The Triggerman's Dance

Rating:
Summary: The triggerman's dance
Review: A page turner from the beginning..

Rating:
Summary: Slow-Building Suspense
Review: After a woman is mistaken for a colleague and gunned down in the parking lot of the newspaper where she works, she leaves behind two men bent on revenge. One of them is an FBI agent and her fiancé; the other is a fellow journalist and her lover. Josh Weinstein, the FBI agent enlists John Menden, the lover to take an undercover role to bring the killer to justice. What makes this difficult is the suspect is an ex-FBI agent who now heads a very successful security agency and is surrounded by both heavily armed employees and a patrolled, virtually impregnable fortress.

While the idea is good one, vengeance for the death of a loved one, the execution was just a little sloppy. The pretext that was used to penetrate the fortress was just a little too unbelievable for my liking. That's just a minor quibble on my part though and once I accepted that Mendon was in, I got on with enjoying the tension of a mole working undercover 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you enjoy this kind of slow boiling suspense story, then I think you'll enjoy "The Triggerman's Dance".

Rating:
Summary: A Big Disappointment!
Review: After recently finishing Parker's Where Serpents Lie, which was excellent, I was looking forward to reading one of his earlier books. Unfortunately, I was so disappointed in The Triggerman's Dance I gave up on it less than half way through. The plot, which started off very interesting, was unable to sustain itself. Also, the characters were too contrived and lacked credibility.

Rating:
Summary: almost turned me off to reading
Review: I have never read any other of this guy's books, nor will I after this dull and dumb pounding! Very poorly written, superficial stuff. Save yourself a few painful hours and read something else. And distrust all who recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Hang with this one..it gets better and better.
Review: I think I understand why some folks gave THE TRIGGERMANS DANCE a fair review.

It starts really SLOW..so slow that I was thinking about the next book I was going to read. The character's..at the beginning..are not very interesting..and the story plods along.

But..as I said..near page 100 or so..I began to care about John and the FBI agent, Joshua.

The story is basically about revenge and what some are willing to do to achieve it. Two men in love with the same woman join forces to bring down the guy they think is responsible for a murder and there broken hearts. Is this guy guilty or innocent?

When the author introduces Van Holt, a former FBI agent things really begin to take off. The tension builds and builds. Summing up..I would say..Stay with this one.
T.Jefferson Parker knows how to write a good thriller, this time it just took a little while to get going.

Rating:
Summary: THE EMPTINESS OF REVENGE
Review: Parker has written a very interesting and evocative thriller in THE TRIGGERMAN'S DANCE. Ultimately, it is a novel of revenge: Both John and Joshua want to avenge the accidental death of the woman they loved; Joshua also inwardly wants revenge for knowing that prior to her death, Rebecca was going to choose her lover, John and not Joshua, her fiance. Fueled by this revenge, John and Joshua work together to bring the killer to justice. A complex undercover assignment begins, with startling, if predictable results. There are times in the novel when you want Parker to hasten things along; it seems like the time John spends on the ranch is interminable, and there are times when the action slows down. Fortunately, this doesn't hurt the overall impact of the story. Parker is to be commended for allowing us to like and dislike both John and Joshua; to like and dislike the villain, Vann Holt; and to feel sorry for Valerie, Holt's daughter who ends up falling for the mole, John.
This is a thoughtful, emotional novel and though not as suspenseful as some thrillers, still manages to both entertain and stimulate.

Rating:
Summary: THE EMPTINESS OF REVENGE
Review: Parker has written a very interesting and evocative thriller in THE TRIGGERMAN'S DANCE. Ultimately, it is a novel of revenge: Both John and Joshua want to avenge the accidental death of the woman they loved; Joshua also inwardly wants revenge for knowing that prior to her death, Rebecca was going to choose her lover, John and not Joshua, her fiance. Fueled by this revenge, John and Joshua work together to bring the killer to justice. A complex undercover assignment begins, with startling, if predictable results. There are times in the novel when you want Parker to hasten things along; it seems like the time John spends on the ranch is interminable, and there are times when the action slows down. Fortunately, this doesn't hurt the overall impact of the story. Parker is to be commended for allowing us to like and dislike both John and Joshua; to like and dislike the villain, Vann Holt; and to feel sorry for Valerie, Holt's daughter who ends up falling for the mole, John.
This is a thoughtful, emotional novel and though not as suspenseful as some thrillers, still manages to both entertain and stimulate.

Rating:
Summary: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Review: Rebecca Harris is serving an internship at the Orange County Journal under the tutelage of the celebrated columnist,Susan Baum. She is shot dead while unlocking the door of Susan's car in front of the newspaper's offices. It is an obvious case of mistaken identity and there is no doubt that the intended victim is really Susan, who has made too many enemies through her columns.

After returning from a six month leave of absence from the FBI, Rebecca's former fiance, Joshua Weinstein, conducts his own private investigation of the murder. Satisfied that he knows the identity of the man responsible for the crime, Josh gets permission to carry out a separate operation to be funded by federal Hate Crimes money. He enlists the aid of John Menden, Rebecca's lover. Menden gets the toughest assignment because he has to infiltrate an ultraconservative organization headed by the fanatical Vann Holt. Joshua feels certain that Holt is responsible for Rebecca's death but he does not have enough evidence yet to win a conviction. Menden's task is to get the needed proof.

Menden is an appealing hero who seems to be just an ordinary guy caught up in an extraordinary situation. Holt is a complicated character with great strengths and flaws. Both are skillfully drawn by the author who keeps the reader in suspense to the end.

Rating:
Summary: I liked this a lot...don't understand the bad reviews
Review: So, it's a little far-fetched, a little bit technical and ascary scenario to think about, I still liked it a bunch! Joshua, theFBI agent; and John, the unlikely sports writer turned secret agent, drew me in and kept me on the edge of my chair throughout the entire read. I enjoyed the tension between the two men--and the terrible bond that held them together. I'm happy to have discovered T. Jefferson Parker recently. Loved The Blue Hour also. Parker has the ability to capture the inner workings of his characters' minds--and besides that he can tell a mighty interesting story. I must also say I was drawn to the villain in the story. It was so very hard to hate him... I recommend this book....I really liked it.

Rating:
Summary: who wrote this book?
Review: T. Jefferson Parker certainly wrote a loser with this one! It's as if this book were written by someone totally different...who doesn't write nearly as well. I loved Laguna Heat, Blue Hour and Red Light, but this one left me cold. Come on Parker! You can do(and have done) better!