Amazon.com: Lights Out (9780752873480): Jason Starr: Books

More About the Author

JASON STARR is the international bestselling author of many novels, including THE PACK which is out in hardcover and e-book from Berkley/Ace on June 7, 2011. Starr's other novels are COLD CALLER, NOTHING PERSONAL, FAKE I.D., HARD FEELINGS, TOUGH LUCK, TWISTED CITY, LIGHTS OUT, THE FOLLOWER and PANIC ATTACK. He has won the Anthony Award and the Barry Award and his books are published in more than a dozen languages. He has also co-written three novels with Ken Bruen--BUST, SLIDE, and THE MAX--and edited BLOODLINES, an anthology of horse racing stories for Vintage Books. He lives in Manhattan and is currently writing the sequel to THE PACK.

Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

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

Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars grand slam thriller, September 10, 2006

By

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lights Out (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Ryan Rossetti and Jake Thomas made Canarsie High School's baseball team nationally ranked; they were both sure shot major leaguers. Jake reached the big leagues where he stars for the Pirates having just completed an all star season hitting 351. However, Ryan saw his pitching career snap to a sudden halt when he tore a ligament. Whereas Jake is making the big bucks in Pittsburgh, Ryan paints houses back home in Brooklyn for less than a living wage.

Now the superstar is coming back to Canarsie to celebrate his great success and to change his image from an out of control hedonist to a caring give something back to the community person. His agent warns Jake to behave because he will most likely face a statutory-rape arrest that could end his chances of obtaining the big endorsements. Thus Jake returns to Brooklyn as a hero, but also to ask his high school sweetheart, Christina Mercado, whose surname he cannot remember, to marry him. Christina realizes she is candy to sweeten Jake's image and is seeing Ryan. At the same time the triangle plays out in New York City, other locals have grudges with one another that will violently disrupt Jake's triumphant return to the place where his glory started.

From the start readers anticipate tempers overflowing as jealousy, anger, and resentment explode and not just with the baseball players. The story line is action-packed from the moment that readers understand the paths taken by the two former Canarsie superstars and never slows down until the final violent walk off homer. Readers who appreciate a powerfully character driven urban noir will enjoy the aptly named Jason Starr's grand slam thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gobbled It Up!, January 4, 2007

By

Vicki Hendricks (Hollywood, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Lights Out (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Being a woman who has no interest in competitive sports, I thought I might have less enthusiasm for this Starr novel that centers around a baseball figure, but that is not the case. I ate it like candy. The twisted personalities and dark humor pull you in tight, and the world of the sports star is gripping. My addiction for Starr novels continues.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story!, October 21, 2006

By

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lights Out (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Hardcover)

On one horrible, messy Brooklyn weekend, the lives of Ryan Rosetti and his old high school buddy Jake Thomas intersect with tragic consequences.

Ryan and Jake were rivals on the high school baseball team. Ryan hurt his arm and became a house painter, and Jake went on to play in the major leagues. He is returning home to celebrate getting a ten million dollar signing bonus.

Jake's life is one of orgies, drugs, limos, lawyers, agents and PR people. He is courting his old high school sweetheart, Christina, to plant press stories about an upcoming marriage to quell bad publicity about a threatened statutory rape charge.

Ryan has always loved Christina, and tries to make her see reason--but all she can see is a life in Brooklyn or an easy life for her and her father, although one without love. Her father tells her she can divorce Jake in a few years, with a good settlement. Their lives intersect with some gangster thugs, and shootings, thefts, lies and police investigations follow.

A very dark novel filled with characters caught up in the struggle to survive. They are all trying to make it at different levels: the gangsters, the families in Brooklyn and the wealthy, self-centered sports celebrity.

Armchair Interviews says: A good story of intersecting lives.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Time I will never get back
This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. You will not care about what happens to any of the characters, because they are so dumb. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Robyn Stahley

2.0 out of 5 stars Book Has Strengths and Weaknesses
This book is actually two different books. The main plot - a love triangle involving Ryan, Jake and Chrissy - isn't that compelling. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Michael Mandelkern

4.0 out of 5 stars LIGHTS OUT by Jason Starr
If there were such a thing as an original crime novelist in this day and age, the closest would be Jason Starr. He writes with a style few other crime novelists possess. Read more

Published on February 8, 2010 by Cai Yixin Jeremy

2.0 out of 5 stars Takes it to a full count, then strikes out looking.
Jason Starr is one of the bleakest of bleak noir writers currently working today. A descendant of the likes of Jim Thompson and James M. Read more

Published on December 7, 2009 by Sean May

1.0 out of 5 stars Between cringing and rolling my eyes I could barely read
It's one of those books that makes you feel embarrassed, it's so bad. Partly the awful, undescribably awful, dialogue, and partly (my personal pet peeve), the constant name... Read more

Published on February 8, 2009 by M. Annal

1.0 out of 5 stars Cliche-soaked drivel
This has to be the worst book I've read in years. Not one of the cliched characters is worth caring about or developed to any believable degree; the dialogue is ridiculous and... Read more

Published on October 28, 2007 by Big Frank

2.0 out of 5 stars Should have turned the lights out on this one
What a mediocre book! The writing is overblown with stretches of amateurish dialogue. Much of the description is packed into dense paragraphs, which become boring to wade... Read more

Published on February 23, 2007 by Jerry P. Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars Starr's finest work to date
Within a relatively short time, Jason Starr has become a supernova among thriller literary lights, penning dark, gritty novels on his own such as TWISTED CITY and collaborating... Read more

Published on December 20, 2006 by Bookreporter

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, fast, fun read
Lights Out is both similar and different to Mr. Starr's previous works. While his previous works have been shorter in length and smaller in focus, some common elements run... Read more

Published on December 7, 2006 by Erik

4.0 out of 5 stars LIGHTS OUT
I'VE ENJOYED ALL OF STARR'S BOOKS. THEY ARE EASY READING

& ENTERTAINING !!!! SIMILAR TO JAMES HADLEY CHASE, MY FAVORITE WRITER !!!!

Published on November 10, 2006 by THE BEARD

› See all 15 customer reviews...

Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
The day Jake Thomas came home to Brooklyn, Jake's parents, who still lived three houses down from Ryan Rossetti and his parents in Canarsie, hung out a huge banner connected to trees on either side of the street, which read: WELCOME HOME JRKE, OUR HERO Ryan had to drive right under the banner on his way to work, which wouldn't have been such a big deal if 'J.T. fever' hadn't been sweeping through the neighborhood all week. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
white bitch, skinny guy

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jake Thomas, New York, Ryan Rossetti, Marianna Fernandez, Little League, Desmond Johnson, Eighty-first Street, Marcus Fitts, Christina Mercado, Donna Thomas, Canarsie Park, San Diego, South Shore, Aretha Franklin, Belt Parkway, Daily News, Enrique Iglesias, Jackie Chan, Peter Gabriel, Sixty-ninth Precinct, Town Car, Antowain Thomas, Coney Island, Detective Noll, Flatlands Avenue

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