Shaken (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Mysteries) [Paperback]

J.A. Konrath (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 22, 2011 | Series: Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Series (Book 7)

Chicago cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has chased, and caught, dozens of dangerous criminals over the course of her career. But she's about to meet her match.

When Jack wakes up in a storage locker, bound and gagged, she knows with chilling certainty who her abductor is.

He's called "Mr. K." More than two hundred homicides have been attributed to him. His victims have died in the most horrible ways imaginable. He's the essence of evil. Some think he's just an urban legend. But he's real. Jack has tangled with him twice in the past, and both times he managed to slip away.

Now Jack will finally have a chance to confront the maniac she's been hunting for over twenty-five years. Unfortunately, it won't be on her terms. In less than two hours, Mr. K is going to do to Jack what he's done to countless others. And Jack is going to learn that sometimes the good guys don't win...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description: Since her debut in Whiskey Sour, Lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels has dealt with her fair share of criminals. But she may have finally met her match in “Mr. K,” the brutal serial killer who has eluded Jack not once, but twice, over the years. Mr. K is the essence of evil, credited with more than two hundred horrific homicides. Now, on a hot August night, Jack finally gets the chance to face the maniac—unfortunately, she must do so while bound and gagged in a storage locker, primed to be his next victim. As she awaits her fate, Jack looks back on her career, from her first homicide case to her recent retirement. The twenty-five years in between saw Jack’s attitude toward justice, the law, her job, and her personal life shift drastically. She is a different woman now…but is she good enough to stop a madman? Novelist J. A. Konrath’s trademark blend of suspense and wry humor are on full display in this tense thriller, a gripping tale that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

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Amazon Exclusive: Tess Gerritsen Reviews Shaken

Tess Gerritsen is a physician and an internationally bestselling author. She gained nationwide acclaim for her first novel of medical suspense, the New York Times bestseller Harvest. She is also the author of the bestsellers Ice Cold, The Keepsake, The Bone Garden, The Mephisto Club, and more. Read her exclusive guest review of J.A. Konrath's Shaken:

J.A. Konrath achieves the stupendous feat of blending both a prequel and a sequel in this timeline-hopping thriller, expertly making the pieces click together like an intricate Swiss watch.

Over the course of her decades-long career, Detective Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has pursued her own great white whale: a sickeningly twisted serial killer named Mr. K. Years ago, Jack came heartbreakingly close to catching him, but he managed to slip away. Now Mr. K is back from her nightmares, and she's his captive, in a secret place where she's beyond rescue. Bound and gagged, the clock ticking down till zero, Jack faces a death more excruciating than anyone's worst imaginings. She has seen Mr. K.'s other victims, so she knows how terrible her end will be.

In flashback, we see just how Jack ended up at this moment in her life. From her first exposure as a rookie to Mr. K's handiwork, through her career-long pursuit of her nemesis, we watch Jack grow as a cop, as a woman, and as a friend to her two eccentric colleagues, Harry and Herb. That journey is both terrifying and wildly hilarious, a wacky combination that only a writer as good as Konrath can pull off. Throw in a deeply moving denouement, and you have a story that hits every single mark.

The pace is frantic, the horrors truly horrifying, and the dialogue will have you laughing out loud even as you're gripping the pages in terror. Konrath is so good, he makes other novelists jealous--and count me as one of them.

Five very enthusiastic stars out of five. --Tess Gerritsen

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From the Author

When I wrote Shaken, I wanted to take Jack Daniels back to the very beginning of her career, to show how she started out. Though this is the seventh book in the series, Shaken actually comes first chronologically. It isn't necessary to read any of my prior books to enjoy Shaken, and if readers haven't tried any of my thrillers before, this is a great place to start.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: AmazonEncore (February 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935597213
• ISBN-13: 978-1935597216
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (209 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First time Konrath Reader October 27, 2010

By travis pierce

Format:Kindle Edition

An excellent mystery/suspense/thriller! This book is great. I've never read a Konrath book before; I'm not a fan responding to everything he writes as `best ever'. It's really that good of a novel. It's fast paced, suspenseful and funny.
Yeah, it's part of a series. Not having read the rest of the series didn't impact my enjoyment at all (though I will likely be reading the rest at some future point!).

There are a couple of caveats. 1) Murder by torture is a significant part of the book. If this bothers you then you should read something else. 2) The main version of the story purposefully jumps between 3 separate (though interrelated) events that occur in distinct time periods. This is very well done and builds suspense on multiple levels as well as showing the character's development over decades of `story time'. The digital versions come with a chronological version as well. I strongly recommend reading the author's main version. If you find it confusing or just can't stand the non-linear narrative then go to the alternate. 3) Some of the reviews contain spoilers. STOP READING REVIEWS! BUY THE BOOK NOW!

62 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The penultimate Jack Daniels Story Novel is well worth your time October 26, 2010

By Lawrence Zieminski VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

This is an exciting, suspenseful story from J.A. Konrath. Winding down his Jack Daniels series, this book puts the female heroine in some very painful, dangerous spots. I really enjoyed the way it was told, shifting back and forth through 3 different time periods, telling 3 stories that may (or may not) be connected.

This is only the second Jack Daniels book I've read (the other was Fuzzy Navel), so I can't speak towards whether or not it stays to the Jack Daniels formula, but I found the humor to be less outrageous than Fuzzy Navel, but more realistic. For example, in Fuzzy Navel there were life and death scenes with characters cracking jokes...that doesn't happy here. The humor comes more from the characters and how they interact.

The ending may strike some as a letdown, as it seems to sacrifice the end of this story in order to set up the next (and last) book in the series. I was first unhappy with it, but the more I thought about it and the way the story was told, I decided that it worked for me. I'm eagerly awaiting the final volume. In the mean time, I'm going to go back through the earlier books and catch up on what I've missed.

Full Disclaimer - I received an advance review copy of the book for free, in exchange for promising to review the book. I did not promise a favorable review, nor was my opinion of the book slanted because I received it for free. I would have gladly paid for the book (indeed, I had it pre-ordered on Amazon before I received my free copy....that money is now going towards buying the earlier volumes in the series).

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A three-pronged Jack Daniels thriller; Konrath creates another winner October 26, 2010

By S. Alexander Hicks

Format:Kindle Edition

The 7th, and next-to-last, Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels novel is an excellent read filled with action, suspense, and heart-felt emotion. It takes place in three time periods, and Jack is the focus in all of them: present day, three years ago, and twenty-one years ago. I read the book in its intentional out-of-sequence composition, and it was clearly understandable that way. No need to read the chronological version unless you want to do so.

While there is certainly no need to have read the previous Jack Daniels books or stories before reading this one, there are some delightful references that give an extra bump to the enjoyment factor if you have. Again, not important, just additional hints or explanations that ring bells for those of us who have read the entire series.

I've been reading Konrath's works (both under his name and his pseudonyms) for years now, and while I have enjoyed all of them, SHAKEN shows how much he has grown as a skilled writer over the years. His action is even more vividly described. His descriptions are taught and revealing without extra wording. His pacing is more deliberate and swift. His characters' emotions ring even truer than they already did.

I plan to also purchase the paperback when it is published. I actually wish there was going to be a hardcover, too, since I have all the Jack Daniels novels in hardcover. Regardless, it's an excellent book in any format, and that certainly includes this Kindle edition.