Rating: 
Summary: It is a fast-paced thriller
Review: A friend of mine gave me this book and I picked it up since I needed a faster-paced read in the midst of moving. This book is definitely a fast-paced thriller ~~ you can't put it down. With events beginning with a bombing in a Georgetown restaurant, Kirk Macgrevor begins the hunt for the killers and finds a conspiracy between the Japanese and unidentified sources in the White House ~~ and with the countdown of a space ship in Japan looming, Macgrevor races against time to find the killers. He writes to keep you on your toes ~~ and I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the book has left me with more questions than answers ~~ as if the last few chapters were written in a haste and no answers to be found. That is why I rate this book a 3 star ~~ something was missing. Other than that, it is an enjoyable read. It's a great summer read ~~ it's a thriller unlike others. 5-13-03
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent thriller
Review: Cleveland private investigator Milan Jacovich owes his life to Dr. Reginald Parker. Strangely it did not occur when the two were grunts in Nam as their paths never crossed in Southeast Asia. Instead, the high school principal rescued the sleuth in an East Cleveland crack house. Milan knows that he owes Reginald so when the educator calls in his chips, the detective responds. A former student, Jason Crowell attends Sherman College located in the western suburbs. An anonymous group, the Women Warriors, accuse Jason of rape, plastering flyers all over the campus. The media is playing the story. Milan agrees to look into the situation and learns some strange facts. No one knows who are the members of the female activist group. The alleged victim has never surfaced. Jason has always been squeaky clean and his sexual preference tends towards males. As the school administration wants to hang Jason as a sexual predator, a related murder occurs in which the freshman serves as the prime suspect. Milan believes the lad is innocent and plans to uncover the identity of the real killer. The Milan Jacovich mysteries remain an entertaining treat as they strip away the image of a burning Lake Erie and a rusted city to provide a tour of the real Cleveland. The latest novel, THE BEST-KEPT SECRET, is an interesting tale as Milan investigates the ugly atmosphere of a nearby campus. The story line seems far-fetched that Jason would come under such a blitz attack based on almost nothing. However, the fact that indiviudals serving hard time have been freed due to DNA testing prove otherwise. Les Roberts has kept fresh his down to earth sleuth in a tale that fans will enjoy. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Very Unrealistic
Review: I have read all of Hagberg's books and unfortunately this one is not as good as the others. It goes into the realm of too unrealistic for a thriller. This story is definitely not on par with Ludlum and Cussler.
Rating:
Summary: All I can say is: WOW!
Review: I've been a reader of Hagberg's since on a whim I picked up a copy of 'Critical Mass' several years ago and thought it was a darned good action/adventure novel. Well I never once saw this book at ANY bookstores...I found out about it by accident while browsing through Amazon...so I went out and tried to find it at one of the 3 major bookstores in my area, and NONE of them had it. I had to resort to the public library, which thank heavens had it...with that said, I have to admit this is Hagberg's best work to date. MUCH better than 'Assassin' and light years ahead of 'High Flight'. There seems to be new strength to Hagberg's writing here. From the opening pages you will find it hard to pause long enough to take a breath and dive back in for more. For a couple of days before I finished it, the first thing on my mind when I woke up was 'White House' and what was going to happen next. Now THAT is MY personal measuring stick for how good a book is: If it's the last thing on my mind when I go to bed and the 1st thing I think of when I get up, I KNOW it's a good book. From the brink-of-war situation between Japan and North Korea to rockets taking satellite's to the new International Space Station to chase scenes worthy of the best Bond film, Hagberg is to be commended on breathing new life into Kirk McGarvey. The last couple of McGarvey stories had been getting a little dull, but in 'White House' Hagberg totally redeems himself with a great story, incredible speed, and everything in between that makes action/adventure/intrigue all worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: All I can say is: WOW!
Review: I've been a reader of Hagberg's since on a whim I picked up a copy of 'Critical Mass' several years ago and thought it was a darned good action/adventure novel. Well I never once saw this book at ANY bookstores...I found out about it by accident while browsing through Amazon...so I went out and tried to find it at one of the 3 major bookstores in my area, and NONE of them had it. I had to resort to the public library, which thank heavens had it...with that said, I have to admit this is Hagberg's best work to date. MUCH better than 'Assassin' and light years ahead of 'High Flight'. There seems to be new strength to Hagberg's writing here. From the opening pages you will find it hard to pause long enough to take a breath and dive back in for more. For a couple of days before I finished it, the first thing on my mind when I woke up was 'White House' and what was going to happen next. Now THAT is MY personal measuring stick for how good a book is: If it's the last thing on my mind when I go to bed and the 1st thing I think of when I get up, I KNOW it's a good book. From the brink-of-war situation between Japan and North Korea to rockets taking satellite's to the new International Space Station to chase scenes worthy of the best Bond film, Hagberg is to be commended on breathing new life into Kirk McGarvey. The last couple of McGarvey stories had been getting a little dull, but in 'White House' Hagberg totally redeems himself with a great story, incredible speed, and everything in between that makes action/adventure/intrigue all worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: An exciting thriller
Review: Loner Kirk McGarvey is a maverick who left the CIA due to an incident. Still he works as a free-lance operative for the agency killing individuals who threaten democracy. His wife divorced him, but his daughter Elizabeth wants to be a chip off the old block by accepting a CIA trainee slot. Kirk and his lover come to DC to see Elizabeth, but a passing car opens fire on the restaurant where the McGarvey party is eating. Kirk's mistress is dead and Elizabeth is injured. An angry Kirk accepts the position of acting Deputy Director of Operations for the agency. Meanwhile, in North Korea, a nuclear bomb explodes in an underground site. The intelligence community feels that North Korea possesses four more bombs that could cause havoc on Seoul and Tokyo. Someone does not want McGarvey involved even if it means killing him or abducting his former spouse and their daughter. Kirk goes into field knowing his life is on the line but willing to risk it because something very sinister is happening in Asia. The tortured Kirk McGarvey is a classic antihero who somehow gains the attention and fond attachment of the readers simply because the audience simply likes this obstinate person. However, Kirk is no comic book Bond. The triangular love exchanged between him, his ex-wife, and their daughter bring forth a humanity that keeps him from totally going out in the cold. The story line chills the bones of the audience as the scenarios seem to have the potential of happening. Unlike most sub-genre tales where the action rules, the characters add depth to WHITE HOUSE and pumps the readers, adrenaline readings off the scales. David Hagberg puts the Thrill in a thriller. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Poor weapons knowledge.
Review: Reading White House now. After all the books Mr. Hagberg has written under two names, I thought he'd have taken the time to get up to speed on weapons. I was wrong. I burst out laughing when I read, on pg. 245, last paragraph, "Kondo checked the safety catch on his long-barreled suppressed .22mm semiautomatic assault pistol to make certain it was ready to fire." Let's sort this out for Mr. H. : You would make certain the safety was off, and ease the action open slightly to make certain it a round was chambered and ready to fire. .22mm= 0.00866 cal. That's 866/100,000" ! Nonexistent, and useless even if it did exist ! "semiautomatic assault pistol" semiautoamatic and assault mutually exclusive. An assault weapon by definition is a rifle of intermediate caliber, capable of select-fire operation, either semi-automatic or fully-automatic fire. Corrected, it reads like this: Kondo checked his long-barreled suppressed .22 cal semiautomatic pistol to make certain the safety was off, easing the action open slightly to ensure a round was chambered and ready to fire. One of his others that comes to mind is "high-velocity suppressed .22 cal pistol." Can't have both, Mr. H. Sorry. To be supressed, the bullet has to be subsonic. Otherwise the crack! of the round breaking the sound barrier negates the effectiveness of the supressor. These are not the only cases of Mr. H.'s display of his lack of firearms knowledge, just the funniest. If you read this, Mr. H. , It's the details like this that keep a book believable. They won't keep me from buying your books, but your books would be better if all the details were correct. Other than that, I find his books to be quite entertaining, and well written. Hopefully, he will educate himself and prevent these errors in the future. I suggest a good reference on military firearms, perhaps Jane's.
Rating:
Summary: Poor weapons knowledge.
Review: Reading White House now. After all the books Mr. Hagberg has written under two names, I thought he'd have taken the time to get up to speed on weapons. I was wrong. I burst out laughing when I read, on pg. 245, last paragraph, "Kondo checked the safety catch on his long-barreled suppressed .22mm semiautomatic assault pistol to make certain it was ready to fire." Let's sort this out for Mr. H. : You would make certain the safety was off, and ease the action open slightly to make certain it a round was chambered and ready to fire. .22mm= 0.00866 cal. That's 866/100,000" ! Nonexistent, and useless even if it did exist ! "semiautomatic assault pistol" semiautoamatic and assault mutually exclusive. An assault weapon by definition is a rifle of intermediate caliber, capable of select-fire operation, either semi-automatic or fully-automatic fire. Corrected, it reads like this: Kondo checked his long-barreled suppressed .22 cal semiautomatic pistol to make certain the safety was off, easing the action open slightly to ensure a round was chambered and ready to fire. One of his others that comes to mind is "high-velocity suppressed .22 cal pistol." Can't have both, Mr. H. Sorry. To be supressed, the bullet has to be subsonic. Otherwise the crack! of the round breaking the sound barrier negates the effectiveness of the supressor. These are not the only cases of Mr. H.'s display of his lack of firearms knowledge, just the funniest. If you read this, Mr. H. , It's the details like this that keep a book believable. They won't keep me from buying your books, but your books would be better if all the details were correct. Other than that, I find his books to be quite entertaining, and well written. Hopefully, he will educate himself and prevent these errors in the future. I suggest a good reference on military firearms, perhaps Jane's.
Rating:
Summary: It's a keeper!
Review: Since reading High Flight, I have been looking forward to the return of Kirk McGarvey as he continues to "do his thing" in getting rid of the bad guys and saving the world for the rest of us. I was not disappointed with White House. One sometimes thinks that McGarvey's escapes border on The Perils of Pauline and his accomplishments would make James Bond green with envy. The characters are well drawn, the plot is stimulating, and, at the end of the day, the evil have been dealt with, the corrupt have been weeded out and most of the good guys are still standing. The trip to there is worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Very Unrealistic
Review: This is my first experience with David Hagberg. The book was good though I found it a little slow through the middle. The incident at the beginning was well written and had my hopes up for a continuing excitement level. This however tapered off somewhat through the middle of the book and then picked up with the last 1/3 when the story starts moving fairly fast. Overall good book - I'd recommend it to others and would read other Hagberg titles. Also: My copy (paperback) of the book fell apart. The cover came off and pages broke out of the binding.
| 
