Kiss Her Goodbye (Mass Market Paperback)

by Robert Gregory Browne (Author) "It all started when the pregnant girl went crazy..." (more)
Key Phrases: train yard, Grandma Luke, Bobby Nemo, Alexander Gunderson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Provocative violence, a colorful Chicago background and a dollop of the supernatural lift Browne's debut thriller. ATF agent Jack Donovan almost captures his nemesis, ruthless gangster Alex Gunderson, during a bank robbery. Gunderson's amoral pregnant wife, Sara, is shot in the ensuing chase, leaving her in a coma. Gunderson seeks revenge by kidnapping Donovan's teenage daughter, Jessica, and burying her in a coffin with enough air for three days. As the tension builds, a vainglorious Chicago cop shoots the kidnapper, who dies without revealing Jessica's whereabouts. Browne's experience as a screenwriter shows as he shorthands the parallels between the anarchic Gunderson and straight-arrow Donovan, both of whom are single-minded and personally loyal. Elements of the supernatural, including out-of-body experiences, provide humorous relief from the breathtaking pace. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“A smashing good read. It moves at such a breakneck pace that you’ll scarcely have time to take a breath.”—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Garden

“Get ready for one hell of a ride.”— New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper

“An adrenaline pumping thriller”—Midwest Book Review

 “[A] provocative…breathtaking debut.”
—Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312358644
• ISBN-13: 978-0312358648
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #474,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, March 21, 2007

By	book_junkie35 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss Her Goodbye (Hardcover)

Kiss Her Goodbye pulls you in and doesn't let go. The pacing is tight, the story compelling, and the characters unforgettable. I loved this story and can't wait for more from Mr. Browne.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathless, heartstopping--thriller with a twist, February 18, 2007

By	Kathryn Mackel "avid writer/reader" (Boston) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kiss Her Goodbye (Hardcover)

Robert Gregory Browne is a vibrant new voice in a great genre. He brings us spectacular writing, a compelling story, and wow--takes us into untapped territory for thrillers. His characters come alive (and then some), his action zings, his plot intrigues. This is a page-turner with breakneck action but there's heart, too. If I have any complaint is that I couldn't put this book down, and when it was over, I didn't have the next book from Robert Gregory Browne to jump into. But I hear it's coming...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Trip...to the Other Side and Back, November 17, 2007

By	Elle R. Lothlorien (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kiss Her Goodbye (Hardcover)

Kiss Her Goodbye is a great read and a top-notch thriller. The characters are real. That is, Gunderson (the bad guy) IS bad, but you also feel pity for him and realize that he can also love, although in a twisted, psychopathic way. Donovan (the good guy) IS good, but not so good at the beginning that we trust him implicitly. This a great set-up because the reader's sympathies could be nudged either way as the story evolves.

That literary deconstruction aside, don't worry--plenty of stuff blows up! For the adrenaline junkie: There are chases and bombs and gunfire, as Donovan races to locate his daughter (a girl Gunderson has girl buried alive with only three days of oxygen--but not just for the reasons you think). For those with spiritual leanings, there's a few jaunts through the afterlife, although you should probably banish warm fuzzy thoughts of a white light and your dog Buster waiting for you at the Pearly Gates.

My hands-down favorite character in the book is the young Chinese guy who Donovan and Co. turn to for help when he needs to temporarily die to gain access to the afterlife in order to solve part of the mystery. At first my eyes nearly rolled when Browne went the Ancient Chinese Secret route (as if Asian people sit around all day making mystical fortune cookies and pruning bonsai trees), but this guy turns out to the anti-Grasshopper. Yeah, he can stop your ticker and give you a round-trip ticket to the Afterlife, but he'd much rather be smoking pot or chunking Fall Out Boy tunes on his guitar.

Browne saves the best for last with a clever, delicious twist at the end involving Donovan's daughter that will forever taint the words: "Give us a little kiss."

A great trip in more ways than one.