- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books/TownHouse (15 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 190365033X
- ISBN-13: 978-1903650332
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,022,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph, November 9, 2003
It’s hard to believe that The Rizzoli Contract is a first novel, so accomplished is the plotting and the writing.
Myles McWeeney, Irish Independent, September 13, 2003
Kevin Stevens has got into the mind and heart of the tough Boston Irish community with an uncanny accuracy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Real Deal... Sadly,
By
This review is from: The Rizzoli Contract (Paperback)
Stevens (like my good self) is a Yank who has taken root in Dublin. Exactly like my aforementioned good self, in fact: came here for college, returned to the US, then ultimately decided to settle in the land of Guinness, redheads and evil software industries. I was eager to see what kinda book me alter-ego would turn out. The Rizzoli Contract is described as a literary thriller- literary both because it focuses deeply on what is taking place within Harry Donohue (its main character) and because the contract of the title is a book contract- not the contract put out on someone's life (as I had assumed, going in.) A good read? Yeah. But it would have been jazzed up by more hit men. More rocket launchers. And spaghetti sauce. Don't get me wrong: this is an ably written novel. The blurb about the author says that, when working for a publishing company back in the 80's, he penned the real-life police corruption expose that this fictional contract is based upon. Since then? An unelaborated "number of books." Read: ghost writer. Stevens is likely the capable guy they call in to do the "heavy lifting" when whichever faded sports star of TV idol decides to tell-all. I'm glad to see that he delivers, when finally putting his own name to a piece if prose. It's something to be proud of. It's just not that exciting. Plot summary: a fifty-something Bostonian, failing to safeguard the family business which his siblings have entrusted to him, casts all his wits and strength into a make-or-break gamble. Can he turn Rizzoli's story into a bestseller that will revive the fortunes of Donohue Press? Can he keep his grubby old-man mitts of of Rizzoli's wife? Can he make amends with his own family, especially his estranged son? Over the course of 330 pages, all is revealed. The real appeal of the book is its portraits of Boston, the 80's, and Harry. (Get your reading glasses checked if you can't see the plot twist coming a mile away). There are some fantastic descriptions, and the spirit of that place in time is captured with complete authority. This is honest. It's the real deal. It's just that real life is the thing that foolish young eegits like me pick up books to escape. Three and a half stars outta five, and another anecdote in evidence that ex-pat eyes capture with amazing clarity their native country.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read and a real page turner.,
By
This review is from: The Rizzoli Contract (Paperback)
A fun read and a real page turner. It's the kind of book that you will pick up at bedtime and keep reading through the night. Stevens is a natural stylist and great at creating interesting and believable characters and writing realistic dialogue. He's really captured the essence of Boston, too -- its brahmins and its lowlifes, its Irish-American core and its diverse ethnic heritage. You might even say that he's done for Boston what Raymond Chandler did for Los Angeles. Highly recommended!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good, but not a great read,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Rizzoli Contract (Paperback)
This is a good read which doesn't quite make it into the "great read" category. I read this book over a ten week period, which is not a good idea in the first place. So - it was "put-downable", not a great thing to say about a "thriller".The setting for the book (Boston) is expertly and lovingly described. I did feel that Stevens overdoes the metaphors in many of his descriptions, but the atmosphere is set very well. All fiction must have strong character and plot. A book written in the first person must have an especially strong character (Harry D) and I believe Stevens delivers this. Harry is on a downward spiral and the story centres on his one last shot (a book about a crook called Rizzoli) at making it to the big time. It's just that the plot starts off great, but for me - loses some momentum. Perhaps this book should be read quickly to get better enjoyment.
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