A Five-Year Plan

Rating:
Summary: Kerr's worst
Review: 3 1/2 stars

Of all of the Kerr books that I have read up to now, this is the worst, which is unusual, because from what I have read, it has the best chance of being made into a movie.

My problem with the book is that by the time the book is over, I felt like not much had happened. Sure there is a story and action, but I felt like I had only read 100 pages, and that is not meant in a good way. I felt like there was a lot more to be said. It just wasn't captivating. Unlike Kerr's other books, I was able to put this book down. The characters are not extremely interesting, and by the time they start to get interesting, the novel is over.

Still, this would make a good movie. Hopefully it will happen.

Rating:
Summary: Good enough for pool-time!
Review: After being enthralled by his beautifully evocative "Berlin Noir" trilogy, it came as a huge disappointment that Kerr has elected to trespass on Elmore Leonard's turf armed with as little wit and originality as this book exhibits. We've met more interesting versions of these characters in Leonard's works and, what's worse is that the reader can see each plot twist come from 50 pages away. Compared to "Berlin Noir", the writing is lazy and uninspired. The plot line, itself, seems to have been pulled from the B-movie recycle bin.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Thriller
Review: During his five year stretch in a Florida prison Dave Delano comes up with a brilliant plan that's going to make him a millionaire. The plan involves stealing drug money that is being shipped in a luxury yacht that's being transported in a huge ship bound for Europe (one million and a half to be exact). The dilemma is that the FBI has a tip and has sent a couple of agents along for the ride.

The whole story develops during this sea voyage. It may seem limiting to keep the whole tale in this uncanny setting, but somehow Philip Kerr manages to keep the story exciting. There are a lot of plot twists in this thriller that keep you guessing all the time, but it never gets too confusing.

The story gets better as you keep reading. You are going to meet some pretty funny and bizarre characters, and the ending which kills a lot of novels in the, "Thriller that has a lot of Plot Twists" genre, is very rewarding. Overall it's a great novel.



Rating:
Summary: views of a first time Philip Kerr reader
Review: I personally was not entrhalled by this book. The dialogue was someimes witty, although more often it was slow, wannabe gangster, and plain boring. A lot of the time I found myself skipping entire chapters, or scanning paragraphs. The reader feels like they have to wade through a lot of muck to get to the point. The one thing that caught my attention in this book was the relationship between the protagonists, FBI agent Kate Furey, and ex-con Dave Delano. For once, the couple does not get together at the end of the book after knowing each other for, maybe, 2 weeks. Very enheartening for the future of book plots. The plot was twisty, and it was hard to keep up, especially if the reader is not used to fast-paced action stories.

Also it seemed like Kerr was going to make Figaro(the lawyer) a main character, but that fizzled out. Very cool hero and heroine. Would make an excellent mafia/action movie!

Rating:
Summary: Derivative Dreck From A Talented Writer
Review: Philip Kerr is a gifted writer, as anyone who's read his brilliant Berlin Noir trilogy (March Violets, The Pale Criminal, A German Requiem) can attest to. Unfortunately, he completely abandons the tight plotting and deep characterizations he capable of in this derivative South Florida hiest-at-sea thriller. Kerr ventures into territory already well covered by crime luminaries such as Elmore Leonard, James Hall, Carl Hiassen, and Lawrence Shames, and fails to add anything new. Protagonist Dave Delano is a stock character (as is everyone in the book), the guy who went to jail for five years and came out well-read and ready with a big score to take down. He enlists the aid of a cast of comic-book Florida mobsters in his scheme to steal $20-$60 million in cash being sent by sea to Russia to be laundered. Also on the boat is FBI agent Kate Kury and two other law enforcement types, who are tracking a shipment of cocaine. Kerr sets this up so that it's clear that Dave is intent on simply stealing from other thieves, and doesn't wish to hurt anyone, which makes it OK when he and Kate predictably hook up. From then on, the main tension is not whether the score will go off OK (that's pretty obvious), but whether workaholic Kate will turn her back on the FBI and join Dave in carpe-dieming as partners. Hmmm, thief and FBI agent fall for each other.... where have I read that before... oh, maybe in Elmore Leonard's Out of Sight, which pulls it off with a much more delicate touch. It's basic airplane/beach reading garbage, with not an ounce of originality, and is even more disappointing coming from a talented writer like Kerr.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Phillip Kerr is probably better known for "The Grid" or "A Philosophical Investigation" than his wonderful "Berlin Noir" trilogy which is sad, since Berlin Noir is his best ever. A Five Year Plan is completely different from anything he has previously written but is recognisably the work of the Berlin Noir man all the same.

Our hero leaves prison with a plan to make a lot of money very quickly, and therefore illegally. He approaches the boss crook, for whom he took the five year fall, for financial backing and sets off across the Atlantic on a yacht transporter. He is accompanied by multifarious crooks, millionaires, seamen and FBI agents and falls in love with an FBI lady on a mission to catch some other crooks. Will he get away with it? Will true love conquer all? Will he get everyone killed? It's always hard to know with Kerr and I'm not going to tell you.

I strongly recommend this book. Kerr is a wonderful writer, akin to Michael Dibdin in the quality of his craftsmanship and flexibility. He writes witty, fluid and keenly observed prose and can always keep you up all night to finish just one more chapter.

Rating:
Summary: shallow fun
Review: Reading this book was as close as I believe I've ever come to actually reading a blockbuster movie. Not an artsy film, but an actual big budget big stars big production kind of a movie. Which is not exactly what I look for in a book. It was an easy and fast read, with smart cracking characters possessing the depth of a soapdish. The story line was simple enough to follow, with predictable twists and double crosses. The cover says that the book was optioned for a movie, so I'd reccomend waiting for the big screen treatment. After all, the typical things one normally worries about with a book adaptation, won't be a problem here. No depth or charm will be lost surely. Exept for maybe an occasional spark of wit, which in my opinion is the book's most redeeming quality. Should have given it less then 3 stars, but I'm feeling generous, after all I didn't fall asleep once while reading the book:)

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining comic like thriller.
Review: Unlike many other reviewers, I discovered Mr. Kerr's work much later, so my experience is in working back from "The Shot". I am not surprised by the reviews as few Authors can maintain a level that marks the best of their abilities book after book. Readers not only want the new work to be as good as previous efforts but even better.

Of the 3 I have read, "The Shot", "ESAU" and now "A Five Year Plan", it's 2 out of three and I plan to continue working my way back through his work. If the other reviewers are correct, the reading experience should be even better.

The enjoyment in this book was the dialogue. It was the strength of the work and ironically was responsible for the poorer parts as well. When good it reminded me of "Get Shorty", when bad, which was very infrequent, it was the result of trying to retain a level of cleverness for too long. One-line remarks are great, but there is a definite limit as to how long they can be sustained, and in 3 or 4 instances I Believe Mr. Kerr pushed too far. It's a fine line from a great run of dialogue to one line too many that kills the entire passage.

Like "ESAU" the Governmental Authorities were moronic with the exception of the Female lead. They are not even interesting in how empty-headed they are. Creating a character that is boring, annoying, but interesting to read is a challenge, if the Author misses you get the same reading enjoyment as you would if you were actually dealing with the character. And some of them seem to be uncomfortable in their roles, as they don't have anything to do in the book; they have little to nothing to do with the story.

My ranking of this book is on the dialogue at or near it's best, and happily that is the majority of the time. The plot is average as there is nothing so new or clever to keep your attention. The dialogue is very very good, it is also quite off color, bawdy, or really crude depending on your taste. So if you don't care for humor that at times may make you wince, this isn't for you. There is nothing that bad, but for some, there will be just too much.

I'm glad I stuck it out for a third book. I hope to enjoy the others as much as other reviewers.