book in the series is Mr. Tracy. For am action novel villain that identifies himself as "the greatest hit man in the world," he never manages to display an interesting personality, other than his willingness to threaten and/or kill his employers. The potential was there, but in the end this major foil to Rock ends up almost as flat and dull as his name.

But still, much better than the last book, faith is now restored in this possibly ending up a good series overall. We'll see.

Moving Target is the second book in the Jack Reacher Experiment series, following the adventures of Jack Reacher clone Rock Wahlman in the year 2098. Yes, you read that correctly.

The first book in the series, Dead Ringer, had given me some hope that this would be an above average fan fiction series, but Moving Target has me feeling far less optimistic. The first warning sign is that while Dead Ringer is a lean but respectful 150 pages of fast-paced action and mystery, Moving Target clocks in under 90 pages, far too many of which are wasted on a Rock's speedy romance and his participation in a college sleep study. Yes, you read that correctly.

Spoilers ahead.

Still on the run three months after the events of Dead Ringer, Jack Reacher clone Rock Wahlman (Rock Wall Man. Get it?) wanders into a diner whose name nobody seems to know the origin of - yes, this is discussed - where he bumps into the divorced waitress he will shortly bed and fall in love with after she recommends him to a sleep study, the hit man who will later kill the the ex husband of the waitress while negotiating a contract to kill Rock, and three local guys who decide to make running Rock out of town their life mission because he got off a bus carrying a backpack. That's all you need to know. Move along.

The playful level of circumstance and coincidence that Dead Ringer seemed to play with as an homage to the Reacher series is cranked to eleven and condensed into half the page count, which could be forgiven if the dialogue wasn't completely wooden and exposition heavy. A huge let down from the first book. Let's hope that this isn't the beginning of a trend in declining quality.

Book 1: Dead Ringer

Sort of a fan-fiction offshoot of the Jack Reacher novels, The Jack Reacher Experiment is a series following the future adventures (these books take place in 2057) of Rock Wahlman, who turns out to be a genetic clone of Jack Reacher, a fact that now has him being hunted by some very dangerous people.

This first book in the series hits the ground running in both the action and homage departments, as an incredible coincidence mirroring the first Jack Reacher novel's equally impossible plot device has the retired Navy Master of Arms nearly run over by a truck whose stabbed-to-death driver looks exactly like him. A lot happens in a short time after that, sort of a refreshing change of pace reminiscent of the days when men's adventure novels clocked in at under two hundred pages. I've only read a couple of Jack Reacher novels, so there might be more allusions and nods to other aspects of the series that I didn't recognize, but even without them this is a tight action novel that does a great job at setting up what promises to be an interesting - and fun - series.

Book 2 - Moving Target

Moving Target is the second book in the Jack Reacher Experiment series, following the adventures of Jack Reacher clone Rock Wahlman in the year 2098. Yes, you read that correctly.

The first book in the series, Dead Ringer, had given me some hope that this would be an above average fan fiction series, but Moving Target has me feeling far less optimistic. The first warning sign is that while Dead Ringer is a lean but respectful 150 pages of fast-paced action and mystery, Moving Target clocks in under 90 pages, far too many of which are wasted on a Rock's speedy romance and his participation in a college sleep study. Yes, you read that correctly.

Spoilers ahead.

Still on the run three months after the events of Dead Ringer, Jack Reacher clone Rock Wahlman (Rock Wall Man. Get it?) wanders into a diner whose name nobody seems to know the origin of - yes, this is discussed - where he bumps into the divorced waitress he will shortly bed and fall in love with after she recommends him to a sleep study, the hit man who will later kill the the ex husband of the waitress while negotiating a contract to kill Rock, and three local guys who decide to make running Rock out of town their life mission because he got off a bus carrying a backpack. That's all you need to know. Move along.

The playful level of circumstance and coincidence that Dead Ringer seemed to play with as an homage to the Reacher series is cranked to eleven and condensed into half the page count, which could be forgiven if the dialogue wasn't completely wooden and exposition heavy. A huge let down from the first book. Let's hope that this isn't the beginning of a trend in declining quality.

Book 3 - No Escape

No Escape is the third book in the Jack Reacher Experiment series, following the adventures of Jack Reacher clone Rock Wahlman in the year 2098. Because why not.

This third entry in the series is much better than the previous one, taking place two months after the rushed and monumentally coincidental events of Moving Target. The story-line is much more streamlines and gets back on track as Rock and Kasey reunite, with the deadly Mr. Tyler.

The most disappointing thing about this book in the series is Mr. Tracy. For am action novel villain that identifies himself as "the greatest hit man in the world," he never manages to display an interesting personality, other than his willingness to threaten and/or kill his employers. The potential was there, but in the end this major foil to Rock ends up almost as flat and dull as his name.

But still, much better than the last book, faith is now restored in this possibly ending up a good series overall. We'll see.

Sort of a fan-fiction offshoot of the Jack Reacher novels, The Jack Reacher Experiment is a series following the future adventures (these books take place in 2057) of Rock Wahlman, who turns out to be a genetic clone of Jack Reacher, a fact that now has him being hunted by some very dangerous people.

This first book in the series hits the ground running in both the action and homage departments, as an incredible coincidence mirroring the first Jack Reacher novel's equally impossible plot device has the retired Navy Master of Arms nearly run over by a truck whose stabbed-to-death driver looks exactly like him. A lot happens in a short time after that, sort of a refreshing change of pace reminiscent of the days when men's adventure novels clocked in at under two hundred pages. I've only read a couple of Jack Reacher novels, so there might be more allusions and nods to other aspects of the series that I didn't recognize, but even without them this is a tight action novel that does a great job at setting up what promises to be an interesting - and fun - series.

How come anyone decides to write a spin off novel about / linked to Reacher? How come the world in year 2098 is in no way different from the 1950's? There would have been a good change to expand, to make a more realistic evaluation of the end of a life style as is in USA today.

Not really any sense of realism here. Former band member turned private eye is willing to mess with biker gangs?½

A P.I. everyone can love

First book I read with Nicholas Colt in it. I really enjoyed it. Great flow from start to finish. Will read next in series.

Lady 52 is a modern day crime mystery with lots of twists and turns. Jack Daniels is a fashion conscious police Lieutentant. She once again meets up with Florida PI Nicholas Colt a very layed back back guy. He is in town to investigate a cold case for a client whose homeless Mother died in a house fire many years ago, the client thinks her Mother was murdered and she is paying Colt to find evidence of it . The story is scary, witty, funny and tragic as they each pursue their separate cases and become entangled in murder and mayhem. I found this book hard to put down. I,m looking for ward to the next Jack Daniels book

Nicholas “Nick” Colt is a private investigator. He has recently been contacted by Nathan Broadway. Nathan received a letter inviting him to participate in a real life video game version of Snuff Tag 9. The concept of the game is where 9 players are battling each other on a deserted island. The object of the game is to kill each other and be the last man standing.

Nick offers to check out the invitation for Nathan. The next thing Nick knows, he has just become the latest addition to Snuff Tag 9. Nick has no choice but to play the game when a surgical device is inserted into Nick that at any moment could kill him.

The concept of this book had me very intrigued. I picked it up to start reading and I had to make myself put it down. It was really that good. This book was not as gory as I was thinking it was going to be. It was more about the character and psychological aspect. This book did have the feel of the movie The Condemned combined with The Hunger Games.

I was cheering for Nick the whole time. He might have been considered the underdog but in this case, the good guy won. I thought about what I would do if I found myself in Nick’s situation and I would fight for my life. It is kill or be killed. To be honest the people that Nick did kill were annoying and needed to go anyways. The book ended on a high note. I now plan to go back and check out all of Mr. Hardin’s prior novels. Snuff Tag 9 should come with a warning….”This book is highly addictive”!

Nicholas Colt is through with being a private investigator and changes careers by teaching guitar in a store front. After all, he used to be a guitar playing for an eighties rock-n-roll band. When a woman calls him and offers to pay $200 for a Sunday lesson, how could he refuse? Except his wife thinks he’s having an affair. Turns out this woman doesn’t want a guitar lesson but is a covert investigator and recruits Nicholas Colt into a secret organization called the Circle and his job is to help protect the president from an assignation attempt.

I’ve read a few Nicholas Colt thrillers before and was looking forward to this one. Interesting to see how his past is catching up to him and talking a toll on his life. Was interesting, if not a little far-fetched when this woman (Diana Dawkins, if that’s her real name) pops up and recruits him. So many unanswered questions. But as the story progress, the questions are answered and much more to my surprise. Definitely kept me intrigued in this fast paced; albeit short novel (a little over 200 pages).

This is the first novel of Jude Hardin's that I've read, and it's actually a prequel to his debut thriller, Pocket 47, featuring PI Nicholas Colt. It's an indie-published novel and a quick read at 183 pages - perfect for an ebook, imo - while serving as a good introduction to Hardin's 4 other books in the Colt series.

A bit of history: After Pocket 47, Hardin contracted with Amazon's imprint, Thomas and Mercer, for a series of thrillers. (Read this blog entry for more info: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/guest-post-by-jude-hardin.html ) At any rate, Hardin decided to self-publish Colt and wrote it/published it within three months.

Although we typical readers may think that's fast, it translates to less than 1000 words a day, which takes an hour or so of writing. (So far, this review is nearing 150 words, fyi.) Of course, it's not easy to fill the screen with a well-written tale, and Hardin's skill is on display here.

He's a solid story teller; Colt is fast-paced and has the requisite crime noir elements including an antihero PI, a sideline love affair, a cast of shady characters, some twists and turns in the plot that, while not overly ah ha! worthy, kept me engaged and entertained. The opening hook/mystery worked well, but I didn't quite buy into Colt's immediate love-affair with the bartender he'd just met. The finish was fine, if a bit reserved; plus there were some loose ends that I wanted tied up (but maybe that love/hate relationship with the motorcycle gang is a recurring element in future stories?).

Overall, however, I enjoyed this book. It's an adult read - a few vulgarities, though not overly gruesome or gratuitous - but a mature teen could probably handle it. It was definitely good enough for me to want to follow it up with another Nicholas Colt thriller in the future.

If you like the "Doc Savage" style of adventure, this pulp fiction thriller by Jude Hardin will satisfy your yearning for a quick-paced, edge-of-your-seat story with a ripped-from-headlines contemporary plot. A secret government experiment has been hijacked by private interests and has gone terribly awry. Operative Diana Dawkins and her partner PI Nicholas Colt infiltrate a hidden compound run by NASA only to discover a complex and twisted conspiracy...that puts them both in danger of their lives. Of course, the mark of a Doc Savage pulp novel is that the heroes continually get in and out of trouble as the action mounts toward a fateful climax. In this regard, Sycamore Bluff does not disappoint. If this style of storytelling appeals to you, you won't be disappointed either.

Another exciting short episode in the life of Homicide Detective Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels as she arrives in Florida to visit her mother. "Racked" (by Jude Hardin and Joe Konrath) is a barroom brawl of a tale with a bit of a mystery and requisite humorous ending. The story follows chronologically Jack's mid-air exploits told in "Straight Up" (by Iain Rob Wright and Joe Konrath). If you enjoy one thrill ride, you'll enjoy the other.

The premise of these new series of "Jack Daniels" mystery/thriller collaborations is that writers like Hardin, Wright, and others are bringing their own characters into the world created by J. A. Konrath. You'll soon be seeing collaborations between the collaborators as the various (new) characters meet, greet, and interact in their own exciting episodes. It's an intriguing concept for storytelling and will provide continued reading pleasure to those who enjoy this brand of gritty - and often seriously funny - thriller.

Jude Hardin’s latest Nicholas Colt novel, Sycamore Bluff, takes a bit of a different direction, adding a science fiction/zombie element to the plot.

Having only read Hardin’s novel Colt, chronologically the first in the series featuring Nicholas Colt, I came to find out that quite a lot has happened to Colt since the previous book. Now he is at the beck and call of a top secret government agency called the Circle, and he doesn’t have a choice when they call him in on a mission.

Diana Dawkins, Colt’s Circle contact, pulls Colt in and they have to investigate a murder in a secret NASA town that is an experiment for a future Mars expedition. But greed has set in and a scientist has done some tampering and now some of the citizens are basically turning into zombies.

I enjoyed the book, and my three star rating shouldn’t be looked on as bad. The pace was fast and Hardin always keeps things interesting and typically the plot keeps moving, although occasionally there are conversations that seem to repeat information we already know, or are used as infodumps. There are some corny moments, but that seems to be a part of Colt’s personality.

Jude Hardin's Colt is an entertaining introduction to the series he had already been writing about, featuring Nicholas Colt, PI. I haven't read any of the other Colt books, but if this is any indication, then I'm excited because this was a fun, page-turning read. You never know what you will get with a first-person narrative, but Hardin's Colt is an interesting character and I'm interested in reading more of his adventures. This was a well-written story that is sure to create new Colt fans for years to come.

I recommend it to people who enjoy mysteries that feature detectives who solve small, personal cases. To me, the plot wasn't as important as getting to know Colt and learning how he reacts to different situations, watching his relationships grow, and also learning that although he is a seasoned PI, even he can sometimes be wrong. He's human, like me and you, and that makes the character grow on you.

Former rock star, plane crash survivor, alcoholic and private investigator Nicolas Colt does nothing but get drunk on the anniversary of the day that changed his life. He doesn’t take calls, work or anything but his bottle of booze. So when a kid comes knocking on his door wanting him to find his sperm donor father; he didn’t want to take the job. But when the kid disappears moments later; he s determined to locate him.

Colt reminded me of a grittier Jim Rockford (okay, maybe PI the living in the trailer bit did that), and he is well defined. The reader gets to know what makes him tick, and he deals with a motorcycle gang, and a new girlfriend. This is a well written detective novel with enough going on to keep me reading. It’s not one where you are guessing who or why, but just go along for the ride and thrills until you hit the surprising climax. Not too long, but worth every page!

This book was terrible. Take a string of cliche's tie them together and slap a tittle on it and you have this book. Character is fairly likable but the writing is just atrocious. Enter at your own risk.