Customer Reviews

Born to Run (Jack Swyteck)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Gripando has created a page turner that will grip you from the opening line to the final chapter in this legal thriller.

Jack Swyteck, criminal defense attorney, is sucked into his most dangerous, convoluted case yet. A Greek is thrown off a roof in Cyprus, his wife is raped - and thirty years later it leads to the Vice President of the United States dying while hunting alligators in the Florida Everglades.

Overnight Jack's dad, retired Florida Governor Harry Swyteck, is thrust into the limelight as the leading candidate for the VP vacancy. Jack is tapped to be his dad's lead attorney to shepherd him through the confirmation process - only to be fired six hours later. And people keep on dying.

Gripando does a wonderful job of keeping the reader guessing about what's really going on - even as the reader is introduced to a series of legitimate red herrings that could provide reasonable explanations - but don't.

And along the way Jack's investigator, Theo Knight, the convicted murderer who had been on death row that Jack proved was innocent, does his best to cover Jack's back. And FBI agent, Andie Henning, Jack's girlfriend, is constantly faced with challenges about Jack and his involvement in all of this. And all Jack wants to do is go back to his office and handle a simple little criminal case. But if he can't solve this riddle, he'll die from trying. There are forces at work that guarantee it.

Well done, as usual--all and more that we expect from James Grippando. This is his sixteenth book and eighth in the popular series featuring Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck. The author writes legal thrillers learned while he was a trial lawyer. This is where he learned his storytelling gift.

Armchair Interviews says: Grippando is an ingenious storyteller.

"Run" is indeed the operative word in this intense page-turner by top flight thriller writer James Grippando. Although born in Cyprus a man is called the Greek, and he is running from enemies who would take pleasure in killing him, preferably slowly. The current president of the United States ran for his office, won it, and will do anything to keep it. How the two intersect is sizzling reading.

A former trial lawyer himself Grippando has imbued his stalwart series lead, Jack Swyteck, with all the on-target attributes that make Swyteck one of the most believable protagonists in print. Add some very human characteristics and you have a likable, affecting character with whom readers identify. Those who wait for another Jack Swyteck adventure will be both pleased and surprised with what they find in Born To Run.

Grippando opens with a grabber - the Greek has been married to Sofia for but 11 months when their apartment was broken into by Sicilian thugs. The Greek fled, running through alleys, and to a rooftop six stories up with nowhere else to turn. He was caught and thrown, "He didn't hear himself scream, or the Sicilians laughing, as his body collided with the cobblestone below."

Skip to the Florida Everglades some 46 years later where Vice-President Phil Grayson is hunting alligators. But, he tumbled from his boat, "...headfirst into the marsh." As he sank into the muck, the pain became too much. "His body became stiff and unresponsive. His only choice it seemed, was to respect nature, to become one with black water, to be the third and weakest leg in a bizarre and deadly triangle. One angry gator. Untold pythons."

Harry Swyteck, Jack's father and a two-time Florida governor, is asked to be the new Vice-President. Looking ahead to his confirmation hearings he asks Jack to be his lawyer. Not about to turn his Dad down, Jack accepts only to find that Washington, D.C. is not all like the Miami playing field with which he's so familiar. It's darker and deadlier than he could have ever imagined.

Grippando has pulled out all the stops in Born To Run, and in an election year at that. It's a complex, complete thriller that races to a humdinger of a conclusion.

- Gail Cooke

In James Grippando's "Born to Run," forty-year old Miami attorney Jack Swyteck is a nice guy with a conscience, whose relationship with his father has always been a bit rocky. His personal life is also on shaky ground since he is ambivalent about making a permanent commitment to his girlfriend, FBI agent Andie Henning. Jack's dad, former Florida governor Harry Swytek, finds himself in the hot seat when the President of the United States asks him to step in as vice president after Phil Grayson, who preceded him, dies unexpectedly. When Jack gets wind of the possibility that Grayson's death may not have been an accident or the result of natural causes, he decides to launch his own investigation. Jack, his best friend, Theo Knight, an African-American who teases him unmercifully, and Jack's main squeeze, Andie, all risk their lives in a confrontation with some desperate and sadistic men.

"Born to Run" is a paint-by-numbers thriller in which cartoon characters go through their predictable paces. Several individuals take ridiculous risks--the reader wants to shake them for being so stupid--and unsurprisingly end up dead. What secret is so explosive that divulging it would cause a huge political scandal? Anyone who cannot figure out the answer to this question at the halfway point is either not paying attention or has failed to absorb the conventions of formulaic suspense novels.

The dialogue is stilted and cutesy and the book has not an ounce of realism. Grippando has written a purely escapist tale featuring thuggish, one-dimensional villains with hair-trigger tempers and a penchant for mindless violence. After much turmoil, including the usual chase scenes, shooting sprees, and a hostage situation, the whole mess comes to its inevitable conclusion. All in all, this is not one of Grippando's most accomplished works.

I've enjoyed most of the Swytek novels, the exceptions being "Last Call" and this one.

For me, what's made this series so appealing is Swytek's charm and sass played against the gritty backdrop of Miami's criminal justice system. "Last Call" focused primarily on his buddy Theo and Theo's uncle, characters far less interesting; this book takes Swytek out of his familiar milieu and drops him into a situation that revolves around national politics. It's not a good fit, unfortunately. In both cases, the elements that have made the series so appealing to me are sadly missing.

It's hard to be very specific without giving away key plot points and revealing spoilers, but I'll give it a shot.

Whenever a story revolves around national-level politicians - in this case the President - believability is dependant on portraying the system in a credible manner. Vince Flynn does this extremely well in his Mitch Rapp series.

Though the President wields incredible power, the system that's in place to manage his policies and provide him physical protection limits his ability to function autonomously as other people might. He lives in a glass house, every move open to scrutiny. That's not to mention all the other segments of government and the press that are in a position to oppose or aid him, all trying to advance their own agendas.

The accurate portrayal of this reality is the basis of successful political fiction. However, in this novel, various governmental functionaries, from the President on down, are able to act as if they're in a vacuum, with no oversight or scrutiny extant anywhere. No questions are ever asked of any of the players, by anybody who in real life would be in positions to do so.

The same holds particularly true for various police and Secret Service characters in this novel. What are their superiors doing while these guys are running around like loose cannons?

Since these actions lie at the very heart of the story, the believability factor was pretty much zero, and that really ruined the book for me. Grippando tried to insert Swytek into a story for which he's unsuited as a character. So we have a book that's not broad enough to be successful as a political thriller, yet is too broad for the Swytek character to believably participate in.

Two stars.

I'm amazed that James Grippando has amassed so extensive a bibliography. BORN TO RUN is his 14th book for adults, his eighth to feature Florida criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck, yet his voice is still fresh and new. He's not afraid to take his characters in different directions, and the result is a series that always entertains and never disappoints.

BORN TO RUN finds Jack reconciled with his father Harry and on the uncomfortable cusp of his 40th birthday. Both Swytecks are astounded when Harry is suddenly tapped for the second-highest position in the federal government. The reason for the sudden vacancy is the unexpected death of Phil Grayson, the current Vice President, during a fishing expedition in the Florida Everglades. Jack is touched when he is retained by Harry as his counsel to guide him through the onerous investigative process. But Harry hasn't even been vetted before Jack begins receiving mysterious phone calls informing him that the person on the other end has information that can make his father President.

Phil's daughter, a quietly smoldering ingénue who holds some bitter feelings toward her recently deceased father, has received these calls as well, as did a fallen White House intern on the verge of breaking a major story. When the former intern is mysteriously murdered, Jack thinks it's all too much of a coincidence. Assuming the caller is a crank, he would be a deadly one, so Jack begins an investigation of his own that puts him at loggerheads with his father, who fires him.

Concerned with his father's well-being, Jack continues his unofficial investigation, which slowly draws him into the orbit of an enigmatic and extremely dangerous character known as The Greek, who in turn holds a secret that has the power to bring down a government. The key is a mysterious event in the past, and for that key, The Greek needs money. When his plot backfires, however, he makes a desperate move that not only puts Jack in terrible danger, but also places FBI agent Andie Henning --- his lover --- in the uncomfortable position of having to rescue him. Theo Knight, Jack's former client, erstwhile sidekick and bad angel, is there to help as well, but Jack ultimately finds that as his life and the lives of innocents hang in the balance, he will have little to rely on but his wits and instincts.

Grippando has a fascinating track record in his ability to almost presciently write his books around political events that have yet to occur. I will happily admit to being dumbfounded when I discovered that BORN TO RUN raises an issue that was one of the most potentially controversial --- and least investigated --- of the past year, one that may well yet see itself played out in 2009. Given that there is generally a 10-14-month lag between the completion of a novel and its publication, it would certainly seem that Grippando has his mojo working again. Regardless of his apparent gift of prophecy, however, he has crafted yet another engrossing and captivating thriller that will satisfy both readers who are just discovering Jack Swyteck and those who have been along for the ride since the beginning.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Born To Run is James Grippando's newest novel featuring the Miami lawyer, Jack Swyteck.

Mr. Grippando is one of my short list of authors that I purchase without researching what the book is about in advance. I won't go into the plot, as the publisher and another reviewer have done a great job.

I gave this book 4 stars, due to the fact that one main character and his plight just didn't ring true for me.

I loved the parts between Jack and Andie, his FBI girlfriend, and the continuing relationship struggle between Jack and his father, former governor Harry Swyteck. His friend, Theo, had a minor role in this episode, and didn't help Jack much until the very end of the book.

I also would have liked to have more of the action happening in Washington.

Overall, I still would have purchased this book, and hope that the next one has Jack taking on some difficult legal battle.

I truly appreciate that Mr. Grippando does NOT use a cookie cutter template when writing his novels, like a lot of authors are currently doing.

This is another well done novel featuring Grippando's protagonist Jack Swytek, an offbeat criminal defense lawyer in Miami and the son of the former Governor of Florida, with whom he had a rocky relationship growing up.

This story starts with the death of the Vice President of the United States, the nomination of Swytek's father Harold to fill the vacancy, and a series of events that embroil Swyteck and his father in politcal intrigue and murder, and expose a connection between organized crime and the highest levels of government. Along the way there is witty banter between Swyteck and his friend Theo Knight, a death row inmate whom Swytek succeeded in freeing, and a romance between Swytek and an FBI agent.

Despite the negative reviews, I thought that his novel was well written, fast paced with lots of action, and had a surprise ending that was not obvious. James Grippando is an excellent writer, and this novel displays his wit and humor, as well as his ability to craft an exciting story. I enjoyed reading this.

James Grippando's 'Born to Run,' although a part of the Jack Swyteck series, works well as a stand alone novel; it was my first Grippando read.

Briefly, Jack, son of former governor Harry Swyteck, is a Miami trial lawyer with a penchant for defending hopeless cases. The novel begins with the Everglades demise of the current vice president and Harry's selection as the next VP. Jack tags along to Washington and the plot thickens when he receives a call offering to make his father the next president. Now mix in an immoral White House intern, a relentless CNN reporter, a mysterious Greek, the Mafia, and Jack's 'new' green Mustang and we're ready to run.

This is more a series mystery than a political thriller - Jack and his cohorts are the stars, and, I assume, well liked by regular readers. It's a quick, undemanding read, with emphasis on quick. Read this only if you have no plans to ponder the plotting and are willing to go big into suspension of disbelief.

Three stars: good enough to finish, but not good enough to keep.

In his fifties, Vice President Phil Grayson loved hunting so he went to a private land to shoot alligators while officially looking into the reported threat of pythons destroying the adjacent Everglades. Instead he dies when a humongous gator tips the boat and he falls into water filled with alligators and pythons.

President Keys informs former Florida Governor Harry Swyteck that he is on the final list to replace Grayson if he is interested. Harry says yes and asks his son Jack to serve as his chief lawyer; Jack reluctantly agrees as he prefers to remain in Florida but will go to DC. However, Jack hears rumors that Grayson's death was not a freak accident, but a homicide. He investigates finding ties back to an incident in 1960 Cypress and a cover-up in 2008 Florida and Washington.

This is an exciting action-packed legal thriller that grips the audience once the Veep dies and never slows down as Jack begins to unravel a murder conspiracy. The story line is action, action, and more action that has readers caught up with all that is happening. Fans will relish Jack's latest tale that also strains his improved relationship with his dad and his significant other.

Harriet Klausner

Beware of what you wish for... Dealing with a midlife crisis as he turns 40, Miami attorney Jack Swyteck buys a classic Mustang. Meanwhile, his once-estranged father, Harry, former governor of Florida, has an opportunity to revive his political ambitions. When the vice-president has a heard attack & falls off a boat while alligator-hunting, there's suddenly a job opening -- and the president asks Harry to fill it.

That's where the best Swyteck thriller in years kicks off. Jack, accompanying his father to Washington, is approached by a number of different individuals, all suggesting that there was something awry with the veep's death -- and that a presidential secret could make Harry the new president. We meet the killer fairly early in the book -- he has his own problems to deal with, including the Mafia on his tail -- and the denouement ends up being a fairly predictable standoff at the OK Corral.

Still, Grippando does a great job of character development, even with the minor players in the novel. The result is a solid thriller that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens & how Jack, Harry, Theo, et. al. manage to battle their way through the fog to understand the plots in which they have become unwittingly enmeshed. The Washington and political background is an intriguing addition to Swyteck's more usual stomping ground of Miami.

And the Mustang and vice-presidential ambitions? Well, as with all good thrillers, their fate isn't decided until the final pages.