Customer Reviews

The Bricklayer

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Steve Vail is an ex FBI agent, a maverick who didn't like authority. Now he is a bricklayer (hey, that would make a great nickname for him should he choose to get back into the Bureau!...)
The FBI have a problem, their agents are being killed and money is being demanded to make the killings stop. The FBI need someone who is an expert at tracking people, so Deputy Director Kate Bannon is despatched to bring Vail back into the fold..
Cue the FBI being dumb, Vail being very clever, the bad guys being very nasty, some romantic banter between Vail and Bannon and....it all felt a bit forced and a little bit too obvious. Yep, it's fast paced and not `bad' but it does nothing to lift it above the average.
The publishers desperately want this to be the new "Jack Reacher" with a clever loner who does his own thing and come up trumps. But the writing does not match that of Lee Child and Vail is two one dimensional and, just not interesting enough.
So this is okay and I am sure there will be more in the series, but the author needs to settle down a bit and become more comfortable with his set of characters and how to use them.

The Bricklayer is the outstanding debut novel of Noah Boyd. Steve Vail aka the Bricklayer is a former FBI agent, who had a problem with bureaucracy and chose to be fired than let a cop killer go free. Although his present occupation is that of a brick layer, he is soon called upon when the FBI has exhausted it's resources on a case.

It's been a while since I have read anything closely related to a crime novel. I gave up on them a few years ago because it seemed like they were all the same. So, when I got a chance to review this book, I almost passed because it was about crime and the FBI. I'm sure glad I decided to give it a chance. Steve Vail, the bad boy of the book is a really enjoyable guy, as long as you enjoy someone who has no respect for authority, and does things his own way. I found the character of Steve to be enjoyable. He's the type of guy you can have a beer and watch a game with. The relationship between Steve and Kate, his temporary FBI handler is one of mutual respect and admiration, as well as sexual overtones. The author provides an excellent storyline to showcase Steve's special character traits.

The story is fun, exciting, and nonstop from the very beginning. I read the book within a few days, and found it hard to put down. I can't even comment on the literary skills of the author because the story was so good I didn't pay much attention to things like punctuation. The Bricklayer has made me a fan of Noah Boyd, and I look forward to reading a lot more about Steve Vail in future books.

Noah Boyd's thrilling 390-page novel "The Brick Layer" is spellbinding and destined to be a best seller. After reading just a few pages I was hooked and could not put it down. I found myself completely enthralled, flipping pages and hypnotized by this fast paced superbly written novel.

No doubt, Steve Vail is a new character that will be the center of many more exciting suspense novels to come. An ex-FBI agent turned bricklayer, his reputation for being able to find anyone is second only to his legendary inability to trust authority.

Someone naming their self or selves Rubaco Pentrad -maybe 5 domestic terrorists connected with the FBI's involvement with the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents--who seem to have both an affinity and aversion to the FBI is killing well-known people in California, Utah, Pennsylvania and demanding cash while warning the FBI that any disclosure on their part of the activities will result in more murders and greater cash demands. The person or group may be getting inside information from the FBI or be the work of a rogue agent or worse.

At wits end, the FBI uses newly promoted, attractive and persuasive Assistant Deputy Director Kate Bannon to seek out the services of rebellious Steve Vail and his unique abilities. Reluctantly accepting Kate's offer Steve Vail puts his talents in motion as the plot twists, turns and thickens while millions of dollars exchange hands and the body counts mount.

This author's skill at keeping the reader on the edge of the chair furiously flipping action packed pages is worthy of far greater than 5 stars. It is a rare find that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend.

This book was very hard to get into. I had considered giving up but it got more interesting about pg. 75. It did keep my interest the rest of the book, but was somewhat predictable. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend and will just donate the book to my local library.

This book is an easy read, in that there aren't any surprises in terms of the kind of book it is: Within a few pages, it's obvious that everyone is a stereotype, all of the characters are like cardboard cutouts, and the only question is how the plot will materialize. There is nothing subtle here, nor any character development.

Is it a wretched book? Not completely. The pacing is relatively well done, and you don't have to worry about missing anything because you're distracted. It's not quite a 'beach read' as it's fairly large and heavy but not very long. And at least it's not pretentious!

I did not care much for this book- everything about it seemed so contrived and predictable. The FBI is at the end of its resources regarding a case and of course the only man that can help is the action hero of the book, Steve Vail. Following every book of its type, Vail is not readily available. He retired early from the FBI and spends his days contentedly as a brick layer and will only come back on his own terms (these too are stereotypical). As in every cookbook mystery/thriller, he works side by side with a beautiful woman, Kate Bannon. Vail goes through a series of action hero scenes in the book that are absolutely unbelievable. A grenade could go off in Vail's socks and he'd be just fine. Also, Vail's character is terribly one dimensional and I could hear Vail speaking like Arnold Schwarzenneger's Terminator character- "I'll.....be....back....". Vail doesn't seem human. The plot was alright but I just didn't care for the Steve Vail character or the book in general. The development of the book's characters was very lacking and the action hero stunts were just too unbelievable..

The Bricklayer, the debut novel of writer Noah Boyd, features ex-FBI agent Steve Vail, who gets called back to work as a consultant to the bureau to help break a particularly tough case.

O.K., so the premise is a cliche. But what about the rest? Sorry to say, it's more of the same. While Boyd was able to create the framework of a workable mystery, the nuts and bolts were nothing new. From super-agent Vail's disdain for authority, to the bosses that just won't listen to reason, to the secret insider, The Bricklayer piles cliche upon cliche right to the bitter end.

Then you've got characters that often behave in ways I just found a bit tough to swallow. (The following happens early in the book, and it's not a spoiler) Call me crazy, but I find it hard to believe that the FBI would pay out $5 million in blackmail because someone said they'd kill more high-profile people if they didn't. Sure, they were trying to track the money, but for reasons that become apparent fairly early, they know that's not going to work. Instead, they actually hope that paying the blackmailers will be the end of it.

But worst of all is the sense that the author was simply following a formula; I suspect that's because he's shooting for a whole series of Steve Vail books and/or movies. While I can't exactly blame him, if there's one thing that makes me nuts, that would be it.

So what the book ends up being is a story that's moderately interesting, but populated with hard-to-believe characters, cliched situations, and stilted dialog.

In other words, a book that's completely interchangeable with thousands of others just like it.

Ex FBI agent Noah Boyd takes his shot at The Bureau, bureaucracy and managers in general. In this tale, the criminal is the sharpest tool in the box - save the Bricklayer, a former Agent who can't stand bosses. Of course he gets his man and the girl. Predictable, shallow and flat characterization. Probably, and sadly, fairly accurate except for the super-smart bad guy.

First Noah Boyd book I have read, it was a bit cliche....the mysterious, man-with-a-past, rogue former FBI agent is called in to help solve a current mystery surrounding a terrorist group that is demanding ransoms and killing not only famous people, but current FBI agents....
I enjoyed it mostly because of the snappy dialogue. The ransom drop scenarios were very original and elaborate, but the hero came off as too good....you just knew NOTHING was going to get the best of him! Which left a less than bite your nails, page turning story. What fun is it if you just KNOW that no matter what, he will come out fine?

Very interesting and IMHO portrays the FBI processes and 'climate' realistically. This is the first of Boyd's books I've read, but not the last! Bravo!