Rating: 
Summary: Make time for this book - its creepy good.
Review: I'm married. I've got kids. I have no time to read. A friend of mine recommended this book and I couldn't put it down from its first disturbing page. Kids and family....they had to suffer while I woke up, read, ate, read,ate again, read some more....you get the picture. The main character, Phillip Randall is a bit too familiar to me. The decsions he makes - while deplorable - have an all to easy way of making you think...would I do that?
His use of commercial catch phrases is pretty darn funny. There were a few chapters there where there were more tag lines than half time at the Super Bowl.
When you come right down to it, though, Roughan has to be some kind of wacko to put this book together. He touches enough dark areas of the psyche that you feel the need to go straight to church after you finish. Buy this book. It's a good read and it'll make you think about all those "good people" out there. Are you one of them?
Rating:
Summary: A Triumphant First
Review: Impressively adept and sharp, Howard Roughan's first novel draws the reader into the dark, often amusing, realm of the subconscious, personified by Phillip Randall - a young, New York lawyer who has everything except a single redeeming feature. The luxury apartment, free-flowing cash, and beautiful and seriously rich wife are not enough for Randall. Not even New York City, with its myriad opportunities for extravagance can satisfy his ego.Like a child whose emotional range begins and ends with his will, Randall's star is fueled by a shameless and arrogant view of life as a grand con game, one he believes he is slick enough to win no matter the risks. At the center of the plot is the love affair with his best friend's wife, and through his cold, often funny, editorials on the maintenance of this liaison, we come to realize that Randall is more turned on by the subterfuge than he is by the sex. Thus, when an old acquaintance emerges from the shadows and threatens to expose the affair, Randall sizes up this new opponent in the game and deems him unworthy. By calling the blackmailer's bluff, Randall sets off a chain of astonishingly horrible events, through which the author demonstrates tremendous inventiveness and a strong facility for creating tension and momentum. On the surface, The Up and Comer is like a well-crafted pulp novel on speed - legitimately a page-turner. But beyond that, Roughan succeeds in leaving the reader ever so slightly haunted by this dark adventure. While it is tempting, at first, to dismiss Randall as an idiot who turned a speed bump into a train wreck, there is something frighteningly familiar about him. For every ounce of ambition, there is at least a measure of Randall in there, and in the end one must admit, however sheepishly, that he is human. At best, this is a disturbing revelation, and Roughan deserves a great deal of credit for the subtle way in which this book leaves its lingering effect. High praise indeed for this remarkable new author. I look forward to the next Roughan work with tremendous eagerness and slight trepidation.
Rating: 
Summary: A FAST-PACED TALE OF BLACKMAIL
Review: Manhattan lawyer Philip Randall thinks he has it all: a position with one of New York's top law firms, a beautiful and wealthy wife, and a sexy mistress. What Philip doesn't know is that someone is watching, and they are going to make him pay for his sins. During a night out, Philip and his wife run into high school buddy Tyler Mills. Tyler, recovering from a suicide attempt, approaches his old pal with well wishes, and a bottle of champagne, but the real purpose for this reunion is to begin a twisted scheme to bring is old friend to his knees. Tyler has been watching Philip, and is aware of the affair he is having with his best friend's wife. This information will enable him to demand a hefty amount of money to keep his silence. After being confronted by Tyler, Philip denies everything, and refuses to pay, but after the phone-calls, emails, and faxes start pouring in, he realizes Tyler means business, and the only way to stop him is by getting rid of him...forever. 'The Up And Comer' is a suspenseful, and often funny thriller that goes deep into the hearts of it's main characters to examine the destructive paths they have chosen, and to expose the price paid by those who believe having everything is not enough. Written in a style similar to Bret Easton Ellis, Howard Roughan has created a complex, and compulsively readable tale that should land on the bestseller lists, and be among the summer's most talked about books. Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Fast Paced
Review: Mr. Roughan, where have you been? A truly fast paced action book with all the elements of intrigue and mystery. I enjoyed this very much. Please keep writing. The ending should not have been a surprise, however, it was!
Rating:
Summary: A forceful thriller
Review: Perhaps it is the remains of his youth, but ultra-confident attorney Philip Randall smugly feels he owns the world. Philip has some evidence to support his belief. He is climbing the legal corporate ladder at a record pace. His malleable wife comes from a very wealthy Greenwich, Connecticut family that adores him. Finally, the brazen Philip has a lover, who knows how to excite him. However, it is the latter that begins to cause Philip great harm. An old acquaintance Tyler Mills has been taking pictures of Philip with his lover. Tyler wants money for his silence or he threatens to blow up Philip's perfect orb. Philip knows that if Tyler talks, his elitist lifestyle ends. However, he also knows that paying the blackmailer will mean a life of feeding this lunatic who will never let go of the cash cow he has cornered. THE UP AND COMER is a forceful thriller that succeeds because the key characters come across as human. Philip's hedonism, his wife's compliance, his lover's needs, and his blackmailer's rough blend of sadism all ring authentic and make the tale an exciting character study. The story line is told by Philip, which allows readers to slowly see him turn from smug importance to frightened desperado. This technique humanizes the cast even further as readers will wonder what path Philip will take. Howard Roughan is clearly an up and coming author worth following. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: HIGH UP AND ARRIVED
Review: Rarely do you find yourself laughing out loud and often -- especially when reading a novel about lawyers, New York City and murder. The Up and Comer, however, (and more specifically author Howard Roughan) provides the perfect opportunity to do just that... and more. The book picks up speed quickly as you follow the life of a successful lawyer navigating his way through the law, politics, marriage and lust. The "it can't happen to me" mentality no longer applies the $%#@*! is hitting the proverbial fan. Phillip Randall is trying to impress his boss and keep his wife happy, but his efforts to "spice" up his life and meet new friends gets him a little off track. After an affair with his friend's wife--which doesn't end after one night of lust on the streets of New York, he is found out by an old classmate who, for lack of anything better to do, has decided to blackmail Phillip "Philly." In an effort to save his career and marriage, Phillip takes matters into his own hands and plans to extinguish those who can expose him. Will he be able to ignore his moral compass? (He already has with his adultry). Will he end up with the woman he really loves? Will she help him? The words rip along as you seek to find the answers. The author effectively mixes in a cast of interesting, sophisticated and humerous characters, which make this read go that much faster. Hip, on-point and sexy. A perfect summer read. I look forward to Howard Roughan's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: OK
Review: Roughnan has written a very functional thriller, with the usual and expected thriller twists and turns. Roughnan doesn't veer away from the 'thriller' formula, which makes following the plot pedestrian.
Rating:
Summary: Loved suffering with this incredible book....
Review: This book is brilliant!....I got it from two friends (Michael and Tracy) while vacationing at their North Shore home....and could not put it down. The characters involve you, you feel for them, you become them....you suffer as their situation becomes more desperate and as their options vanish. Half way through the book you make the life long decision not to get involved in outside marriage relationships! you name it....This is a great book, and as I understand that it is the author's first, I can't wait for his second book....inside information tells me that it is in the works. By the way, I have an autographed copy....although it was autographed for somebody else....
Rating:
Summary: Loved suffering with this incredible book....
Review: This book is brilliant!....I got it from two friends (Michael and Tracy) while vacationing at their North Shore home....and could not put it down. The characters involve you, you feel for them, you become them....you suffer as their situation becomes more desperate and as their options vanish. Half way through the book you make the life long decision not to get involved in outside marriage relationships! you name it....This is a great book, and as I understand that it is the author's first, I can't wait for his second book....inside information tells me that it is in the works. By the way, I have an autographed copy....although it was autographed for somebody else....
Rating:
Summary: GIVES A REAL FEEL FOR LIFE IN NYC IN THE 1990's
Review: This book is excellent. Mr. roughan articulates what it was like to live in the fast paced (and anything goes) manhattan of the 1990's. He masterly accomplishes this through wit, insight and a keen observation of how the up-and-comers of that era lived life (and how the booming economy could turn a seemingly normal guy into a....READ THIS BOOK TO FIND OUT!) heartily recommended.
| 
