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Stephen King hailed Michael Marshall's novel Straw Men as “a masterpiece . . . brilliantly written and scary as hell.” Now, Marshall returns with this latest unnerving tale—a creepy, fast-paced thriller that grips you from the first page straight through to its shocking end.
Bill Moore already has a lot, but he wants more . . . much more.
He's got a lucrative job selling condos in the Florida Keys, a successful wife, a good marriage, a beautiful house. He also has a five-year plan for supersuccess, but that plan has begun to drag into its sixth year without reaping its intended rewards. So now Bill's starting to mix it up—just a little—to accelerate his way into the future that he knows he deserves.
Then one morning Bill arrives at work to find a card waiting for him, with no indication who it's from or why it was sent. Its message is just one word: modified.
From that moment on, Bill's life begins to change.
At first, nothing seems very different. But when things begin to unwind rapidly, and one after another, people around Bill start to die, it becomes increasingly clear that someone somewhere has a very different plan for Bill's future. Confused and angry, Bill begins to fight against this unseen force until he comes to a terrifying, inescapable realization: Once modified, there's no going back.
A Florida realtor targeted by unknown antagonists is suspected of assorted crimes while a parolee returns to his old stomping grounds to avenge the death of the woman he was convicted of murdering.
Bill Moore makes a good living selling units for a condo chain in the Keys off the coast of Sarasota, Fla., and he's happily married to a magazine editor, Stephanie. But he wants to become super-rich. While pursuing the big deal that will enable him to start his own business, he starts receiving mysterious messages and getting packages he didn't order, all tagged with the word "Modified." When his wife walks out on him after discovering convincingly faked photos of him in a tryst with a co-worker, he becomes an odd man out desperate to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, the convict, John Hunter, is carrying out a cold-blooded plan that involves abducting the man whose $8 million house Bill is hoping to make a killing on. When people around him start dying, Bill begins questioning everyone: Is it possible his wife has set him up for a fall? A solid, workmanlike writer, Marshall (The Intruders,2007, etc.) evokes the Florida setting quite well. Atmosphere is his strong suit. But much of novel seems forced and secondhand. Moore is not particularly likable, and Hunter is one of the less memorable killers in recent crime fiction.
A mildly enjoyable thriller that sets up a sequel on which only committed fans of the author may want to take a flyer.
Suspensemag
Posted October 11, 2011
You have a nice, ordered life. For the most part, you control your destiny. You have dreams and seek to fulfill them. Then one day, you wake to find you don't have control, someone else does.
This is the basic premise to Michael Marshall's latest novel. Open the cover and step into a world where almost nobody is who he or she seems to be. Where a deranged mind seeks personal gratification by playing a dangerous game and where a man seeks vengeance against those who wronged him.
Bill Moore: South Florida realtor. Ambitious. Competitive. In control. Looking to advance up the ladder to become part up the echelon of wealth, until he finds pieces of his life slowly going awry. Events occur for which others think he's responsible. At first they're small, seemingly unimportant, but soon, they mushroom into a chaos so intense, Moore doesn't know where to turn next or who to trust, if he can trust anybody.
This is a scary book. This isn't some monster in the closet or up from the ocean depths scary. It isn't even a psycho killer in a hockey mask stalking teenagers scary. This one worms its way into your mind, sneaks its way into your subconscious and makes you look at your life just a little differently than you did yesterday. It plays upon a basic fear of completely losing control of the world around you, of how order becomes entropy. Near the end, Marshall makes reference to his previous book, "The Straw Men," (in a slightly tongue in cheek manner on one occasion), but you don't have to necessarily have read that one first. If you haven't, then you'll want to after "Killer Move."
Reviewed by Stephen L. Brayton, author of "Beta" for Suspense Magazine
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Michael Marshall's latest book Killer Move opens with a newly released con named Hunter seeking payback for a crime he says he didn't commit.
We then meet realtor Bill Moore, a man with a five year plan - increasing his condo sales numbers in the Florida keys, opening up his own realty office, rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers in his corner of the world. Problem is - it's year six. But Bill is nothing if not upbeat. It will happen.. he just has to work a little harder at it.
Small things start to happen - a card with nothing but a single word - Modified - is left on his desk. A book from Amazon that he can't remember ordering, a prime table at a restaurant he doesn't recall making a reservation for. Then it starts to escalate - he discovers compromising photos on his computer, conveniently stored in a folder labelled Modified. And suddenly that very simple word takes on ominous overtones. Because someone is playing a game with Bill's life....
What a great premise - an everyday guy with no idea who or why someone would mess with him. Bill's desperate attempts to stop his life spiralling out of control are alternated with Hunter's steps to exact retaliation.
Bill tells his story from a first person narrative, which I have to admit I found increasingly annoying in the first few chapters. It took quite a few chapters beyond the prologue for me to become invested in the book. Bill's thoughts on his father and his philosophy on selling were tiresome. The plot is inventive and plausible, but some of the 'moves' were a bit over the top. The ending was somewhat disappointing, referencing a previous book by Marshall as an explanation for what has gone on.
That being said, I think Marshall has come up with a great idea. How much of our lives are controlled by passwords and online access? How secure are they? How much would it take someone to start games with our lives? A good read, but not great for me. Linwood Barclay does it better.
Bill Moore already has a lot, but he wants more...much more.
He's got a lucrative job selling condos in the Florida Keys, a successful wife, a good marriage, a beautiful house. He also has a five-year plan for super-success, but that plan has begun to drag into its sixth year without reaping its intended rewards. So not Bill's starting to mix it up - just a little - to accelerate his way into the future that he knows he deserves.
Then one morning Bill arrives at work to find a card waiting for him, with no indication who it's from or why it was sent. Its message is just one word: MODIFIED.
From that moment on, Bill's life begins to change.
At first, nothing seems very different. But when things begin to unwind rapidly, and one after another, people around Bill start to die, it becomes increasingly clear that someone somewhere has a very different plan for Bill's future. Confused and angry, Bill begins to fight against this unseen force until he comes to a terrifying, inescapable realization: Once modified, there's no going back.
In the latest suspense thriller by Michael Marshall, Killer Moves is a non stop, page turner that literally will keep you guessing until the very final page. He creates the suspense from the prologue and it only intensifies as the reader continues the unraveling of Bill Moore's life. This book is amazing and one I haven't read for quite some time. I love it when an author can keep you riveted to the story but have you second guessing yourself until the end.
I received this book compliments of HarperCollins Publishers for my honest review and highly recommend it to those of you crime solving readers who love a twisting, complex case to figure out. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars and this one left a lasting mark. I will forever be looking over my shoulder just to see whose following me. Not everyone is as innocent as they appear.
Bill Moore has a successful realty business selling condos in South Florida. He has a great marriage with a wonderful wife Steph who he loves. They live in a beautiful house in Sarasota.
However, Bill is more ambitious than Lady Macbeth and is upset that he is behind on achieving his BHAGs. He begins taking shortcuts. One morning Bill arrives at his office to find an odd black-colored card on his desk. On the card's surface is printed in white lettering: "modified." His perfect life begins to unravel slowly at first but picking up momentum as purchases he never made arrive against his credit card and an e-mail sent from his address though not by him leads to major trouble with his wife as the filed Modified contain pictures he never took. While Bill tries to find a way to fight back against the unknown Modified, John Hunter is paroled after spending time for a homicide. He seeks vengeance.
This is a gripping suspense thriller as the American dream turns into a nightmare for Bill. The story line is fast-paced from the opening scene in which the reader learns convicted murderer John did not do the crime and never slows down as his life is destroyed and Bill's is subtly going down the cesspool too. With innuendoes of the Straw Men involved (see The Straw Men, The Upright Man, and Blood of Angels) and with with Bill's nuked life spinning out of control just like John's did, Michael Marshall writes a taut tale.
Harriet Klausner
Anonymous
Posted July 15, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Stephen King hailed Michael Marshall's novel Straw Men as “a masterpiece . . . brilliantly written and scary as hell.” Now, Marshall returns with this latest unnerving tale—a creepy, fast-paced thriller that grips you from the first page straight through to its shocking end.
Bill Moore already has a lot, but he wants more . . . much more.
He's got a lucrative job selling condos in the Florida Keys, a successful wife, a good marriage, a ...