Customer Reviews

Simple Act of Violence

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If this is your first foray into the writings of R J Ellory, you will miss the subtle joke that he's playing on the reader. For several of the early pages I couldn't stop smiling, and I can imagine him smiling broadly himself as he composed his words. Not that there's anything remotely funny about the subject matter, which starts off with the brutal murder of a woman in her Washington DC home and which soon develops into a serial killer investigation. What gave the secret away were the words in the dust jacket : "Detective Robert Miller is assigned to the case". So blatantly corny, so stereotypical of countless crime fiction thrillers, that I knew that among other things, the author had made the decision to write in a particular style that would be as different as possible from the five novels that preceded it, which incidentally are all very different from one another too. There's nothing corny or stereotypical about the narrative or dialogue itself, I hasten to add; Ellory is an exceptionally talented story-teller with this unusual capacity to select a particular style and stick with it so as to give that specific novel an identity of its own such that it stands apart from the story itself. He has succeeded, yet again.

Having said that, there is a small but significant reminder in its concept that reminds me of his third novel A QUIET VENDETTA, that being the development of a relationship between the leading character and his nemesis. This time around, it isn't a case of the hunted telling his life story to his hunter, rather it emerges that the hunter finds himself being manipulated if not directed by his key suspect such that every step of his investigation seems to have been orchestrated and controlled. It is in every sense a suspense thriller, a tale in which the detective pursues endless leads and forensic trails only to find that every single one leads to nothing. Dead people have names, addresses, jobs and bank accounts but little evidence that they ever existed. Potential witnesses vanish without trace. Life histories appear to be utterly fabricated. It's a painful pleasure to share the maddening emotions that Detective Miller has to endure throughout this case, which unusually for Ellory is spread over a very short period, just over a week in fact.

Inevitably however there is some looking back into the past, and not for the first time in this writer's portfolio, some attempts are made to expose the hypocrisies of America's political landmarks. I was reminded of vaguely similar efforts by the legendary James Ellroy and his epics AMERICAN TABLOID and its sequel THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, which attempted to seduce readers into thinking that the facts behind such events as presidential assassinations and American involvement in various conflicts - some of its own making - were not in any way accurately reported in the media. So we have another feast for conspiracy lovers, but it was a touch disappointing to see that despite the time-stamp of 2006 there was almost no mention at all of the invasion of Iraq three years earlier. In fairness that conspiracy would appear to be motivated by a different kind of agenda to this one, so perhaps we can look forward to another day when Ellory will tailor a story to something more contemporary than this one, which took place in the Reagan administered years of the 1980s.

Where this novel excels is in its relentless capacity to build up tension and suspense. With 100 pages to go, I could not imagine an ending that could contain the explosive revelations, even though the reader has a rather better idea of what's going on than the unfortunate Detective Miller. Instead of vivid imagery and in-depth characterisation, just two skills that Ellory has demonstrated more than ably in the past, here he focuses on mystery, confusion and conspiracy. Some might argue that it is too far-fetched, that the historical events mentioned were not the work of some covert world-controlling agency, but then few if any of us have the evidence to prove otherwise. In any case, I don't buy novels such as this to shoot them down or try to out-guess the objectives or the reasons behind what's going on; I buy them to be entertained, to take myself away from the pretty grim and unattractive 'real world' that many of us are living in at the moment, and in this respect A Simple Act of Violence does exactly what I wanted it do, to provide some sense of escapism that isn't fantasy; it's about people and events that might just be as frighteningly real as they are portrayed here. So it's a maximum 5 stars once again, Ellory remaining the only author whose works I have read to get top marks from me for each and every novel published. Each of his novels is difficult to compare with any of his others because they are all so different, and as a writer I think he stands tall among all of his peers.

Apart from being the fourth victim of a serial killer, who is Catherine Sheridan? This is a question that had me fervently turning the pages of this book in an attempt to find the answer.

Detectives Robert Miller & Al Roth from the Second precinct are put on the case and are having no more luck than me (and I've got a whole other storyline running in tandem filling in the blanks for me). Every lead they follow draws a blank, every question they get answered leaves them with many more. They're faced with people that don't exist and events that never happened. Running alongside is another storyline, the story of John Robey that takes you into the undercover world of a CIA operative working alongside the rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front.

Corruption, intrigue, brutality and a love story, this book has it all and will keep you turning the pages. The characters are real, they have weaknesses and they make mistakes.

How much is fiction, how much is based on fact? Not a question I can answer at this time, but it's something I want to know more about. The setting and storyline cover events that, I'm ashamed to admit; I know very little about. The amount of research that must have gone into this book is astounding and all credit to the author, he left me wanting to know more.

This book is a lot faster paced than Ellory's A Quiet Belief In Angels and the main storyline takes place over 10 days, with the back story filling in the historical details. Roger Ellory has got the balance just right with sufficient information to make it interesting without it turning into a text book.

I have read all of his previous novels and they're all very different and therefore hard to compare but this one is certainly up there with my favourites. It far exceeded my expectations, I couldn't put it down, but at the same time I didn't want it to end! Now I just want to read it all over again.

This is my first reading of anything by R.J. Ellory, but it won't be my last. The book, as one writer put it, is literature, but it is so much, much more, and I absolutely could not stop until the last word and until that last word (phrase) did I have any idea what had hit me. What a marvel, and I am thankful for the privilege to have opened the first page. Turning them couldn't happen fast enough.

In R. J. Ellory's "A Simple Act of Violence," a homicide detective named Robert Miller is stuck with a case that may prove to be his undoing. It appears that a serial killer has been savagely beating and strangling female victims. However, Miller and his partner, Al Roth, are puzzled by facts that do not add up. For example, one of the deceased, Catherine Sheridan, was strangled and then beaten postmortem. Why? In addition, Sheridan's identity was a fake; she technically did not exist. Miller, who barely survived an Internal Affairs investigation that could have ended his career, once again risks losing his badge. He desperately tries to get a handle on a situation that he cannot even begin to understand.

Readers who enjoy police procedurals with a strong political slant might be tempted to give this one a try. They may even like the protagonist, Detective Miller, a stereotypical loner with no life outside of the job, but who is also an honest, decent, and persistent cop. Unfortunately, Ellory makes some poor choices: Far too many characters gratuitously overindulge in the use of profanity. In addition, at four-hundred-and forty-four pages, "A Simple Act of Violence" is tedious and rambling; the writing is bloated, repetitious, and heavy-handed. In case we don't get the message the first time, Ellory tells us again and again that there is a conspiracy afoot. Readers will be tempted to shout, "We get it already!"

The awkward dialogue is an occasional irritant. Here's an example: "There is no question of rightness or wrongness when it comes to the security of a nation." Yet another problem is the ineptitude of Miller and his colleagues, who are pitifully slow on the uptake. The author should also have eliminated the first-person italicized chapters that provide too much information in flashback. It would have been better to withhold some revelations until later; giving away too much too soon robs the story of suspense.

When this convoluted narrative finally reaches its long-awaited conclusion, Ellory offers a far-fetched account that "explains" what has occurred. "A Simple Act of Violence" would have profited from a skilled editor who might have toned down the rhetoric, trimmed the distended manuscript, and added some badly needed cohesion. At one point, Miller states, "It's unbelievable...all of this. It's too much." He's absolutely right.

On the surface, the beating and strangulation of a woman in Washington, DC appears to be the work of a serial killer. The three previous victims have also been women. All have been beaten, strangled and a adorned with a colored ribbon to which is attached a blank tag. But there seems to be something a bit different about this most recent case. Small details suggest that the present crime was made to look like the work of the serial killer but may, in fact, be a "copy-cat" murder.

More concerned than the citizens of the city are elected officials who are putting pressure on the mayor and everyone beneath him - particularly the brass of the city's police force whose major apparent goal is to stay employed. And typical of any bureaucracy, the nitrogenous waste flows downhill onto two beleaguered detectives who've been ordered to solve this series of crimes "yesterday" in spite of the limited available resources.

The police work on the previous murders has been slip-shod. Detective Robert Miller, a man with virtually no personal life, doggedly starts digging. And the more he digs, the more obsessed he becomes and the deeper the rabbit hole goes. It turns out that none of these murdered women have had an apparent personal life, family or past history. And there's more here than a simple act of violence.

Enter protagonist number 2: a troubled man adrift in college when recruited by the CIA. He is assigned to Nicaragua in the 1980's along with a young woman who becomes the love of his life. And, man, are they involved in some major doo-doo: sanctioned assassinations, drug smuggling for Uncle Sam, helping the Contras torture, maim and execute men, women and children who may or may not have been Sandinista sympathizers; all of this in the name of making the world safe for American interests. Disturbing is that all of the detail that Ellory provides about these covert actions and the Iran-Contra affair may be true.

As the book develops these disparate scenarios; serial murders in Washington in the first decade of the 21st century and those events in 1980's Central America, become intertwined with a conspiracy orchestrated by shadow sections of U.S. government agencies. They know what's best for the American people that lack the intelligence to see "the big picture". As in the Jack Nicholson/Tom Cruise movie ("A Few Good Men") Americans "need them on that wall" but "can't handle the truth".

The story grabs the reader and does not let go until 500 pages later. There are plots and sub-plots and sub-sub-plots that are cleverly interwoven. The characters are well-developed and believable. It all gets sorted out with a satisfying conclusion that leaves the reader thanking God that it's just fiction. Or is it?

This interview and review feature was originally published by International Thriller Writers, at TheBigThrill.

Washington, embroiled in mid-term elections, did not want to hear about serial killings. But when newspapers reported a fourth murder, when they gave the killer a name and details of his horrendous crimes, there were few that could ignore it. Detective Robert Miller takes the case, and rapidly uncovers a complication. The victims do not officially exist. Their personal details do not register on known systems. As Miller unearths more disturbing facts, he starts to face truths so far-removed from his own reality that he begins to fear for his life.

Booklist said that this is "a high-speed car chase of a thriller...a superbly entertaining book and one that will endure in the reader's thoughts long after the last page turns. After several fine novels, it's high time Ellory takes his rightful place on crime fiction's A-list." The Guardian said it's "An awesome achievement--a thriller of such power, scope and accomplishment that fanfares should herald its arrival." CrimeSquad weighed in: "This is a book with everything that a fan of modern mystery fiction could hope for: a labyrinthine plot, unbearable tension, controversy and a social conscience."

R.J. Ellory is no stranger to accolades. I first became aware of his excellence with A Quiet Belief in Angels, which took home Strand Magazine's Thriller of the Year award, and is now being filmed. A Simple Act of Violence earned Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year award. Ellory does not "win" awards, like cheap county fair trinkets, he earns them. Bookreporter.com said "Ellory is the Stephen King of crime fiction." Or more accurately, the king of crime thrillers. The monarchy lives on, with or without Wills and Kate!

Ellory told what his novel is about and what it concerns. "This is essentially two stories--a series of contemporary killings in Washington, the victims of which possess no confirmable identity, and how these homicides are linked to the undercover actions of the CIA in Nicaragua in the '80s. Central characters are Detective Robert Miller, and someone known only as John Robey. Miller works to unravel the mystery of these murders, while Robey--in first-person asides--details his early life, indoctrination into the CIA, his own work in Nicaragua, and at the same time he allows us a glimpse into the truth of these Washington murders. And also a much wider conspiracy relating to what really happened within the American intelligence community in the '80s. It is about the contemporary murder investigation, the real thrust of the book. The backstory is vital to understand, and the dénouement is how both of these narrative threads are linked."

The term sacred monster is an undercurrent. "It's a French expression, which means how one can create something that then becomes the instigator of one's own destruction. The Frankenstein concept, really. For Miller, his `sacred monster' is his own necessity to persevere towards finding the truth, irrespective of what that may do to himself and his career. For Robey, it is very much that the actions he took as a member of the CIA in Nicaragua--all of them for the `right reasons'--eventually are recognized as very wrong, and become his undoing."

*****
R.J. Ellory is the author of eight novels, most recently, Saints of New York, where he reads the thrilling first chapter on RJEllory.com. ITW featured The Anniversary Man last year. Candlemoth, his first-published, was shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger, as was City of Lies. A Quiet Belief In Angels was a Richard & Judy Book Club selection in 2007, and went on to win the Livre De Poche Award, Strand Magazine Novel of The Year, Mystery Booksellers of America Award, and the Inaugural Nouvel Observateur Prize. He has also written the screenplay for Oscar-winning director, Olivier Dahan. A Quiet Vendetta won the Quebec Laureat and the Villeneuve Readers' Prize. A Simple Act of Violence won Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year. He further has been nominated for seven international awards, including two Barrys, the 813 Trophy, and the Europeen Du Point. His books are available in 24 languages. He is published in the US by Overlook Press, which contracts to release all of Ellory's works. His wife, Vicky, son, Ryan (who tolerates Ellory's idiosyncrasies), and he live in Birmingham, England. Please check out RJEllory.com for more accolades, or visit him on Facebook.

--- Featured for TheBigThrill by L. Dean Murphy

RJ Ellory is consistently brilliant, a whiskey poet genius! This story is no exception, written in such an awesome way I urge everyone to read it. Then re-read it. At least once until the next one is published. Just brilliant.

I first discovered R J Ellory thanks to Richard and Judy reviewing A Quiet Belief In Angels. Subsequently, I ordered everything Ellory had previously had published. My admiration for this author's gift for language grew and grew. When I ordered his latest book, A Simple Act of Violence, I wondered if he would amaze me this time. The short answer is 'yes'. Ellory's factual research leaves me awestruck. I learnt things about US covert foreign policy which astounded me. My friend was a voluntary worker in Nicaragua but I didn't realise what she went through. Now I understand why she found it so hard to talk about it and why, on her trips back home, she only wanted to sleep. What price are we paying now for Afghanistan and Iraq? I don't think Ellory is political in intent. Other prescient writers, such as James Michener, have revealed the cost in human terms when the so-called First World wages war against its less economically developed targets. R J Ellory ranks with Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Le Carre. Read him and remember.

This is the fourth RJ Ellory book that i have read and it is, by far, his best to date.

We are led to understand that a women is about to be murdered - but with her consent. The detective assigned to the case, Robert Miller, is then guided through several dead-end (no pun intended) leads by the mysterious John Robey. Throughout the book, the interplay between these two characters will have you guessing about who di what to whom and why.

A Simple Act of Violence is a real page-turner. RJ Ellory's style of writing is to provide the reader with characters that have real personality, flaws, imperfections and many reasons to care about what happens to them.

The book contains many shocks, including the brutality of some of the deaths, but is nevertheless a book that you will want to continue reading right up to the final sentence.

The volume of research that must have been done prior to the writing of the story is immense. So much detail, you feel you are walking the cold and windy streets of Washington, tacking all of Detective Miller's movements.

If you like murder mystery, suspense, thriller or conspiracy theory books, there'll definitely be something in A Simple Act of Violence to keep you wanting to read more. And you'll possibly never believe anything you hear coming out of the CIA ever again.

I am working my way through all of Mr. Ellory's novels, A Simple Act of Violence being the latest one I have read. I would say that I have enjoyed every one of them, would assign a 5-star rating on all of them, and am looking forward to beginning another of his novels. It would be great if an American publisher could be found for his works, because they are a little difficult to come by. The wonderful world of reading has been greatly enhanced by his novels! They fall under the genre of crime fiction, but they are much more than that - wide in scope as well as character developement - I cannot find anything bad about any of R. J. Ellory's books!