I enjoyed this book so much in spite of its flaws. I don't usually like stories involving serial killers or villains having an uncanny hold over unwilling henchmen, no matter through wealth, ruthlessness, or superb intellect. In this case with the villain, X, it's all three. Here, however, John Hart's story about family, friendship, and loyalty against the backdrop of the Vietnam War era struck a chord with me. The excellent narration by Kevin Stillwell set an excellent tone and brought the characters to life. John Hart is an excellent storyteller and in The Unwilling, he succeeds again. ( )

I recently read John Hart’s REDEMPTION ROAD and was totally impressed with his writing. I decided to read some of his other books and chose THE UNWILLING. Big mistake.
The French family might have had its act together before one of their sons, Robert, died while serving in Vietnam. His twin brother, Jason, enlisted immediately afterwards and served two tours there with honor but was dishonorably discharged during his third tour and came home with a reputation as a killer and an addict. Having served twenty- seven months in prison, he returns home a few weeks before the youngest brother, Gibby will be graduating from high school. Gibby has one good friend, Chance..
Their mother, Gabrielle, makes helicopter parents look reasonable. She is extremely strict with Gibby. Watching over him and trying to control him constantly, he is neither allowed to play sports nor date any girls. His father is a homicide detective who spends a lot of time on the job but can’t figure out how to deal with his wife or sons, especially when Jason comes back to town for a visit, primarily with Gibby.
Jason seems like a loser but Gibby wants to get to know him better. (What he finds out later on makes a lot of difference.) He shows up and makes plans for the two brothers to spend some time together, introducing Gibby to alcohol and sex.
A few days later, one of the woman is brutally murdered. Jason is arrested and returned to the prison from which he had just been released..
THE UNWILLING sinks from here on. The prison personnel are extremely corrupt. One man on death row, X, was found guilty of several brutal murders. He is very wealthy and is able to have a private suite in the basement under the death chamber, and is catered to by the warden and other staff members. He has people outside who do his bidding for him as well as bringing other prisoners to him for his violent pleasure.
I really don’t like stories featuring psychopaths and or sociopaths. Several of the characters in THE UNWILLING fit that description.
Ordinarily, I would give at least two stars for being well-written. Because of what is written, I can’t even do that. ( )

This was not my favorite John Hart novel. A lot of graphic violence, but it showed the closeness of brothers.
John French is a policeman in North Carolina. He Has three sons. One son was killed in Vietnam. Jason, Also served in Vienam, came back and went to prison. He is now out of prison and the younger son Gibson "Gibby" wants to reestablish a relationship with his brother. Jason takes Gibby out with several women. One of the women ends up murdered and Jason is arrested. Gibby sets out to Prove Jason had nothing to do with the murder. Meanwhile, Jason is back in the prison where he was before. One of inmates runs the prison and is very brutal. He has is out for Jason. ( )

John Hart is easily one of my top 3 favorite authors and for good reason. After reading Down River and The Last Child when they won back-to-back Edgar awards, I knew Hart was a staple author. As expected, The Unwilling didn't disappoint - excellent character developments (even the 2nd tier ones) and great plot/storyline along with enough twists to keep you guessing but keep the overall story grounded. Some parts can become dark at times but the intertwined themes of loss, redemption, family and friends keep the plot well-balanced and will have you rooting for characters you never thought you would. Excellent all around - 5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. ( )

I received an advance copy of this audiobook for review and I have to say - this is not a good example of John Hart’s work. Gibby and Jason were typically decent Hart characters, whereas the “bad guys” were unbelievable caricatures, I mean I literally could not believe them as characters. One was an overachieving serial killer billionaire. This was set in 1972, about 10 years before anyone coined the phrase “serial killer” I was annoyed when a character applied the label.

The anachronisms did not stop there. Do you know how many billionaires existed in 1972? Probably you can name them: Howard Hughes, Aristotle Onassis and a Rockefeller. Maybe a Texas oil baron. So pretty unlikely. As unlikely as two characters named Tyra and Chance - whose parents would have given them these very modern names in 1947 and 1954. Again, unlikely. Again, unbelievable. Also unbelievable that Gibby, like a cool 1980s Brooklyn MC, and not a kid from Charlotte would use the phrase “Gibby in the house!” or call his friend “dude” like it was 1982 and not 1972.

I actually kept a list of anachronisms because they were SO distracting. But I’m too tired to type them all. Instead, I’ll say that the editor on this one needs to do some revising. Google some slang origins and baby names. It’s too bad that it’s probably too late to fix the ridiculous plot (I’m looking at you, every single scene in the prison) or the grotesque villains or the motivations of the feckless cops. I’m giving an extra star because there are so many good John Hart-y thoughtful and moments sprinkled throughout and because I thought Jason was a great character who partially overcame his ridiculous surroundings. ( )