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Rating: 
Summary: The Reincarnation Of Jim Thompson
Review: Extremely dark noir masterpeice. Tight, transparent, deceptively simple prose. A nasty conclusion that would have made Jim Thompson proud. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Builds In Intensity
Review: HARD FEELINGS is the kind of story that benefits from a quiet, careful beginning, putting into stark contrast the nightmare place in which we end. Here is the story of a man whose life deteriorates and slowly crumbles around him one agonising, but inevitable, step at a time and is made all the more stunning by the fact that it is told from a first person perspective. At the start of the story, Richard Segal is an average thirty-something DINK living in New York City. He appears to be a quiet guy trying to get ahead. And that's exactly what he is. He works as a computer network salesman in a new job and is having a few small problems making his first sale for the company - but nothing major. He gets along okay with his wife although they admittedly have their small fights now and again - but nothing major. He's also not particularly overjoyed by his wife's promotion, but that's just a small insecurity problem. So what could possibly send Richard's life on a crazy downward spiral? As with many cases where disaster takes over, the trigger seems inconsequential at first but slowly builds until his life is running hopelessly out of control. The trigger in this case was a chance encounter with Michael Rudnick while walking down the street one day. Rudnick was a boy who was 5 years older than Richard and he grew up in his neighbourhood 22 years ago. His appearance prompts the beginning of a series of memories that Richard had kept repressed for all of those years. The memories are a series of sexual abuses that Rudnick had performed on Richard. Suddenly, Richard becomes distracted and paranoid affecting both his job and his marriage. All he can think about is what happened at the hands of Rudnick and begins to plan his revenge. While Richard is enduring the torturous nightmare of these returned memories, his life continues to be burdened by worsening personal problems. He's a recovering alcoholic and he feels the strong lure of the bottle as a way to calm himself. His job situation is becoming more tenuous as he simply cannot make a sale. Finally, his marriage is deteriorating daily. Quite simply, something has to give, a decision has to be made and the decision he goes for is to seek revenge against Michael Rudnick. The revenge he chooses has much more widespread consequences than anyone could imagine, not surprisingly seeing as the decision was made after the immense pressure Richard put himself under. Jason Starr has managed to turn a comfortably happy man into a paranoid wreck in such a way that it's a little scary in how realistically the change was brought about. Small pieces of Richard's life, problems that by themselves could have been comfortably dealt with, were drawn together and stacked on top of each other to bury poor Richard Segal. The tone of the novel quickly grows frantic and desperate as Richard can see his life, everything he had worked for and hoped for was spinning away from him. He would work as hard as he could to repair the mistakes he makes, but in the end all he is left with is a feeling of utter dispair. While it was fascinating to get inside the mind of this man who was being consumed by his paranoia and rage, fighting self-doubt while battling the constant lure of alcoholism, by the end of the story I was exhausted after feeling as though I helped to bear his burden.
Rating:
Summary: A Modern Day Tragedy
Review: HARD FEELINGS is the story of Richie Segal, a thirty-something man who, on the face of things seems to be living the American dream, but in reality is slowly disintegrating into the depths of hell. He is about to lose his job, his marriage is in trouble and he is trying to control his alcoholic tendencies. In the midst of this maelstrom, Richie accidentally bumps into Michael Rudnick, a childhood friend who sexually abused him. This sends Richie into a tailspin of dark and troubled memories, bouts of drinking, a loss objectivity, and an escalating desire for retribution. Richie has convinced himself that only this will set him free and enable him to salvage his marriage as well as his career. Although the story unfolds at a slow pace, never does your attention wane because there is such a sense of doom behind every word. The suspense builds so subtly that when Richie acts out, you are more relieved than surprised. To say that what happens is predictable would not do justice to the writing or the story telling, both of which are gripping. That is probably because Richie, himself, is such a complicated and compelling character. I would be remiss if I didn�t mention that I was a bit disappointed with the last few chapters. In these last pages, events seem to happen at a breakneck speed in sharp contrast with the rest of the book. At this point in the book, I also would have much preferred a less than expected ending. Nevertheless, I do not hesitate to recommend HARD FEELINGS. Just be prepared for a dark ride.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable book - weak ending
Review: I agree with the other reviewers who enjoyed this book but were disappointed by the ending. It was quite a let-down, actually. This is the first book I have ever read by Jason Starr, but I will definitely read his next one. He is a talented writer who wrote a very suspenseful, engaging book. Hopefully he will do better on the ending next time.
Rating:
Summary: Gets better and better
Review: The comparison with Jim Thompson is obvious; one can only assume that was the target Starr was consciously aiming for. I think he falls badly short of the mark. He's got a tin ear for dialogue and with interior monologue he's even worse. That is a major handicap to an author who is describing a descent into madness, and at the same time it is precisely what Jim Thompson excelled at. Further, Starr seems to lack a voice of his own. It seems impossible to consider the book on its own without comparing it to others in the genre. Overall it is a very forgettable book.
Rating:
Summary: Promising story from a new noir Starr.
Review: The first original novel ever published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (probably best known for reprinting Jim Thompson's books ) is this crackling noir thriller about a computer salesman with an unhappy marriage whose life starts to go down the toilet. Richie Segal's wife threatens to leave him, he might lose his job; even worse, events from his past keep haunting him. He starts to lose his grip. Finally, he decides to take decisive action to put things right. Naturally, that is when his trouble really begins. The first two-thirds of the book, in particular, are excellent; crisp prose, interesting characters (especially the protagonist), and an excellent set-up that had me thirsting to see what happened next. Starr has a keen eye for the vagaries, quirks, and tensions of ordinary, humdrum life. The tension is all the better because we don't know what this boring salesman might do. Unfortunately, though, the pay-off was something of a let-down. The story is really rolling when the author basically cuts things off and ends the book with a surprise, not-very-satisfying climax, with essentially no resolution. It seemed as if there must be fifty pages missing from this book which develop the ending into a more meaningful conclusion. These problems do not spoil "Hard Feelings," but they do turn it from a potentially great book into only a very good one. Jim Thompson would have taken a story like this and really put the screws to Richie Segal and his tormentors, raising the tension and suspense closer to a hardboiled ideal. I still recommend "Hard Feelings" to you, but next time out I hope that Mr. Starr gives us more. Reviewed by David Montgomery, Mystery Ink
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good
Review: There's nothing terrifically ground-breaking about this novel, but at the same time there's a genuine integrity to the writing, as well as a firm grasp of character. The story doesn't so much falter at the end but tip its hand (you'd have to be completely out of it not to see what's coming), and this is forgiveable, if a bit annoying. It's nice to read a book that stays on the tracks as firmly as Starr's does. Check it out.
Rating:
Summary: LOVED THIS BOOK
Review: This book reminded me of watching one of those great old crime movies from the 40's and 50's. Starr sucks you into the life Richie Segal, a regular guy with some big-time problems, and he doesn't let you go until it's too late. The book has a lot of detail about New York City life (which is all dead on, by the way, because I used to live in the city) and the scenes with Richie, his wife, and the friends they meet in the berkshires are hysterical. Loved the deadpan humor and scenes with Richie and his salesmen colleagues too. The end actually gave me chills. One of the best crime novels I've read in a long time. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining noir/crime fiction
Review: This is a one-sitting page-turner in the tradition of Jim Thompson, though not quite to his standard. Nevertheless, I'll read more of Jason Starr, who thoroughly entertained me with this book ... which readers who lack interest in the dark side of life or find it offensive will NOT enjoy. Very workmanlike. It seems that Starr might be capable of a classic, & he's certainly worth reading for noir fans.
Rating:
Summary: Gets better and better
Review: This is the kind of book that starts out good and keeps getting better. I started reading the book in a bookstore at my local mall and after the first few pages I was hooked. The writer, Jason Starr, has a clean, hard edged style, reminiscent of the old hardboiled crime writers, but the story line is very modern. You can't help root for Richie Segal, even as he does some of the most dispicable things imaginable, and the ending is truly Hitchcockesque. I wish I could write a novel like this. One word sums it up: wow!
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