Nightkill [Hardcover]

F. Paul Wilson (Author), Steve Lyon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Nightkill is a powerful medical thriller from the bestselling author of Implant and Deep as the Marrow. When hit man Jake Nacht is double crossed, shot at, and paralyzed, his enemies think he's through. What they don't know is that a brilliant doctor has developed a dangerous and deadly new technique. And if he succeeds, Jake Nacht will not only walk again but just may have a shot at revenge.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a dazzling collaboration by Wilson (Deep as the Marrow, LJ 12/96) and Lyon, author of several other medical thrillers. Jake Nacht is a mob assassin who as a youth is shuttled between foster homes and ends up with a sharpshooter named Sarge, who trains Jake to be a crack shot, then betrays him. Jake kills Sarge and takes over the family business as a mob sniper. He is later shot and paralyzed on a fumbled job and wants to die, until risky surgery by the daring Dr. Graham restores his damaged spine. Love for his rehab nurse, Angel, brings Jake fully back to life and changes him; after months of wanting to kill his nemesis, he centers the cross hairs on Fredo but has trouble pulling the trigger. There are many satisfying characters, and, despite some jarring changes of viewpoint, the pace is as rapid as an accelerated heartbeat. Recommended for thriller collections.?Molly Gorman, San Marino, Cal.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Semimedical thriller by Wilson, a practicing physician (Deep as the Marrow, p. 95, etc.) and sometime horror novelist (The Select, 1994, etc.), who joins Lyon, also a novelist of medical thrillers, to produce a mob/medical story without a hint of the occult. Jake Nacht, a hit man with 17 kills, works for the mob on a freelance basis. As he sees it, he's helping haul out the trash by killing mobsters. An orphan, Jake is the adopted son of Sarge, an ex-Marine sniper with some 250 wartime kills. Sarge, who may or may not be psychotic, served for some time as a mob assassin, and has done well by his efforts. He trains Jake to perfection, then dies in a confrontation gone wrong: He forces Jake to kill him in a variation of ``the most dangerous game'' of human hunting human. Later, the remorseless Jake quickly becomes one of the mob's most reliable freelancers--until, that is, he's caught in a double- cross. Mr. C., a mob godfather, has his henchman Fredo hire Jake to kill US Senator Weingarten during a speech at an outdoor rally. Despite misgivings, Jake sets about the job, but just as he's about to take the senator out he learns that he's been set up. Shot by a detective who's been tipped off to his presence, Jake is paralyzed, his spine severed. But there's no evidence against him, and he's likely to collect a cool $5 million from the city. It doesn't matter: A depressed Jake starts on rehab convinced that he would rather die. Then nurse Angela and her uncle Dr. Graham sneak him into a new, highly experimental program aimed at rebuilding spinal cords. Jake recovers, secretly, and sets out to avenge himself on Mr. C and Fredo. Fast-moving, yes. Inventive, no. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312859104
• ISBN-13: 978-0312859107
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,752,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Same old story, February 1, 1998

By 

P. Legerski (Corona, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nightkill (Hardcover)

NIGHTKILL is a novel about a sniper for the Mob, who gets set-up, paralyzed and recovers through a "new" surgery, and enacts revenge against one of the players of the Mob. It is marketed as a medical thriller, but believe me, it's a thriller with an emphasis on some horrible outcomes. Jake Nacht is a sniper for the Mob. After 17 successive kills, he is set-up, shot and paralyzed by a crooked cop, who is in on the set-up. While recovering, Jake meets Angel, a beautiful nurse whos uncle just happens to be on the verge of a successful new surgery to fix paralysis. After the surgery Jake goes on a revenge mission to get who set him up. In the process Jake falls in love with Angel, who is now being held hostage by the bad guy. As you can tell by my synopsis, its kind of a paint-by-numbers scenario. Everything is familiar and done by rote. This is not to say that the book is unenjoyable. Far from it. It's full of action sequences but the main problem is there are no surprises...everything IS as it seems and we are just awaiting the final shoot of so we can move on to the next book on the shelves. Not a very distinguishing book. Not recommended.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read, October 9, 1999

By 

Brian j Kelso - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightkill (Mass Market Paperback)

A very fast paced book, Jake is a character with whom i expect to see several sequals, I`d rate the character to have the ability to compete with a Dirk Pitt,Lucas Davenport,and a John Becker......Need i say More...

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REAL FAST-PACE BOOK AS FAST AS AN ACCELLERATED HEARTBEAT, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Nightkill (Hardcover)

BROS., THIS BOOK IS DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR TIME. JAKE NACHT IS THE BEST HIT MAN IN THE WORLD OF FICTION AND DESERVES TO BE READ. YOU SHOULD ALL SEE THE STRUGGLING FIGHT FOR LIFE AND DEATH BY JAKE NACHT. A REAL FAST-PACED BOOK THAT'S SURE TO KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS. HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS FOLKS THIS IS A BOOK THAT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY.