At All Costs

Rating:
Summary: a surprising end
Review: The novel At All Costs by J. Gilstrap deals with the pretty topical subjects of international warfare/ arms trafficking and the corruption of FBI. Gilstrap combines those subjects in a very interesting way. The novel is a thrilling page-turner with growing suspense and a real surprising end.
The way the characters are presented is logical, detailed and very realistic, thus makes them rather interesting and gives the reader the possibility to identify with the main characters.
In our opinion the beginning is a little long - winding, but it turns out to be a stylistic device aimed at building up suspense. This "normal life" beginning makes it unputdownable.
Unfortunately the novel gets very violent and even a little artificial in the end, so Gilstrap is kind of breaking the mood.
But all in all we would say that At All Costs is a book worth reading especially because of the surprise of finding out who the guy is who pulls the strings in the background and why.

Rating:
Summary: Solid effort
Review: This book is a strong thriller that succeeds where many fail: the characters are believable and act and react in realistic ways. I also felt fufilled at the end, as this author knows how to bring a story to a close. Its premise reminds me of FALSE ACCUSATIONS (Alan Jacobson), another great read that I highly recommend, in which an innocent individual is accused of a terrible crime. While FALSE ACCUSATIONS and AT ALL COSTS are both thrillers, they approach the topic from different perspectives. Both grab you from the start and hold you to the end. You can't go wrong with either one.

Rating:
Summary: the best thriller i have read in a very long time
Review: this book is one you will pick up and not put down. every page is exciting and the writing is excellent.

Rating:
Summary: tedious, predictable, two-dimensional
Review: This book was a big disappointment, especially given the reviews it has had on-line here. The writing is stilted, the characterizations are flat and predictable, and the big "who's behind it all?" surprise is telegraphed three hundred pages in advance. It's billed as a thriller, but there were no thrills in it for me...

Rating:
Summary: tedious, predictable, two-dimensional
Review: This book was a big disappointment, especially given the reviews it has had on-line here. The writing is stilted, the characterizations are flat and predictable, and the big "who's behind it all?" surprise is telegraphed three hundred pages in advance. It's billed as a thriller, but there were no thrills in it for me...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, an exciting read!
Review: This was my first Gilstrap book and I'm happy to say it won't be my last. It was without a doubt the best thriller I've read in a long time. I made the mistake of reading it at bedtime and it left me wide awake, heart pounding, for hours after reading. I was especially impressed with his characterizations. He made you feel as if you personally knew each and every character and cared what happened to them. I'm off to find a copy of Nathan's Run. Gilstrap goes down on my list of authors to watch!

Rating:
Summary: The best thriller I've read in years!
Review: This was one of those books where you start reading the first chapter in the bookstore, and suddenly you just can't stop. Gilstrap does it all. He's created wonderful characters, who feel like they're your friends, and by the end of the book, you hurt when they hurt, cheer when they cheer. All of this, and non-stop action, too. There's only a handful of authors I'll buy in hardback, and John Gilstrap is now at the top of the list!

Rating:
Summary: Gilstrap is no sophomore slumper
Review: Those who have read John Gilstrap's excellent 1996 bestseller NATHAN'S RUN will recognize the elements at work in his new novel: a frame-up, innocents persecuted by a cold bureaucracy, and super-close calls and thrilling chases. In the hands of a less thoughtful writer, this could have been cliched nonsense. However, Gilstrap makes you indentify with his heroes because they are not heroic. Rather, they are ordinary folks like you and me. As they race along trying to hold their family together and finding evidence to clear their names, it is obvious that they don't know what they are doing, and that leaves their outcome truly in doubt. The only dissapointment is the conclusion, a shoot-out that too conveniently unravels the story's many twists and turns. Otherwise, a solid, heart-tugging page turner.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Scary! Suspense Filled! Heart Pounding!
Review: What a good scary book! If you want to read a can't put it down story.......read this one!

Rating:
Summary: the best 500 pages ever written.
Review: while im a big fan of john grisham, as well as numerous other authors and books. however, i thoroughly enjoyed this book. gilstrap is an excellent author, and his use of descriptive language is great. often at times, i found myself gripping the pages, wanting to know what happens next.

the book is a great suspense thriller. every chapter adds to the twist of the story. read this book; it's well worth your time.