As Catch Can

Rating:
Summary: A non-stop fast-paced thriller about prison corruption.
Review: I Just finished reading Vincent Zandri's powerful first novel, "As Catch Can". It's a non-stop thriller with all too vivid characters who come to life in the reader's mind. The narration is fast paced and certainly held this reader's interest. The plot revolves around a prison warden who is caught in a situation where he is accused of dereliction of duty in permitting a cop killer inmate to escape from his maximum security prison. Life inside the prison is depicted in graphic detail, reflecting the problems of life behind prison walls. One of the most striking parts of the story deals with flashbacks of a fictional (although based on fact) account of the Attica prison riots of 1971 in which many of the CO's were tortured, raped, and murdered by the mutinous inmates. I found these descriptions hair raising, arousing feelings of horror at the extent of human degradation possible. The story depicts modern day vice and corruption, as well as Keeper Marconi's spiritual capacity to "play fair" in a game that's rigged against him. The book makes thrilling reading that doesn't allow the reader to put the volume down. It's the kind of novel that should become an edge-of-the-seat movie thriller. If you like crime thrillers, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Very intense from start to finish!
Review: I read about a third of this book and couldn't wade throught the rest. The plot isn't credible. The main character is a whiner.

Usually 5 stars on amazon means a book is a winner. Not this time.

Zandri goes in the same junk pile as Lehane.

Rating:
Summary: This is as good as it gets!
Review: I wish all mysteries were this good! As Catch Can was the first mystery I read that actually made me think. It is destined to be a classic! Buy one for yourself and another for the person who will be trying to read it over your shoulder.

Rating:
Summary: Albert Victory Set Free!
Review: Take it from someone who's been reading Robert Parker for years, Keeper Marconi is bound to take his rightful place beside Spenser. What I can't understand it how this sleeper hasn't sky rocketed yet. How long do we have to wait until the next book, Mr. Zandri.

Rating:
Summary: Eerie, enthralling, exciting--exactly what the genre needs!
Review: This debut novel from a very talented young writer skillfully dovetails between its current-day tale of prison corruption and murder, and the horrific, unforgettable memories of the Attica prison siege a quarter-century ago--memories seared into the psyche of the protagonist, a former corrections officer at Attica and a current warden at another maximum security prison. You often wince, and want to look away, but you can't because you are as captivated as an Attica prison guard back in the summer of '71, being held prone with your face in the mud by a stanky, vile inmate, a razor-sharp kitchen utensil perilously pricking your skin. This scintillating, sordid, and sometimes salacious story gives you a realistic glimpse into a world you never have and never want to experience first-hand, but you're awful glad to see it through Warden "Keeper" Marconi's eyes. Buy this book today and you'll find it to be a welcome alternative to the formulaic garbage put out by the likes of Grisham.

Rating:
Summary: Robert Ludlum meets Shawshank Redemption.
Review: Vincent Zandri has crafted an almost surreal account of the depravity surrounding the state prison system of the late twentieth century. After my initial shock at Zandri's descriptions of prison life (not only the terrifying descriptions of the Attica riots as seen from inside the walls, but also the daily life within a "normal" prison) and the initial adrenaline rush of the plot-twisting story (it's not like a roller coaster, it's more like a free-falling nightmare), I was left with the real message of this book, which is about healing. A man tries to heal after a terrible loss, a woman slowly heals from an abusive relationship, a prison system goes through the painful and violent healing process after a corrupt administration. It is also about those who cannot heal and how debilitating lingering wounds really are. Zandri does an extraordinary job of opening the very private world of male grief and making it accessible. Zandri's novel is dark, almost brooding, but its message is ultimately hopeful and one is left with a sense of ironic optimism. Zandri also has left some strings untied, leaving me eager for a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Sublime!
Review: Without question, Zandri's finest work since "Rice for Edna."

Rating:
Summary: Sublime!
Review: Without question, Zandri's finest work since "Rice for Edna."