Turnabout [Paperback]

Jeremiah Healy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chinatown meets The Big Sleep in this medium-boiled PI novel by the author of Blunt Darts and the creator of John Francis Cuddy. This mystery starts out conventionally enough when the narrator, security expert and ex-FBI man Matthew Langway, is called in by General Alexander Van Horne to investigate the kidnapping of his mildly retarded grandson, Kenny. The general wishes the matter handled discreetly no police, no federal agents. Langway is reluctant, until the general offers him ten thousand dollars, no strings attached. The kidnapers demand a million dollars ransom in used hundred-dollar bills, with the numbers out of sequence. Langway suspects the kidnapping is an inside job, and his suspicions are reinforced when he questions Kenny's parents, Allen and Janine, and runs into a brick wall. During the payoff things go wrong, but that's only the beginning in this tale of treachery, sudden reversals and unexpected retribution, which Langway relates in his laconic, well-observed style. There's an unexpected denouement and definite echoes of Chandler, Cain and others in this fast-paced narrative, with the expected dollops of sex and violence. The climax, though it won't faze hardened readers of the genre, should shock the neophytes. Shamus-winner Healy is undeniably adept at well-plotted, page-turning shockers, and this should add to his luster as one of the more ruggedly entertaining of the current school of tough guy writers.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Security expert Matthew Langway faces roadblocks in his attempt to locate a mentally challenged kidnap victim. He doesn't trust his own partner, an alcoholic he suspects of skimming their business's profits, and the parents of the victim are not forthcoming. A solid, adventurous thriller from a reliable author (The Stalking of Sheilah Quinn).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Five Star Trade (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410400700
• ISBN-13: 978-1410400703
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,533,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeremiah Healy, a former Sheriff's Officer and Military Police Lieutenant, is a graduate of Rutgers College and the Harvard Law School. Healy is also the creator of the John Francis Cuddy private-investigator series and (under the pseudonym "Terry Devane") the Mairead O'Clare legal-thriller series, both set primarily in Boston. Healy has written eighteen novels and over sixty short stories, sixteen of which works have won or been nominated for the Shamus Award. He served as the President of the International Association of Crime Writers ("IACW") from 2000-2004, and he was the International Guest of Honour at the 34th World Mystery Convention in Toronto during October, 2004. Three years ago, Healy concluded his term as a member of the Mystery Writers of America's National Board of Directors.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Disappointing, January 27, 2007

By 

Susan Silverman (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turnabout (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a big fan of Boston based detective fiction and have read all of Healy's books. I found Turnabout not up to his usual standard, but still worth reading.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, odd book, March 30, 2009

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Turnabout (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a single book by Jeremiah Healy, not connected with the John Francis Cuddy series for which he's famous. Matthew Langway's a private detective and security expert. He was hired some time before the book starts to set up the security for an estate owned by General Alexander van Horne, who fought during World War II, and then made a fortune in the arms trade after he retired. Langway sets up the security system, then leaves, and when the General's grandson is kidnapped from the house, Langway is called on to figure out how it happened, retrieve the little boy, and if he can, kill the kidnappers.

This is an interesting book, and it had an unusual ending. I will say that I somehow expected what happened, based on the way the rest of the story went. I won't give away that ending, but it's not as much of a surprise as you would expect. Still, it's not a bad book.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Price to Pay, April 11, 2004

By 

Robi Davidson (Mishawaka, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turnabout (Paperback)

Think about this: if you had the chance to be young again would you take it; even if you lost all your memories eventually? That's what the 50 people in the book The Turnabout had to ask themselves only they didn't have a choice. What is it that attracts us to the young years so much? Would it be worth your memories to go back to your youth?
I personally would not want to lose my memories. I'm only 15 and I know that I wouldn't give them up to re-attempt my life as bad as it may seem sometimes. I feel memories are one if not the most important thing to keep in this world. One of my leading fears is the dreadful fear of developing Alzheimer's and losing everything I've worked to have. In the end really all we have left are memories; this thought always seems to kill me too.
But you might be thinking if all we have left in the end is memories and that's depressing why not just go back to where you're living all those memories? I don't exactly know why I feel I'd rather not but I still wouldn't. It's still a matter of knowing I had something in my life. Would you want to just forget the love that you and your wife shared, or lose the memories of raising your children, or all the lives you might have touched in your life somehow? I wouldn't give these memories for anything. These things are the reason I live. And if I had them I wouldn't want to risk losing them (or the memories of them) and risk not being able to do it again.
The Turnabout was a very thought provoking book as you can see. Many questions were brought to my head. You'll have to read and decide for yourself what you believe because what you believe is one of the most important things to decide in the world or else your not really living I feel.