Keeper [Mass Market Paperback]

Greg Rucka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 1997

In a heartbeat, a crowded auditorium or a city street can become a kill zone, where life and death are separated by a split second. For Atticus Kodiak, professional bodyguard, the object is to keep people alive, and there is no margin for error. Now Kodiak faces his toughest challenge: to protect a woman and her daughter from a killer with a fanatic agenda of his own....

Tense, taut, and as brutally real as this morning's headlines, Keeper marks the debut of a talented young writer of tough, unflinching prose—and the beginning of an electrifying new series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The world of the professional bodyguard provides the arena for this no-nonsense first novel. Atticus Kodiak, 28, is hired to protect Felice Romero, director of a Manhattan abortion clinic targeted by militant pro-lifers. The pros and cons of abortion are intelligently presented as Kodiak tries to protect his client and her daughter, who's afflicted with Down's syndrome. Soon the bodyguard, whose girlfriend has just undergone an abortion, finds himself personally committed to his client. Bomb threats, shootings and several murders, one particularly tragic, heat up the action, driving the narrative toward an explosive climax at a cemetery. Rucka's prose is clean and visual, his characterizations and dialogue are economical and his storytelling scoots along at a fast clip. A few top crime writers-Robert B. Parker in the Spenser series, for instance-have wandered into bodyguard territory. Rucka has the talent to make it his own, however, especially if he spins this trim tale into a series.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

First novelist Rucka delivers a story as timely as today's headlines. Atticus Kodiak, a bodyguard by profession, gets caught in the middle of a demonstration on the day he brings his girlfriend to the Woman's LifeCare Clinic for an abortion. The clinic, run by Dr. Felice Romero, has been targeted by the Sword of the Silent, a group of pro-life fanatics run by the megalomaniacal Jonathan Crowell. Because of escalating tensions between the pro-choice and pro-life factions, cooler heads schedule a peace summit of sorts, christened Common Ground. Romero plans to attend, but when she receives some very nasty and specific threats by mail, she hires Kodiak and associates to keep her and her daughter safe. This is a tense and exciting novel filled with some odd characters. Recommended for popular collections.?Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P. L., Tex.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553574280
• ISBN-13: 978-0553574289
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of four novels about professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak -- Keeper (nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America), Finder, Smoker, and Shooting at Midnight, Greg Rucka has been writing since he was eight years old, and hopefully is improving with age. A longtime comics fan, his first graphic novel series was the suspense thriller Whiteout, published by Oni Press and nominated for three Eisner Awards in 1999. Since that time he has been a contributing writer for DC Comics and an active participant in the Batman series of titles.
Born and raised in California, he earned his undergraduate degree at Vassar College and his MFA at the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rucka has two tattoos, and rides a motorcycle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy addition to the genre, January 9, 2000

By 

Andrew P. Lawler (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeper (Mass Market Paperback)

If there is a reason to write a novelisation of something (beyond money), it's for an author to be able to showcase his work for a built-in and wider audience. Hopefully his satisfying work on BATMAN-NO MAN'S LAND, will (as it did me) lead people to his novels of Atticus Kodiak.

Rucka's protaganist, Atticus Kodiak, is hired on to bodyguard a doctor at an abortion clinic and tries to get to the bottom of a series of threats against her. Ok. Enough plot. What makes this book satisfying and gripping are involving characters (sketched just enough to intrigue but leaving enough mystery to keep us interested), a nicely moving plot, as well as the best use of New York City since Lawrence Block. Fans of Spenser, Burke, and Elvis Cole will find a happy home here.

And best of all? It's a series.

A brief note: The subject of abortion is part and parcel of the story, and while the author clearly seems pro-choice, he takes special efforts not to demonize the other side save in depicting certain extemists drawn right from the headlines. Sensitively done.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting character, taut thriller, July 12, 2004

By 

Guy L. Gonzalez "Malcontent" (Bloomfield, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeper (Mass Market Paperback)

Greg Rucka's prose is fluid and fine-edged, reminiscent of Lawrence Block's work in his Matthew Scudder series of novels minus the New York City grit that Block does so well.

Atticus Kodiak, Rucka's protagonist is, if seemingly a little too young at 28, an engaging character with an interesting supporting cast, and his chosen profession, bodyguard, is vividly depicted. Rucka seems to be known for his research and he's apparently done his homework here as the overall scenario rings true.

The story's backdrop, New York City at the height of the mid-90s anti-abortion protests and clinic bombings makes for a enthralling plot as Kodiak is charged with the protection of a pro-choice doctor. Rucka unself-consciously tackles the sticky politics of the situation, offering welcome shades of gray in what is often a black and white topic, while delivering a taut thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat through the end. An excellent first novel and I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bodyguard, September 27, 2003

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeper (Mass Market Paperback)

Another private-eye type thriller with a difference, Keeper is a very entertaining debut novel that introduces Atticus Kodiak. Kodiak is a bodyguard, but specialises in the business, running his own company and employing his own team of professionals. It's an interesting take on the mystery theme that strays just far enough from the pack to make it unusually interesting reading.

In his first outing, Kodiak and his employees are hired to protect a doctor who performs abortions. She is constantly harassed by protestors and the situation provides numerous difficulties for Kodiak to overcome. To top things off, she's due to speak at a conference in a couple of days where she will be left wide open for attack. It quickly becomes clear the danger she faces is most certainly real and Kodiak is going to be stretched to the limit if he's going to keep her safe.

This is an excellent debut that comes across as very fresh. The bodyguard angle puts a new slant on the protection caper that is usually covered by police or FBI. The characters are likable and realistic and the action rolls along at great pace.