Customer Reviews

DEAD OR ALIVE

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I used to enjoy Michael McGarrity's novels. Haven't finished the last several due to boredom generated by his use of extreme and brutal violence. He could probably write a better book by going back to the basics, like having a plot and utilizing the beautiful southwestern settings, instead of using extreme violence and sociopathic villains to keep the action going. After a while, you just start to expect another random murder or two in each chapter, each more brutal than the one before, which has the effect on me on generating boredom and distaste, rather than interest. I put it down after getting only half-way through the book. Surprised I got that far.

It begins in the Bernalillo County Detention Center in New Mexico where a mistake is made and inmate Craig Larson is accidentally picked to go to a minimum security prison outside Springer, New Mexico. He's killed before and gotten away with it. He got caught because he stayed too long in one place and now faces time for his original embezzlement charge and unlawful flight. He should be sent to the super-max prison outside of Santa Fe. Instead, he is loaded into a van as the only prisoner with the lone guard who will also serve as his driver.

The second mistake is made by the driving guard who cuffs him in front for the several hour trip. He then makes another mistake, suffers the brutal consequences and Craig Larson is once again a fugitive from justice. This time, he is going to make sure he never goes back to jail. Envisioning himself as some sort of modern day western outlaw, he goes on a violent rampage across New Mexico and Western Texas with retired Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney and his son Lieutenant Clayton Istee in pursuit.

What could have been an interesting novel quickly turns into a simplistic action filled violent joy ride. Stereotypes abound through out a novel that has virtually zero character development. While both Kerney and Istee express repeatedly how they have bonded and have so much respect for the man each is, often from the back of a horse, neither character ever has that deep internal monologue moment that would create such an event. Istee's heritage is yet again barely given a passing nod as are Kerney and his family's experiences in London now that Sarah is stationed there on a three year stint as part of her military career.

While it isn't surprising that Craig Larson is a clichéd stereotype which we as readers have to be treated to experiencing every few pages just like any other novel, it is disappointing to see Kerney and Istee reduced to little more than cardboard cutouts. Opportunities for real dialogue between father and son are frequent, especially during the last third of the novel and are wasted on snappy throw away lines. Taken in another direction, this is a novel that could have had real depth to it.

Instead, it is a violence filled simplistic clichéd read of an outlaw terrorizing and killing women and men and of the two valiant lawmen , modern day cowboys , who must chase this scum deep into the mountains before delivering gun barrel justice frontier style.

The movie version will no doubt be great. After all, that must be what it was written for because it wasn't written for readers.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009

The murders just go on and on--not nearly as believeable as his previous books which were well plotted. It's as if he said "murder one person every 5 pages." McGarrity has a mental health professional as well as a police background and he knows better than this.

Escaped psychopathic convict Craig Larson goes on a killing rampage murdering everyone it seems in his path. Among the victims is Riley Burke, business partner to former Santa Fe police chief Kevin Kerney.

Outraged by the Burke death and just back from London where his spouse works in the American embassy, Kerney vows to bring the maniac to justice. However that pledge is easier said than done, as Larson leaves corpses in several southwest states. Working as a temporary New Mexico State Police special investigator, Kerney and his son Lincoln County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Clayton Istee lead a state wide manhunt.

The keys to this wild manhunt are the relationship between the father and son law enforcement pair who only recently learned of their DNA connection and the deep look at multi-jurisdiction police investigations. The story line is fast-paced and filled with much more blood than the usual Kerney whodunit (see NOTHING BUT TROUBLE) and a strong sense of locale that would have pleased the late Tony Hillerman. In some macabre ways Larson steals the show as he makes the plot with his murderous spree that turns what looks like a blue state red.

Harriet Klausner

It never bodes well when the plot of a mystery novel can be reduced to one sentence, but this one can. "Escaped convict Craig Larson goes on killing spree, and it's up to Kearny and Istee to trail and stop him--dead or alive."

The novel starts with a setup that strains our credulity from the outset. A convict is mistaken for another of the same name and is sent on a transport to a minimum-security prison instead of the maximum-security facility where he belongs. Then, the vehicle blows a tire, allowing the convict to make an unlikely escape. Then, it turns out that he is one of a set of identical twins. You get the idea.

Then, for no apparent reason, Craig Larson, who up until then has seemed to be a pretty clever criminal, loses his mind and becomes a mad-dog killer. Instead of disguising himself and getting out of the area with his plentiful loot as quickly as possible, he sticks around until the manhunt can heat up, making him feel like he has no choice but to kill (and occasionally rape) every person he meets.

Fans of the Kearny-Istee will enjoy the way the book develops the relationship between the two, and possibly the police procedural parts. That's why I gave it three stars. But in addition to catching us up with what the two families are doing, the book really should provide some sort of mystery for the two to figure out, rather than just setting up a prolonged chase through the wide open spaces of New Mexico.

Violence does not make a good book. Hopefully, the trend in this series of more and more will not continue. Lots of good stuff left to say about NM, ranching, without a murder, a murder, a murder...

Readers who enjoyed Gunsmoke and Bonanza in the early days of TV will enjoy this plot driven novel.

"Dead or Alive" is an exciting adventure of the west in a modern day setting.

Craig Larson is one of the truly villanous characters in recent times. His killing spree is reminiscent of the ligendary villan Blue Duck from "Lonesome Dove".

At one point in "Lonesome Dove," Blue Duck tells Gus McCrae "I ain't got time to waste on killin' some old Ranger with holes in his underwear. There's plenty more need killin'.

In "Dead or Alive" Craig Larson escapes jail while being transported to a minimum security facility and goes on a murderous rampage. He becomes more and more unhinged although his character is never developed and we do not learn the background of his hatred.

He kills Kevin Kerney's partner and Kerney and his son, a half Apache named Clayton Istee track him down.

It is a chace to the end and the only question is how many more people Larson will kill before he is caught and disposed of.

The ending was disappointing and the lack of character development or descriptive setting is lacking from McGarrity's earlier works but he his still a fine story teller.

Submitted by Michael Draper

DEAD OR ALIVE really disturbed and disappointed me. The gratuitous violence was so disturbing that I barely finished the book. It seems to me that McGarrity was trying to include as many ways of horrendous murder as he could in one book and that doing so did not improve the book in any way. He also did so at the cost of developing other aspects of the book. Surely Patrick would have protested at being left in London with an unknown nanny! Of course Sara would have chided Kevin for not coming home before she left for London. Did Kevin have the colonoscopy and how was his stomach at the end? Even the ending just sets the scene for the next book instead of discussing why Larson felt compelled to do what he did.

I have really enjoyed McGarrity's previous books but I will read reviews carefully before I start another one.

McGarrity used to be a favorite. At least 6 novels still adorn my library shelves. However, carefully crafted detective mysteries of the past have given way to a novel written from a psychopath's view. One might argue that the main character in Dead or Alive is not the favorite retired law enforcement officer from New Mexico, but a stone cold killer escaped from a prison transport van. It's a shame really, novels with a Southwestern flavor combined with stimulating mystery are a thing of the past with McGarrity. Want to read a novel identifying with the psychology of a serial killer or mass murderer...the wants, needs and desires of a seriously deranged perpetrator of violence, read Dead or Alive. McGarrity has apparently passed down the way of Patricia Cornwell with her Scarpetta series. As for me, I'll pass on both of them in the future.

I have enjoyed all the Kerney novels but this one had way too much violence and killing for my taste. Let's have more about his father-son interaction with Istee and less gratuitous violence. Let's get his family back from London and back on the ranch.