Vengeance Is Mine [Mass Market Paperback]

William W. Johnstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2005

They've already started coming across. The drug dealers and the petty criminals. The terrorists and the parasites. For one man on the West Texas border, the time to stand against them is now. John Howard Stark, a Vietnam vet whose family has worked their ranch for generations, has set off a trip wire - and an ambush has exploded all around him. A Columbian drug cartel commander, with the help of an ex-special forces hit man and his own deadly army, has killed three Americans - including Stark's uncle and his neighbor - and will slaughter anyone else who stands in his way. The local law is in his pocket and the Border Patrol is powerless to help. Now John Howard Stark is about to wage a one-man war. And he's got the best kind of reason to fight to the death. But for this American, there's one thing more dangerous than the enemies slithering across the border - and that's the second enemy standing behind his back: His own government...

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786014466
• ISBN-13: 978-0786014460
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and timely, June 22, 2005

By 

TheBigB (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vengeance Is Mine (Mass Market Paperback)

Most true WWJ fans know that Bill Johnstone passed away a couple of years ago, so everything that comes out with his name on it now is ghostwritten. This is still an excellent and timely book that deals with the invasion of illegals from our southern border, and how the government refuses to stop it. Entertaining and informative.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JOHNSTONE HITS A GRAND SLAM!!, May 18, 2005

By 

NY Bookworm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vengeance Is Mine (Mass Market Paperback)

William Johnstone has written as timely a story as one could hope for. VENGEANCE IS MINE is about one man who dares to take on the tidal wave of terror that is the Mexican/US border. Johnstone throws political correctness to the wind and tells it like it is. A must for Johnstone fans--and action fans, too!

3.0 out of 5 stars VENGEANCE IS MINE by William W. Johnstone, November 14, 2008

By 

Benjamin Boulden (The High Desert) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vengeance Is Mine (Mass Market Paperback)

John Stark is an aging Texas rancher. He is a veteran of Vietnam and a man who is concerned about the illegal drug trafficking across the US-Mexican border. His concern escalates to outright war against the traffickers when his friend and fellow rancher is brutally tortured and murdered by a Mexican drug cartel. His crusade takes him across the border to a wild strip-club where he finds a few of the men responsible for the murder and then his war quickly finds him. He enlists the help of a his neighbors and hunkers down to face everything the Mexican gang has to throw at him--and it includes hired guns, crooked cops, and a government that is less than pleased with his fight.

VEBGEANCE IS MINE is an enjoyable thriller that is well-paced and interesting--I learned a little about Texas geography and even something about US-Mexico border security. The protagonist is an interesting mix of larger-than-life hero and flawed gentleman. He slips from exuberant competence to self-doubt and blame without seeming weak or contrived. The style is something just a little different from most modern thrillers--it has a certain hardboiled and gritty mentality--

"The air was thick with tobacco and marijuana smoke, along with sharp tangs of whiskey, beer, and cheap perfume."

The plot is interesting and well executed. Its major weakness is the abundance of over-the-top political overtures--the sum of the United States' (and the world's) problems can be blamed on a cabal of liberal Senators. An argument that even in the subtext of the novel felt tired and paranoid, but if you can get past that VENGEANCE IS MINE is really a pretty good novel.

-Gravetapping