Book
Liars & thieves / Stephen Coonts.
Record details
- ISBN: 0312283628
- ISBN: 9780312283629
- ISBN: 0312936214 (pbk.)
- Physical Description: 383 p. ; 25 cm. : ill.
- Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, 2004.
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Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Russell and District Regional Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binscarth Library | AFPB COO (Text) | 32447000077292 | Adult Fiction Paperback | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 March 2004
Readers first met Tommy Carmellini, an ex-burglar and CIA agent, in the Jake Grafton novel Cuba (1999). He usually works overseas, breaking and entering for Uncle Sam, planting bugs, stealing documents, "that kind of thing." Now in Coonts' nineteenth novel (for those readers who are still counting), Carmellini replaces Grafton as the hero-protagonist who is^B out to save the world. It involves the usual gorgeous woman; this one is being blackmailed and wants Carmellini, her former lover, to get some incriminating videotapes that a later boyfriend had made when they were dating. The plot also involves a massacre at a CIA safe house, an illegal break-in, and secret KGB files. Like other of Coonts' heroes, Carmellini faces all sorts of dangers as he seeks to solve the case. As in the previous books, adroit dialogue abounds (for instance, "I was dripping wet with perspiration. If they didn't hear me coming, they would smell me"). Predictably, the hero outwits the bad guys, and, predictably, this latest Coonts tale will hit the best-seller lists. And, predictably, librarians should purchase multiple copies. ((Reviewed March 1, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2004 March #1
Skirt-chasing burglar-turned-CIA black bagman Tommy Carmellini (a minor figure in Cuba, 1999) has his first solo adventure, with Coonts's hero Rear Admiral Jake Grafton in a supporting role.That this spin-off series debut involves the federal government, with most of its plot happening outside the Beltway, is the first of many small let-downs in an adequate but disappointing effort for fans of Coonts's flyboy military escapades. After he effortlessly burgles a safe-deposit box to retrieve sex videos featuring his former lover, the wealthy Dorsey O'Shea, Carmellini, who normally hangs out in a lock-shop with his wise-cracking black sidekick Willie "the Wire," is told to inspect security at a Virginia mountain CIA safehouse. He arrives in time to find the complex under assault and on fire, though he's lucky enough to kill one assailant and rescue CIA translator Kelly Erlanger plus a suitcase full of old KGB files before the bad guys give chase. A feisty Erlanger tells him that the safehouse's guest, former KGB archivist Mikhail Goncharov, had been spilling all kinds of insider info before the attack. Someone, obviously, wanted to shut him up. Coonts then begins one of several jarring shifts, changing from Carmellini's flip first-person narrative to a more basic third person portraying Goncharov as he hides out in a nearby vacation home. Carmellini gets almost no sleep as bad guys try to kill everyone close to him, including his CIA boss, Willie, and O'Shea. Erlanger, Carmellini, and O'Shea now flee to the Rehoboth Beach vacation home of retired Rear Admiral Jake Grafton. It's Grafton who'll find out that highly placed government figures are blaming Carmellini for the attack on the safehouse-figures who fear that Goncharov's old files might expose a long-simmering scheme to take over the country at a New York political convention.A tired spot-the-mole Washington story, laden with too much gunplay and unconvincing twists. The flyboy thrillmeister hits a grounder.Author tour. Agent: Robert Gottlieb/Trident Media Copyright Kirkus 2004 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2004 April #1
First introduced in Cuba, Tommy Carmellini takes the lead in Coonts's latest action thriller. A burglar gone legit, Tommy now puts his talents to use for the CIA. After a routine assignment ends in a massacre, he finds himself on the run with an attractive translator and a suitcase full of Russian secrets. As the bodies pile up, Tommy realizes that his options have become increasingly limited. A powerful enemy is determined to contain him and the secrets by any means necessary. Taking a break from the increasingly over-the-top Jake Grafton novels has worked for Coonts. Though his plot is strictly by the book and holds few surprises, Tommy is a self-deprecating and wise-cracking narrator who brings a welcome energy to the genre. And fans will be pleased to see a now retired Jake Grafton and his wife, Callie, make an appearance. For all public libraries.-Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2004 March #2
Readers accustomed to having series hero Jake Grafton save the world every year (Liberty; Cuba; etc.) may be disappointed to learn he's retired but they won't fret for long. Former Grafton sidekick Tommy Carmellini, ex-burglar and CIA operative, has been promoted to star in what's sure to be another excellent, long-lived series. Tommy is hanging out with partner Willie the Wire when ex-girlfriend Dorsey O'Shea turns up asking favors: will Tommy break into a house and retrieve some sex tapes in which she has unwittingly participated? No problem he hands the tapes over and dismisses Dorsey from his mind. Several months later, the CIA sends him to a West Virginia safe house where Russian defector Mikhail Goncharov is being debriefed and there, Tommy stumbles into a full-blown massacre. He kills a couple of attackers, rescues a woman, beats a retreat and quickly finds himself in spy hell: out in the cold, accused, alone, hunted by friend and foe alike. As the plot snowballs, it accumulates characters both good and bad: Goncharov has escaped the safe house but has amnesia; Dorsey returns; deadly assassins try to kill Tommy; and evil politicians scheme. (One of them, a woman, is determined to become president of the United States, no matter what: "Give me four years to line up support and be seen by the public and I could beat Jesus Christ in the next election.") Tommy is smart, brave, skilled and possessed of enough self-deprecating, wisecracking wit to endear him to readers. Jake Grafton makes an appearance to help save the day, but Tommy proves himself more than capable of saving the world on his own. (On sale May 11) Forecast: All the proven Coonts elements are still solidly in place. After initial misgivings, readers of the Jake Grafton series will easily make the leap to Tommy Carmellini, and new readers can be expected to sign up for this hipper hero. Seven-city author tour. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.