Total Immunity: A novel of crime [Hardcover]

Robert Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2009

Smart, tough Los Angeles FBI agents Jack Harper and Oscar Hidalgo meet their match in a diamond smuggler, Steinbach, who seems to have almost superhuman powers. Arrested during a clever sting operation, Steinbach tells the team of agents he will kill them, and sure enough, one by one, they start to die. Worse, Jack can’t begin to pin it on Steinbach, who is, after all, in prison. Soon, however, Steinbach makes a deal with Homeland Security and is freed with total immunity.

Jack is pretty sure that he and Oscar could be next. But, as it turns out, Steinbach is not the only menace. Two of the agents who were killed turn out to be dirty. Jack and Oscar tour the seamy side of L.A. in hopes of finding clues, but they get way more than they bargained for.

(20090615)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Ward's overblown crime novel, two Los Angeles FBI agents, Jack Harper and Oscar Hidalgo, are thrilled when their successful sting brings down South African jewel smuggler Karl Steinbach. They laugh off Steinbach's promise that everyone involved will soon die, but when a fellow agent's brakes fail and another is pushed in front of an oncoming train, Harper and Hidalgo fear they might be next. As the pair investigate their slain comrades' lives, they discover that what looked like a case of retribution is actually tied to a web of deceit that stretches to the highest echelons of the FBI. Ward (Four Kinds of Rain) mixes in a melodramatic subplot involving Harper's young son, Kevin, whose attempts at teenage rebellion coincidentally put him in the center of his father's investigation. A former writer for Miami Vice, Ward weighs down what could have been a slick tale of greed and corruption with hollow heroes and stereotypical villains. (July)
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From Booklist

Los Angeles FBI agents Jack Harper and Oscar Hidalgo breathe sighs of relief after the arrest of South African jewel smuggler Karl Steinbach in a complex sting. Alas, their satisfaction is short-lived. Mere moments after Steinbach is locked up, he strikes a deal with Homeland Security, acquiring freedom—and total immunity—in exchange for information about Muslim terrorists. Liberation is not enough for the vengeful Steinbach, who threatens to kill Harper, Hidalgo, and anyone else who betrayed him. Soon two fellow agents are dead—one in a harrowing car crash, the other thrown in the path of an oncoming train. (But were they just innocent victims or fallen players in Steinbach’s scheme?) Agent Harper wrangles with the demons of past cases as he and Hidalgo furiously pursue clues, certain that one of them is next on Steinbach’s list. In this cinematic (if occasionally over-the-top) thriller, veteran TV writer and producer Ward (Four Kinds of Rain, 2006) serves up a story line crackling with action and a cool cast of thugs, traitors, killers, and creeps. --Allison Block

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition edition (July 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151014809
• ISBN-13: 978-0151014804
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,994,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "All of you are going to die. I promise you.", June 17, 2009

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Total Immunity: A novel of crime (Hardcover)

Ward writes a fast-paced thriller set in the LA bureau of the FBI post 9/11, when the department of Homeland Security has cannibalized local agencies, their cases taking priority over all others no matter how long agents have worked the cases or how vile the criminals they pursue. DHS is a fact of life for LA agents Jack Harper and Oscar Hidalgo. When the partners burst alone into a volatile bust after long months of preparation and undercover work, their prize, diamond smuggler Karl Steinback, is not a keeper after all. Steinback trades up through Homeland Security, Jack and Oscar left only with the angry man's threat ringing in their ears: "All of you are going to die."

When two other LA agents- men Jack has worked with on other cases- die violently and suspiciously, Karl's angry words seem to be more than mere threat. Bodies fall in a hail of bullets in Steinback's arrest and continue to litter a landscape where there is some confusion about the killer's identity and the source of the threat the agents' lives. Jack would like to turn to his superior for guidance but there are problems on that front as well, rumors of agent corruption and a missing $200,000., Jack's name included with those under suspicion. And if complications on the job aren't enough, Jack's personal life is in shambles, his rebellious teen-aged son and discontented girlfriend causing more worries when Jack is most distracted by the case.

Ward reveals the face of modern law enforcement in a cogent story as tough as the streets, agents fighting against time to track a killer who films each grisly murder in what is either a long-simmering vendetta or Steinback's threat carried out by mindless goons. Good cops, bad cops, evil villains, colorful characters and a fast-paced plot make for a classic tale, good vs. evil, corruption and envy with a fresh twist. In a final confrontation, an honorable agent faces the ultimate betrayal and his worst nightmare. Luan Gaines/2009.

5.0 out of 5 stars total enjoyment!!, February 12, 2010

By 

Lawrence Meier (SALEM, OREGON, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Total Immunity: A novel of crime (Hardcover)

For those who have not read anything by Robert Ward, prepare to beocme addicted after reading his latest page-turner.......Wonderfully written, real, absorbing, and full of poignancy and mind blowing action, Total Immunity, is one wild ride...I am not one to be a spoiler, either to the wondeful story line, or great characterization that awaits its reasders, but, trust me, you will be hooked on page 1, by the swift moving plot, and the mysterious bad, and the GOOD?-guys. Pick up this book and be pleased that Mr. Ward is currently at work on the much anticipated sequel. Then go out and seek his amzing backlist, including the laugh and cringe out loud, Hammett award nominated, Four Kinds Of Rain.

Mr. Ward is a true California writer right up there alongside the greats such as Connelly, and Parker. My only complaint?--is having to wait too long for his next book!!!. This is truly the best book I've read this year. I received it via overnight shipping and it kept me awake-(happily) turning pages until this morning. Give this book and author a try: you won't regret it...

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Read, Charismatic Characters, August 7, 2009

By 

Satisfied Lone Wolf (Timonium, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Total Immunity: A novel of crime (Hardcover)

I have loved Robert Ward since ther tantalizing RED BAKER, and would be difficult to write a better book than Four Kinds of Rain, but Ward has succeeded in giving us an exciting, action packed " noir" novel. I found myself reading this book late into the night for two nights and my time was not wasted. Jack Harper and his compadre Oscar are two captavating and charming FBI agents with different attitudes and ways of viewing life. Ward has created an exciting novel that examines the grit and grime of the LA subculture with an odd assortment of criminals, bad cops,low lifes and folks that embrace living on the edge. I will refrain from plot analysis as I would not want to spoil the read,. Jack Harper is a complex character, a man who champions the underdog, but who painfully examines his motives, and wrestles with his own demons around parenthood, love and professional choices. He is his own worst enemy. Oscar, on the other hand,his friend and professional partner is a good cop who is grounded and helps Jack deal with the "what is" factor in life. Hopefully, this is not the only book in which we will see this partnership.