Very Bad Men (David Loogan Series #2)
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38
5
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780425247617 |
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| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 07/03/2012 |
| Series: | David Loogan Series , #2 |
| Pages: | 432 |
| Sales rank: | 562,356 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d) |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
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Very Bad Men
4.1 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
38 reviews.
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I'll make this short, but ultimately very sweet... VERY BAD MEN by Harry Dolan is one of the most satisfying novels I've read in a long time. Why? Good question. Answers abound below... I first heard of Mr. Dolan when I spontaneously picked up a copy of his previous novel, BAD THINGS HAPPEN. I literally saw that book on a display, picked it up, read the jacket synopsis and thought it seemed interesting enough. Plus, I like giving new authors a shot. I read the book in one sitting and passed it on to friends and family, with glowing praise. The story of David Loogan and his complicated life was terse, energetic, passionate and clever. Now, when I say something is "clever," I mean it. I don't give that compliment very often. I liked everything about BAD THINGS HAPPEN and eagerly awaited the follow-up, VERY BAD MEN. I picked up VERY BAD MEN the day it came out, and read it as my schedule allowed...which was never often enough for my taste! David Loogan, Elizabeth and Sarah melded into a wonderful team (no spoilers here...you'll have to read it to see what I mean). Mr. Dolan's writing style is instantly accessible. Anyone who picks up one of his books will enjoy the tone and the overall feel of the prose. It's hard to describe just how much FUN it is to read his novels. And this novel is just as "clever" as his first. I've read that some folks thought the author let the last few pages/chapters "get away from him" or that there were too many twists at the end. I strongly disagree. One thing that I learned reading the earlier novel was that in David Loogan's world, there's always something "more" to an issue/situation...nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Yet it's not presented in an "over-done" way. If this makes any sense: the twists aren't really twists at all...they're simply the truth taking longer to show itself. It's a "brainy" book in disguise...never condescending, yet never pandering. Your brain will truly enjoy the read. I really want to discuss the book more in depth, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who is planning on reading it. In general, just be assured that it's well-written, well-plotted and frankly, a hell of a ride! I look forward to Mr. Dolan's future work.
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The Barnes & Noble Mystery Lovers Book Club all agree: Harry needs to keep writing! We all loved this book! Just as you're thinking you know "who done it," another character steps into the starring role! the plot is fast paced, the characters are complex and well-developed and the story line is suspenseful -- page-turning. We decided Harry is a master of mis-direction and he even leaves the reader with a surprise at the end of the book. Don't miss this one! Sue Malone
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In Ann Arbor, Michigan David Loogan is the editor of Gray Streets mystery magazine. He lives with Police Detective Elizabeth Waishkey and her daughter Sarah. Someone leaves a manuscript outside the Gray Streets mystery magazine office. The story line focuses on two previous homicides; that of Henry Kormoran of Ann Arbor, and Terry Dawtrey who he killed when he got him temporarily released from prison to attend his father's funeral after Lark murdered the old man. Those already actually occurred and a third is about to happen, that of Sutton Bell of Ann Arbor.
Elizabeth and David realize the link between this trio and author Anthony Lark is a Sault Sainte Marie bank robbery seventeen years ago. As Loogan investigates the disappearance of a reporter associated with the case and Waishkey tracks the serial killer, the raging paranoid Lark adds the editor, the cop and the daughter to his list of those needing his murderous attention.
The two L's Lark and Logan makes this Michigan amateur sleuth mystery fun to read as the former is an intelligent but violent avenging killer and the latter works the manuscript as Bad Things Happen to Very Bad Men but he hopes not to a very diligent editor. Witty and filled with twists, Elizabeth sums up the investigations when she tells Loogan he knows how to charm people; readers will know so does Lark with a tire iron.
Harriet Klausner
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Very Bad Men as well as Bad men by Mr. Dolan are excellent. Did not skip one single paragraph or page.
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Amazing and easy reaf
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This new novel from the author of the acclaimed “Bad Things Happen,” his writing debut, has no ‘sophomore book’ problems. “Very Bad Men” immediately engages the reader, and one is quickly drawn into this compelling tale of murder, specifically, the murder of two men who were part of a bank robbery seventeen years ago, and the attempted murder of a third. All three men had been convicted, and served jail time of varying lengths. But what could be the motive? These three men had not seen nor contacted one another in all the intervening years. And the killer – for his identity is quickly revealed – is not a cool, professional hit man; that is immediately made clear.
David Loogan, the editor-in-chief of a mystery magazine, receives, in a plain, unmarked envelope, what at first glance appears to be a manuscript, only several pages long, bearing no signature, the first line of which reads “I killed Henry Kormoran . . . “ Loogan, who lives with his ‘significant other,’ Elizabeth Waishkey, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, detective, and her precocious 16-year-old daughter, ultimately begins a kind of parallel and unofficial investigation.
Each character in the novel is wonderfully well-drawn. These include the killer, who suffers from synesthesia, a rare affliction which results in a confusion of the senses, with words taking on dimensions far beyond their ‘normal’ printed appearance, according to his emotional reaction to them; Lucy Navarro, a young and rather endearing reporter, who comes up with a bizarre theory of the motive for the crimes; assorted politicians and their ‘handlers, among others. The writer invokes some wildly disparate images: Occam and his razor, Aristotle, jazz musician Charlie Parker; mystery authors Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly; and a theme: “We all want to be known. To be seen for who we really are.” There are carefully placed, and easily missed clues, and startling and unexpected twists in this rather complex and engrossing novel, which is recommended.
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I always know I will enjoy a book from the Amy Einhorn Books imprint of Putnam Books. Most of the ones I have read are by female authors- Kathryn Stockett's The Help, Sarah Blake's The Postmistress, Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters, and Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot. All of these books have strong female protagonists, which is part of the appeal for me. The latest book from the imprint has a male protagonist- Harry Dolan's Very Bad Men. It is the second novel in the series featuring David Loogan, an editor for a mystery magazine who lives with Elizabeth, a detective, and her teenage daughter Sarah, in Michigan. Loogan gets drawn into the case of Anthony Lark, a man who has murdered two men and is on his way to murdering another. All of the dead men were involved 17 years ago with a bank robbery that went bad, leaving a robber and a cop dead, and another cop paralyzed from the waist down. The story is told mainly from the points of view of Loogan and Lark. Both men are interesting characters, and seeing the story from each of their perspectives makes this a much stronger book. Senate candidate Callie Spencer, whose father is the paralyzed cop, is involved in the murders. But is she a target, a participant in the murders, or is Lark trying to protect her? Lucy Navarro, a reporter for a tabloid newspaper, is snooping around, and Loogan becomes her protector of sorts. When she gets too close to the truth and disappears, Loogan gets angry. Dolan takes care to create fully realized characters. I particularly enjoyed his portraits of the teenagers; Elizabeth's daughter Sarah, and Nick, the teenage son and brother of two of Lark's targets, were really on the money for me. The mystery of why Lark is killing these men is complicated and the reason really comes out of left field. I have to say I had absolutely no idea where it would end up, but it was a crazy trip getting there. If the author left clues as to what motivated Lark to kill, I did not pick them up. I found it satisfying that I really did not know where he was going until the end. This novel is crackling good literary crime fiction; it put me in mind of Sara Paretsky's novels. I'm going to seek out the first novel in the series and anxiously await the third one.
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It seems that the more blurbs on the back cover from famous authors, the more disappointing the novel. I didn't get a free advance copy. What I got was a book that read pretty good, occasionally going off track. but around page 350 I began to feel like I was in a car with a drunk driver. The story started going all over the place, wild tangents that didn't make sense. We were running off the road. The story became so utterly ridiculous that I felt insulted that I had suffered the first 350 pages only to get to this. We didn't crash, but it wasn't the good ride it started out to be. Disappointing.
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Very Bad Men By Harry Dolan is a very good book. This mystery is an easy read with a twisted plot, complicated and believable characters with wit and humor. Due to Dolan's great writing skills this book moves smoothly forward. Suddenly,I have a new favorite author. Try it you will like it.
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I enjoyed this novel mainly because I read Bad Things Happen, so it was fun seeing some of the characters again. It was nice to see that they have developed a bit more. I consider this style of writing to be very Dan Brown-eque. Which just means it's fun and quick to read. Not a bad novel, but not great.
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This is the second book from Dolan, I didn't read the first, which also featured David Loogan, a mystery magazine editor and his girlfriend, police detective Elizabeth Waishkey. I enjoyed this one enough that I may now read the first installment of what will be a very entertaining series. When the story starts, a man is hunting down the participants in a 17 year old bank robbery that went bad. There are three known surviving robbers. One is still in prison, two have served their time. The man's motive for killing the robbers is not clear, but in his mind they deserve to die for their actions, particularly because a sheriff was shot as they were trying to get away, leaving him paralyzed and confined in a wheelchair, and because of his apparent fixation on the sheriff's daughter, an attractive politician who is running for US Senate.Eventually we learn what his motivation was and who is responsible for inciting him to seek revenge. The plot is well constructed, fairly easy to follow and not entirely predictable. The main characters are likable and their dialogue is snappy and humorous, without being gratingly so. It was a quick read, although I would have preferred if the book was a bit shorter. It seemed overly long by the time I got through the first ¾ or so.
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It is hard to follow up a great debut novel but Harry Dolan has scored with his sequel, Very Bad Men, the continuing story of the mysterious David Loogan. Loogan has escaped his past and has ended up editing the mystery magazine Gray Streets in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Very ironic, as the magazine and its previous editor were the cause of Loogan's trouble with the law in the first title of the series, Bad Things Happen, when David was a suspect in his friends death. Favors can be very dangerous - especially if you are David Loogan.But Loogan hasn't learned his lesson and this time trouble ends up on his doorstep by way of a hand written manuscript detailing two murders that have happened, very recently, and describing one yet to come. It appears the author has an agenda, a to-do-list of murder in revenge for a seventeen-year-old bank robbery. Loogan just can't stay out of danger and this time he pulls in his police detective girlfriend, Elizabeth Waishkey, and her daughter as accomplices to help stop the crime. A tangle of old lies and grief combined with a very guilty conscious come together in an explosive combination that only Loogan can unravel.A complicated, multi layered story involving the slow reveal appears to be Dolan's trademark and it works. David Loogan's shadowy past, his knack for landing in trouble, and his total disregard for personal safety combine to make a fascinating character. Don't miss this one and if you haven't read Bad Things Happen track it down.
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Since we spent twenty years near Detroit, I enjoyed revisting our old haunts in "Very Bad Men" and found his dialogue and plot entertaining - it was a quick read (I don't know if that's a good or bad thing). I would have rated the book higher but I felt that there were too many characters to remember the relationships and I didn't care who did what to whom by the conclusion. Speaking of "bad things", I will pick up a copy of Mr. Dolan's first novel, "Bad Things Happen", in my travels.
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David Loogan, the editor of a crime magazine, receives a manuscript that outlines a murder that happened and others that will. Why has the killer done this, he ponders. It seems that the killer wants to make clearly kill persons involved in a bank robbery that took place seventeen years ago. In the course of trying to find this guy, Loogan encounters a tabloid reporter, a hero cop, his daughter and a US Senator. As he gets closer to getting this guy, something new pops up and we¿re off on a whole other chase.As with his previous book, Bank Things Happen, I found the layers of mystery a challenge to unpeel. A marvelous summer read!
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Wow! Now this is the kind of book that keeps you at the edge of your seat at ALL times. Even as the author reveals some secrets, new mysteries arise, and there is nary a moment that is not filled with absolute mystery and intrigue. What a riveting read!!! I could not put this book down! Each chapter read like an episode, and each chapter/episode ended with a cliffhanger!!! How many mystery novels can boast that?Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan is absolutely a fantastic mystery thriller that is fast-paced, suspenseful, tactful, and incredibly intriguing. Part drama, part mystery and part political thriller - this is one book that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat at all times. (Detailed review coming later).
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David Loogan edits a small mystery magazine called GRAY STREETS, lives with an Ann Arbor, Michigan detective and her daughter, and has an active imagination - or so he is told by many in this book, police officers chief among them. In the end, though, his imagination proves to be pretty much on point.The story revolves around the aftermath of a seventeen-year-old failed bank robbery in which a sheriff is wounded and paralyzed, the mastermind of the robbery shot by said sheriff, a getaway driver who got away, but not without killing a police officer, and three of the bandits who went to prison. In the present, two of these men of these men wind up murdered, and the killer drops off a manuscript outside Loogan's editorial offices describing these murders and predicting more to come.What follows is a very detailed, twisting, energetic thriller that relies more on the development of characters to move the plot along than mindless carnage and mayhem - though blood enough is present. It will be interesting to see what Mr. Dolan has for readers next outing.
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David Loogan returns in the second book in this series. Loogan and his detective girlfriend work to catch a killer who, it seems, is trying to avenge a crime from nearly two decades ago. This book is fast-paced and full of twists and turns. It kept me guessing until the end. Readers do not need to have read the first book in the series, Bad Things Happen, to follow along with the characters in this book--although I highly recommend that book as well.
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I won this book from the Early Reviewers on Library Thing. This is his second book in the series and I was concerned that by not reading the first I would be missing some of the elements of the characters. This is a well conceived and a great story. Full of twists and turns that never loose you or let you put it down. Thanks
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I didn't think Dolan could pull it off twice, but he did. Not to the extent of Bad Things Happen, but still a wickedly different story none the less. Although this falls a tad short toward the end, Dolan is still a gifted storyteller and leaves the reader looking forward to his next publication. Loogan is back, still not one for details, and that's probably why I like him so. He's more interested in what's going around him, an anti-narcissist if ever there were one. He's also the luckiest unlucky fellow around.
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This is my first book by Harry Dolan and I have to say I was enthralled from the very beginning. I found the story to move along at a good pace.Very Bad Men is about a serial killer trying to make amends for something he feels that he didn't do for one of his friends when he was younger. The way the story unravels is what kept me interested from the beginning. The main character is David Loogan, the editor of a mystery magazine. He received a manuscript and it isn't fiction. He realizes this as soon as he reads it.I found the characters engaging at times. David Loogan is involved with a detective named Elizabeth which adds a little intrigue to the story. Anthony Lark is the man with the list of names to be murdered. There are many different characters that add to the mystery of who is the real criminal here.I found the ending a little disappointing only because you are not sure exactly what happened and if everyone will find out the truth that they have been searching for. Otherwise it was a great book and I look forward to reading more books by Harry Dolan
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An ARC won through Librarything and an thrilling story with strong characters. Logan, editor of Grey Streets, is at times amusing and at times brash, his girlfriend, she of the glass beads, is a dtective who is called to investigate a dead body at the same time Logan receives a manuscript detailing the murder. Alot of suspense, twists and turns as they try to figure out the perpetrator of the crimes. Good read for all suspense afficiendos.
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I always know I will enjoy a book from the Amy Einhorn Books imprint of Putnam Books. Most of the ones I have read are by female authors- Kathryn Stockett's The Help, Sarah Blake's The Postmistress, Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters, and Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot. All of these books have strong female protagonists, which is part of the appeal for me.The latest book from the imprint has a male protagonist- Harry Dolan's Very Bad Men. It is the second novel in the series featuring David Loogan, an editor for a mystery magazine who lives with Elizabeth, a detective, and her teenage daughter Sarah, in Michigan.Loogan gets drawn into the case of Anthony Lark, a man who has murdered two men and is on his way to murdering another. All of the dead men were involved 17 years ago with a bank robbery that went bad, leaving a robber and a cop dead, and another cop paralyzed from the waist down.The story is told mainly from the points of view of Loogan and Lark. Both men are interesting characters, and seeing the story from each of their perspectives makes this a much stronger book.Senate candidate Callie Spencer, whose father is the paralyzed cop, is involved in the murders. But is she a target, a participant in the murders, or is Lark trying to protect her? Lucy Navarro, a reporter for a tabloid newspaper, is snooping around, and Loogan becomes her protector of sorts. When she gets too close to the truth and disappears, Loogan gets angry.Dolan takes care to create fully realized characters. I particularly enjoyed his portraits of the teenagers; Elizabeth's daughter Sarah, and Nick, the teenage son and brother of two of Lark's targets, were really on the money for me.The mystery of why Lark is killing these men is complicated and the reason really comes out of left field. I have to say I had absolutely no idea where it would end up, but it was a crazy trip getting there. If the author left clues as to what motivated Lark to kill, I did not pick them up. I found it satisfying that I really did not know where he was going until the end.This novel is crackling good literary crime fiction; it put me in mind of Sara Paretsky's novels. I'm going to seek out the first novel in the series and anxiously await the third one.
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I won this book from the Early Reviewers on Library Thing.This is a very intricately written mystery. There are many characters to keep track of, however the author does a great job making you remember each character as they pertain to the story.David Loogan is the editor/creator of a mystery story magazine called Gray Streets and lives with his girlfriend Elizabeth Waishkey, a detective, and her daughter. David is drawn into a murder mystery by Liz, and is helping to solve it with her. The victims of these murders are members of a group of bank robbers that had robbed a bank 17 years earlier. One by one, each of these former robbers are being murdered and this is the mystery they are trying to solve. There are many, many people in this book, and the plot is so intricate, it would take forever to try to form a synopsis that would do the book justice. So I will just end by saying that a reader will not be sorry, in my opinion, to read this book. Very good job and I look forward to reading more books by Harry Dolan in the future.
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This is Harry Dolan's second "BAD" book, following the travails of David loogan in [Bad Things Happen]. You've got to love Loogan, editor for a mystery magazine, Gray Streets. Dolan leads us up and down alleys, blind curves, and dead-end passages, until the thriller all comes together at the end. I'd give this book 5 stars, except for the tedious ending. It took too long to reveal all the unknowns at the end of the story. Maybe Dolan can make the next "BAD" book less complex and quickly moving all the way to the end.
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Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan is a very good book. This ER mystery helped restore my faith that yes, some popular novelists can actualy write. And, write well. So many books praised and award winning contain great detail. They tell a fascinating story. Yet, they linger on endlessy. Mirred down by awkward structure and disregard for what style actually works, the books fall short of what could have been. Not so, this book.One schooled in writing by rules, wants to sing the praise of this current and sucessful author. He portrays a character in this tale who can only read prose like Hemingway's. He can't write adverbs. Can't read any thing written before the First World War. Finds novels from the 1950s and 1960s OK, but can only read safely now mystery stories and newspapers. That's because unless a sentence is simple and the structure straight forward, the written words turn colors, float and do not stay on the page. Complicated language upsets him. All this because he suffers from Synesthesia a disease where the senses become confused. The style of this book, however, stands as a model of how a twenty first century work succeeds by being direct and to the point. A full 409 pages, actually long for a mystery, this book moves smoothly forward.When you combine this easy read with a twisted plot, complicated and belivable characters, wit and humor, you will find an admiration for Dolan's attention to the book as a whole. Suddenly, I have a new favorite author. And I am quitely imagining savoring the read of his first novel, Bad Things Happen.
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