Rating: 
Summary: A Great Gym Book
Review: "Icarus" has one of the most disturbing, unsettling and downright breathtaking openers I've ever read. It reminded me of the frightening opening sequence in the Stallone movie, "Cliffhanger." What makes this so remarkable is that author Andrews accomplishes this without the visuals. The scene of course is the one where Jack Keller's mother meets her fate in a high rise building at the hands of a madman. Wow, goosebumps upon goosebumps in that scene. There are two other scenes in this book that almost match it: the bizarre shootout in the Charlottesville restaurant (where you keep saying, "No, no, don't let this happen..", and the final climactic scene on the terrace of Keller's own high rise.
While the characterizations are nowhere as sharp as others like Greg Iles and Robert McCammon, Andrews manages to weave a tale of mystery and intrigue. A lot of sex, so if that bothers you, you might flinch a little. Although the book is well crafted, and you're never really sure who is doing what, I had my suspicions about the killer, and even though author Janet Evanovich felt it was impossible to detect, somehow through all the red herrings, I figured it out. Pat on back for the year!!!
The supporting characters including Kid Demeter, Bryan Bishop and Dominic are all well developed, and the whole novel is intense and brooding, but a heck of a good read! Would make a tremendous film!!!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN
Review: "Icarus" has one of the most disturbing, unsettling and downright breathtaking openers I've ever read. It reminded me of the frightening opening sequence in the Stallone movie, "Cliffhanger." What makes this so remarkable is that author Andrews accomplishes this without the visuals. The scene of course is the one where Jack Keller's mother meets her fate in a high rise building at the hands of a madman. Wow, goosebumps upon goosebumps in that scene. There are two other scenes in this book that almost match it: the bizarre shootout in the Charlottesville restaurant (where you keep saying, "No, no, don't let this happen..", and the final climactic scene on the terrace of Keller's own high rise.
While the characterizations are nowhere as sharp as others like Greg Iles and Robert McCammon, Andrews manages to weave a tale of mystery and intrigue. A lot of sex, so if that bothers you, you might flinch a little. Although the book is well crafted, and you're never really sure who is doing what, I had my suspicions about the killer, and even though author Janet Evanovich felt it was impossible to detect, somehow through all the red herrings, I figured it out. Pat on back for the year!!!
The supporting characters including Kid Demeter, Bryan Bishop and Dominic are all well developed, and the whole novel is intense and brooding, but a heck of a good read! Would make a tremendous film!!!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriging Finish Makes Up for Slow Start
Review: After reading the first 90 pages I was seriously beginning to wonder when I would be interested in the story. I was close to just moving on to another book, but I'm glad I didn't. Once you get through the initial (and long) set up for the main story the rest of the book is a good summer read. One negative is that most of the story and plot is given away on the jacket flap, so I'm not exactly giving away any spoilers!First the slow point. The first 90 pages or so are told in such a passive voice that you never feel empathy for the main character, Jack Keller. After the death of his mother in the first chapter the story builds the setting for his adult life. His new life now turns out to be close to perfect - perfect wife, great sex, successful restuarants, extremely wealthy. Now the idea is of course to make you realize the irrelevancy of this perfection when the second tragedy occurs. But the story is told in almost synopsis form and you never become attached to Jack or his wife. You almost feel like you are reading Cliff Notes. Luckily the writing style does a 180 and you start to become thoroughly engaged in the story. The story focuses on his relationship with a youner friend from his old neighborhood, Kid Detmer. Kid has what is known as The Team, a group of about 6 women he sees on the side, who all are beautiful but all have a dangerous emotional edge about them. Oddly, what makes the story the most interesting is every character but Jack. Each character in the story has an edginess about them and a strong personallity that draws the reader in, wanting to know what makes them tick. Even Jack's surrogate father, Dom, who helps Jack try and find out about Kid's secret world is much more interesting. While you do gain more insight into Jack and especially his wife as the story unfolds, I still disagree with the other reviewers, I never felt the strong connection to Jack as I did with the other characters. Although its not that difficult to surmise the killer, the author does a good job of keeping you off balance. Too often in other novels, the killer is some character you meet once or there is no real logic or realistic motiviation behind the action. In this case it all comes together extremely well. All in all good summer reading.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!
Review: As a child, Jack Keller witnessed the horrifying tragedy of his mother being murdered. Thirty years later, Jack has come along way - with a great marriage, a chain of successful restaurants, and good health - he feels he has it all...that is about to change. At the grand opening of a new restaurant, Jack witnesses his second tragedy, and all it took was one bullet. Recovering from his injuries, Jack is nursed back to health by Kid Demeter. Jack looks at Kid as his own son, and Kid looks up to Jack as the father he is missing. During the healing process, Kid will tell Jack stories of his reckless life, and the many women he entertains. In each of the stories, Kid describes the women as sexy, and dangerous, and will only refer to them by nicknames. Before long, another tragedy strikes...Kid plunges twenty stories to his death. Refusing to believe the official ruling of suicide, Jack believes one of Kid's women is responsible, and in his quest for answers, he will enter into the dark world of strip clubs, sex clubs, drugs, and extreme violence. The closer Jack gets to the truth, a killer is closing in on him. Someone watching his every move. Someone killing anyone that gets in the way. And, one wrong move could cost Jack his life. 'Icarus' is an excellent thriller, and a wonderful follow-up to the heart racing bestseller, 'Gideon'. In 'Icarus' Russell Andrews has crafted a complex, spellbinding plot, worthy of anything Hitchcock created. The reader is kept guessing the entire time, while pieces of the puzzle fall into place. And, when the climax brings to light the final piece of the puzzle, we are left in awe, wanting more. Russell Andrews has written another blockbuster bestseller, that all thriller fans should run out and buy. UN-PUTDOWNABLE, and utterly suspenseful, 'Icarus' is what good thriller writing is all about. After reading this novel I was left with one thought..."If only ALL thrillers were this good." A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: A Great Gym Book
Review: I had run out of books to read on the stairmaster and found this one on the book swap shelf at the gym. I couldn't put the book down once I got 100 or so pages into it. I read solely to be amused, and ICARUS did just that. The story was great, and while the character development may not have been as detailed as some people like, the use of the many characters was first rate. The plot twists were very good.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story - Too Much Panting
Review: I read Andrews' Aphrodite and enjoyed it a lot, so I got Icarus. Icarus isn't bad, but it is not nearly as good as Aphrodite. Icarus wastes time with too much heavy panting. Had Andrews taken some of the time he took describing sex with developing some of his charactors, it would have been a much better book. Don't get me wrong, sex ain't bad, but in this case too much of it crowds out stuff the book needs more of.
It is ironic that the book named after the goddess of love has less sex than a book named for a guy who flies too high and crashes while trying to escape from an island with his father.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED THIS
Review: I read the author's previous book and just loved it. It was a phenomenal plot mirroring current events. I was so excited when I got this book. I must admit the book starts out kind of slow in terms of setting the pace for the plot. But once I got to the middle of the book, it just went faster and faster. It truly is an updated hitchcokian plot.
Rating:
Summary: Violent Thrills Abound!
Review: I would have given this book a "5" if not for the extreme violence which is unsettling for me personally but might be an attraction for other readers. The main character Jack, demands empathy and experiences the polar opposites of total bliss and dark pain throughout the book.
I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Totally mesmeizing
Review: In 1969, ten-year old Jack Keller watched the crazy Reggie Ivers toss his mother Joan out the window. Only the reaction of family friend Dom Bertolini kept Jack from following his mother out the seventh story Manhattan window. Several decades later, Jack and his beloved wife Caroline run a chain of restaurants around the world. The couple is in Charlottesville, Virginia for the newest opening of Jack's when disaster strikes. During the opening a brawl breaks out. At the same time an unknown assailant kills Caroline and severely injures Jack. As the restaurateur slowly heals, he realizes that the killer is not finished with him because the culprit finished his wife's murder by tossing her out the window. Jack knows the killer will be back to terminate him this time. ICARUS is an exciting thriller that touches the reader's soul, a rarity for this genre. Russell Andrews slowly simmers the plot so that the audience comes to care for Caroline and Jack. This leads to readers mourning Caroline's death and rooting for Jack to recover in order to take out the killer. Mr. Andrews provides quite a good tale even if the female death count seems high. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting But Implausible
Review: It's never a good sign if I start another novel while I'm more than halfway through another novel. This unfortunately pertains to Icarus. There's just a little too many soap opera-type twists in the plot to keep my interest. And "Kid"? Having all these super-gorgeous women willing to kill to have him all to themselves? Not believable either. And calling them throughout the novel by nicknames? Annoying--and I just didn't buy it.
Andrews has a nice narrative style, and the hero tracking down all the possible suspects at the end was interesting and compelling. The above items just detracted from an interesting plot. Perhaps the most crucial flaw in the novel is the murderer. When she/he is revealed, it's just not believable that this character could be the one responsible for all the mayhem of the novel. The key to any psychological suspense is credible reasons why the antagonist would engage in such horrific behavior. Icarus is interesting, but it just doesn't work.
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