Customer Reviews

Double Dead

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Double Dead is a compilation of squelching suspense, majestic mystery, and just a touch rising romance. Immediately, the unrelenting characters and profound dialogue seizes your attention and coats your imagination with intrigue. Gary masterfully authored an intoxicating story full of cunning twists and ferocious turns. The multifarious characters are a tasteful blend of allure, sass, rancor, invincibility, and mystique.

Set in dilapidated Detroit, a heinous murder occurs expounding the mystery and toxic deceit surrounding the political, religious, and criminal activities in Detroit. Jessie King, a sagacious district attorney for the city, is assigned to the case. Obsessed with `Justice for All' and plagued with the disjointed evidence, Jessie attempts to solve the murder himself. Discovering too much, Jessie gets saturated as he grapples to emerge unscathed from a wicked tale spin through the violent, decaying streets of Detroit. The sadistic characters and perilous situations that Jessie encounters along the way will captivate you.

Double Dead is so intense and spellbinding that your eyes will hungrily devour each page, in an attempt to digest this engrossing mystery that leaves you hungry for more.

Double Dead is a book that grabs you from page one and literally won't let you go until it's over. A fast-paced, "gritty" story of life in Detroit. The main characters in the book, Jesse and Ramona, were both very believable characters and their lives, due to fate, crossed paths and they found themselves needing each other for survival. Anyone who likes mysteries (books by Valerie Wilson Welsey or Hugh Holton, for instance) is sure to enjoy this book.

Again this book tackles urban crime, particularly the drug culture. The author knows his stuff; the storyline was gritty and violent. The gang of women drug dealers was new and different and added spice to the book. I wish they had been portrayed as less hotheaded and irrational as their male counterparts, who were more calculating and devious. Unfortunately, I also was not into the "romance" that happened between the two main characters. I found it hard to believe that they would fall in love: A hardworking attorney who'd pulled himself up by his bootstraps and a professional "kept" woman??!!! Please! The ending read like a drugstore romance novel and took away from the storyline. But this author is well worth the time and when he writes another title, I will definitely add it to my reading list.

The nation, but especially residents of Detroit are shocked over the murder of Mayor Harris Yancey by two knife wielding thugs. Yancey's mistress Ramona Lake, who was dining with the victim when the attack occurred, manages to escape, leaving her in the position of becoming the chief suspect. Prosecutor Jesse King questions Ramona who tells him about the murder, her escape, and the briefcase that the killers took from the mayor's office. To his own amazement, Jesse believes her story.

Jesse and Ramona begin their own joint investigation. However, it is not just digging into life in the ghetto that is dangerous for the pair of amateur sleuths. There is a large line up of the elite planning to become the Motown's next mayor and nothing will stand in any of their ways. If Jesse and Mona somehow survive the professional killers, the political and press hatchet folks, and the hood, they still have to find evidence to prove her (and now his) innocence.

DOUBLE DEAD is a superb inner city political-legal thriller that fans of the sub-genre will deeply enjoy.. The lead protagonists are a wonderful couple, whose lifestyles are radically different yet identical. However, what makes Gary Hardwick's novel a notch above the typical fare is his portrayal of the social classes in Detroit where the difference between the ghetto dweller and the penthouse owner is tauntingly nothing but green power. This is one tale that is not only entertaining but also delivers a brilliantly sardonic social commentary on the true differences in the social classes.

Harriet Klausner

MR. HARDWICKS DOUBLE DEAD WAS EXTREMELY FAST PACED AND IN TENSE!!!
FROM THE NON STEREOTYPICAL JESSE KING TO THE VERY STEREOTYPICAL RAMONA EACH CHARACTER HAD GREAT DEPTH AND BELIEVABILITY TO THEM!
MR HARDWICK CAPTURED A SEEMINGLY EVERYDAY, WHO CARES EXPERIENCE IN BLACK IMPOVERISHED NEIGHBORHOODS (GANG VIOLENCE,SHOOTINGS,JEALOUSY AND BACK STABBING)AND BROUGHT YOU INTO THE MINDS OF THESE PEOPLE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DO WHAT THEY DO, HE ALSO EMBODIES THE AMOUNT OF CORRUPTION PEOPLE IN POWERFUL PLACES SO OFTEN COMMIT THAT IS COVERED UP.

I ESPECIALLY LOVED THE FACT THAT IT WAS REALLY A LOVE STORY WHICH WAS NOT PREDICTABLE

A CAPTIVATING AND INTENSE RIDE THAT WILL LEAVE YOU WONDERING "WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE A MOVIE!!!"

DOUBLE DEAD didn't have the same, I don't know, something, that COLD MEDINA had, but overall, I didn't care, because this novel was still as perfect as the first, just on a diferent level. My sister read this novel and went crazy about it. The romance between the lawyer and the mistress may have been a little, well, contrived, but the action and mystery came directly from the movies, directed by John Woo. Totally caught up! Will get the third novel--hope it lives up to the high standards that Mr. Hardwick has already established for himself.

i read this book back in 98, and again in 2010 for my book club, it is a classic on my book shelf , a good read, alot of people to keep up with, but once you are into the book you will definitely want to finish, get it, read it , enjoy it:)

Not only a exciting mystery but a good story of those hard streets in the big "D" we that were raised there understand. His weaving explanation of the drug dealers and their crews were with his complete understanding of all that happens out there every day. Also the discription of the neighborhoods and all of Detroit proper were right on. This is his third book I have read and will continue to read all of his writings, they are good.

Like his other novels, Hardwick weaves a tale like no other. This novel is filled with deceptions, betrayals, and good old fashion mysteries. I enjoyed it and I think you will too. It is especially interesting if you have ever been to Detroit and enjoy learning about the inner workings of politics and government.

This is one of my favorites of his novels. It was fast paced and riveting. Read it and you will be hooked to Hardwick.