3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Jason Starr Novel, 21 Feb 2004
By J. Vorzimmer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fake ID (Paperback)
This is a great novel. Probably one of Jason Starr's best. It's got the feel of a Charles Willeford novel or . . . Jim Thompson, David Goodis or Harry Whittington. If you like any of those novelists, you'll love this one. It reminded me a lot of Willeford's High Priest of California and The Woman Chaser. The character of Tommy Russo will remind you of Russell Haxby and Richard Hudson. It was hard to put this book down.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great in general but Starr's done better, 5 Jun 2006
By Noirgirl "Noirgirl" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fake ID (Paperback)
This is a hard book to find but I am a major, though recent, fan of Jason Starr's, so I hunted it down. After reading it I wanted to post a review to let you know that if you can only find it for a ton of cash (I saw many sellers asking $75 for it!), don't buy it. Wait for it to get re-released. While I would think $75 for one of Starr's other books, like maybe Hard Feelings or Twisted City, would be money well spent (umm...I hope his publishers aren't reading this), I don't think you'll be happy you spent that on this one. It's a good read but not up to par with the rest of Starr's novels, in my opinion.
The book has all the classic Starr elements (first person narrative of guy you like in the beginning but slowly come to realize may have a few...problems), it lacks some of the punch of his later books. In particular I noticed that he didn't do as good a job making this character interesting or sympathetic despite his "bad guy" status as he does in his other books. Also, the ending is more *mild spoiler alert* traditional than the fantastic endings he employs in almost every one of his other books.
Overall, this is a very good book. The guy writes like gangbusters and reading his books is never anything less than fun. But, his later novels are much better than this one, which is probably why it's the only one not readily available. So, my advice is, if you can get your hands on it for cheap, go for it. If not, wait for the reprint and then enjoy it at as a great read at retail price.