Customer Reviews

Hell's Kitchen

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whoah! Talk about black comedy!

Her earlier series featuring radio newsman Sam Ridley displays a flair for the comic side of mystery fiction, but Niles truly comes into her own with this romp through present day Manhattan.

The dark situation comedy is peopled with an unlikely mix of characters: a lovely con artist who has been carefully taught by her British father in all the tricks of the trade; a writer enduring an apparent life long attack of writers' block, reduced to composing inserts for fortune cookies; a TV news reporter struggling to hold on to her career while working under an editor committed to sexual harassment as a way of life; a distraught midwestern mother searching for her missing son & daughter-in-law, assisted by a sympathetic New York cop; and a delightful cast of supporting characters too numerous to list here.

All the plot lines converge on the issue of finding a Manhattan apartment to sublet at reasonable cost, and the presence of a homicidal maniac who entices his victims to his Greenwich Village apartment through newspaper classifieds.

The book drew me in in wonderful "can't put it down" style - and until only 2-3 pages before the hilarious conclusion, I had no idea whatever how events would conclude. I just love it when that happens!

Chris Niles' Hell's Kitchen is a very nice and sometimes even funny book to read. The subjects are far from nice, but that is only good I guess. The book is about Cyrus, who is a serial killer. Tye, who is beautiful and a bit of a crook. Quinn, who wants to be a writer but has trouble getting started. At first they seem to have nothing in common but that changes during the story. Hell's Kitchen vaguely reminded me of American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. This is probably because both take place in New York, have short chapters and a serial killer plays an important role. Hell's Kitchen is not as depressing as American Psycho and Cyrus is not as good a rolemodel as Patrick Bateman ;) All in all I definitely recommend this book and I give it a good solid thumbs up.

The lives of various New Yorkers (including a serial killer, struggling writer, and beautiful pickpocket) intersect in this engrossing story. Full of memorable characters and wonderfully dark humour, this is one book that will stay with you longer after reading the last page.

Come for the one-liners, stay for non-stop action and a strange trip through the mind of a demented killer. The setting is supercharged, sardonic Manhattan.

I loved all the characters--so many interesting lifepaths, all roped together to bring on the final action.

I was sorry to say good-bye to Quinn and Tye--I hope Chris Niles will bring them back in another novel. What a good read!

I enjoyed the down to earth writting style of Chris. Slighty gritty but ever so funny account of finding someplace to live in New York. Who would of thought it could be murder. Stories are broken into short ,easy to read chunks not heavy on the eyes.

What a grippping read, even if Cyrus's actions seem a little bit improbable. I don't actually know any psychopaths so I can't really judge.
A millionaire serial killer is such a good idea and finding a place to live in Manhattan seems impossible. Put the two together, add a mix of 4 very different and interesting characters, and you have a tasty pudding. I couldn't put this book down. It is also amazing to find a psychological thriller with lots of humour. I am definitely going to read Niles's other books.

I enjoyed the plot of Hell's Kitchen and found the structure fresh and fast-paced (I finished the book in one very busy week). I was, however, a little bit disappointed with the bland and sometimes clunky use of language. All-in-all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but it isn't a book that I'm likely to re-read.

Unique and intriguing. Fortunate enough not to be in Manhattan looking for an apartment to rent, I read Chris Niles' novel, Hell's Kitchen, with wonderful interest. The book is odd and quirky, humorous and deranged, or in a word, enjoyable.

Chris Niles targets a select group of people who find themselves about to be homeless for one reason or another. And in case you did not know, people practically kill to find apartments for rent in Manhattan. However, this novel moves to a different beat. This is not a murder mystery about someone killing to get a place. This is the story of a serial killer that murders people who call on his ad for a room to rent.

The individual stories of the characters looking for an apartment would have been enough to make this a surprising and refreshing novel. Their lives are all so different and interesting. With Niles adding a serial killer to the plot, it just made the entire story that much more entertaining.

With witty and clever scenes, poetic narrative, humor and some insight into the mind of a serial Killer, Chris Niles has written an exciting novel in Hell's Kitchen.

--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Third Ring & Tenth House