The Payback [Paperback]

Hilary Hawke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2000

Claudia Lopez waits for her husband at Newark International Airport, unaware that he's gone into hiding in the wake of a botched drug deal. Now, eight hours after completing the long flight from Bolivia with their infant daughter, she's stranded in the bustling arrivals building, wondering what to do next. At first, Margot Fortune, the elegant and sympathetic woman who offers her a ride to Manhattan, appears to be her salvation. Claudia will discover that appearances can be deceiving. Her world will be turned upside-down when, adrift in an unforgiving city, she's threatened with the kidnapping of her baby if she fails to pay back her husband's drug debt. As Claudia desperately searches for a way out of her nightmare, Margot leads her on a harrowing tour of the Big Apple's dark underbelly and into the shadowy world of high-priced prostitution, drugs and violence.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hilary Hawke studied writing at the Writing Center in Englewood, New Jersey. In addition to her first book, The Payback, she's written the thriller, Poetic Justice and is completing a historical occult novel entitled The Firekeeper. When she's not writing, Ms. Hawke teaches music.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse Star (July 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595005470
• ISBN-13: 978-0595005475
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,387,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, realistic, May 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Payback (Paperback)

Though it is not normally the sort of book I would read, I found myself unable to put it down. I really did not want the advanture to end. Not for the squeamish, it has to be said, but if you like strong women and lots of action, this will grab you and never let go. A lot of people are doubtful about presses such as this, but this novel is as good as anything coming out of the big publishing houses nowadays, and in some places better! This girl can write!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strong character driven thriller, November 12, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Payback (Paperback)

Having just arrived from Bolivia, teenager Claudia Lopez accompanied by their baby Juliana waits in the Newark Airport for her husband Antonio to pick her up. Antonio had come to the states several months earlier. Margot Fortune assisted Claudia when she first landed at the airport. Having flown back and forth to Boston, Margot notices that the young foreigner and her infant remain where she left them eight hours ago. Margot takes the two lost souls with her.

When he arrived stateside, Antonio was enticed by the easy money and fast lifestyle of a drug dealer. However, on the day he is supposed to meet his family at the airport he slowly awakens from a purple haze. He realizes that he failed to pick up Claudia and Juliana, but even worse he lost a kilo of cocaine. His employers want either the kilo, the money, or if not him, Claudia.

Surprisingly THE PAYBACK is as much a deep character study as it is an action thriller. There are plenty of tense scenes that will elate the adrenaline seeker, but also the key three protagonists are interesting and fully developed. Claudia is a young stranger in a strange land, but how pathetic and helpless is she? Antonio is a lost soul who too late understands the cost of his short cuts. Most intriguing is the Good Samaritan Margot, who is less than she appears (read the book to learn her agenda). Though the drug crowd is too easily stereotyped as predators and some sub-plotting seem off kilter, fans of a fast-paced suspense thriller will receive plenty of positive PAYBACK from Hilary Hawke's exhilarating novel.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intense read, February 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Payback (Paperback)

Extreme in spots, but Claudia's survival is a story well told. An intense read that really held my interest. I couldn't put it down!