Customer Reviews

Whistler's Angel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For you John R. Maxim fans, he's done it again with Whistler's Angel. Adam Whistler and his guardian angel, Claudia lead the reader through a suspenseful and realistic attempt to leave years of jaded government service with an insurance policy in the form of a damaging ledger purloined from his former boss.

Characters return from earlier novels initially giving you the thought that the "old" JRM was back but then revealing a "new" JRM with a cast of background players reflecting a little age, a little mellowness but the same "help out a friend or family" attitude so well done in his Bannerman series. Those readers enamored of Carla Benedict and Molly Farrell from earlier yarns will have a difficult time putting Whistler's Angel down.

JRM again brings his characters to Hilton Head, South Carolina where they mix with the local population and cause you to wish you lived down the street or around the corner. The marina, complete with local watering hole called Jump & Phil's and a bartender named Leslie will remind readers of another place and time and cause them to wonder if there really is such a place and person(s) on Hilton Head?

The dialog in his latest novel reflects Maxim's tremendous sense of humor and will keep you enthralled from chapter to chapter. His extraordinary narrative skill will cause the fan to go back and read JRM's other offerings and the first time Maxim reader to haunt the bookstores. A great example is his conversation between Whistler's father and Claudia's mother, the single parents of his main characters:

"Want to marry me, Kate?" "Ask me again in two years. That's if I haven't murdered you first." "Fair enough." "Will you let me redecorate? Add some tuches of my own?" "Ask me again in two years."

I'll have a hard time waiting for the further adventures of Whistler and his Angel.

Being a chip off the old block once felt great to Adam Whistler who followed his distinguished father into the eerie world of covert operations. However, Adam no longer has a taste for the work and simply wants to quit. The problem is no one in his line of work just changes professions and lives long enough to earn a different retirement. Adam needs a special kind of life insurance, which he negotiates by robbing damning documents about the activities of his nasty boss, Felix Aubrey.

However, in the middle of his protective documents, Adam finds himself holding something more damning and dangerous than just a bit of minor blackmailing fluff he planned to use to keep his own life safe. He turns to his legendary dad who sends him to Claudia Geller for help. Aubrey begins a deadly game to regain the document, leaving Adam and company turning to the great Bannerman and his cohorts as allies in a war between covert professionals.

Best selling author John R. Maxim stretches the maximum acceptance levels of a daring plot by his readers and somehow his talent turns it into a fast-paced story line. The plot never slows down as Adam tries to expedite himself from the business only to land deeper inside its darkest cesspool. Felix seems too nasty to be human yet his machinations make the novel spin forward so that the reader does not care. Throw in Bannerman's return even if he is not the star in this action-packed novel, thereby insuring that WHISTLER'S ANGEL is espionage at its thrilling best.

Harriet Klausner

All of you Maxim readers are going to need afew more spaces on your "favorite characters" list. The new players Mr. Maxim has brought to us in Whistler's Angel are every bit as memorable as our old favorites from earlier Maxim books. Adam and his clever guardian angel Claudia, Whistler's father, the Twins, all marvelous new characters. And how delightful to run into some of our old Bannerman friends. Thank you Mr. Maxim for bringing us up to date with some of Bannerman's people. Was happy to hear that Paul and Susan now have a family. What do you Bannerman fans think Lesko had to say about that?? and can't you just picture the twins slipping behind the bar to give Billy a hand? Glad to see the Maxim "family" of characters enlarged. They will all get along just fine. Can't wait to see them in future books. If you have never read a Maxim try Whistler's Angel with acouple of warnings. Don't start it if you have other things you need to be doing because you will not be able to put it down and then be prepared to make several trips to your nearest book store because one Maxim is never enough! You will want to read them all. My only complaint with Mr. Maxim is that he could never write fast enough for me.

Once again John Maxim adds an excellent book to the genre. This is not a true Bannerman book ie. the Bannerman crew are peripheral to the story. However, it is a delightfull way to spend a day. Do not begin the book if you have any obligations. As with all the Maxim books, I fell asleep in the early hours of the morning with the book in my hand and took the next morning off to finish the book. The new characters in the book are up to snuff and once you are in for this book, you will be looking forward to finishing off the rest of Maxim's books. Vince Flynn is the only other contemporary writer who can keep up with John Maxim, now that Ludlum is past his prime.

The eternal battle of good and evil becomes relative in this extraordinary tale of behind the scenes manipulation. Maxim has outdone himself with eccentric, but believable characters. Aubrey, Poole and their henchmen almost steal the limelight as Maxim lets you enter their twisted minds. You almost feel sorry for them as you delight in Adam's, Harry's and Claudia's triumphs. Nobody writes women better than JRM or has the ability to do the breadth and depth of character development in general. The exchanges between father and son ring true.The building of the relationship between Adam and Claudia is especially well done. Bravo for a novel that is thrilling and at times just plain fun.

What's the best part of reading a John R. Maxim novel -- is it the engaging plots or the fully animated, totally alive characters? I hope you're not looking for an answer here, because I can argue forcefully for either answer. I have read and re-read all of Maxim's books, and just can't get enough!

Whistler's Angel is the sort of book that keeps you up at night. You promise yourself that you'll go to bed at the end of the current chapter, and an hour later you're still furiously turning pages. His characters are so fully realized that you feel that you now them as friends by the end of the book. Maxim also does something that few authors try...he cross-populates his books. Whistler's Angel is a stand-alone, non-series book (at least so far), and yet characters from his popular Bannerman series appear in the plot. [To return the favor, Whistler's Angel characters appear in the new Bannerman book, along with other Maxim characters. Even one of the main Bannerman characters first appeared in Time Out Of Mind.]

You'll find good descriptions of the plot of this book elsewhere on this page, so I'll spare you my own synopsis. Suffice it to say that this is a great book that guarantees the reader many hours of pleasurable reading. The plot has more than enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most demanding reader. Also well featured is Maxim's trick of showing you a piece of the plot, and then bringing it back later so you can see it from a different angle, and get a new and deeper meaning from it.

When you're done with this book, you'll also want to try Shadowbox, Haven, and all of the Bannerman books. Becoming a Maxim fanatic is well worth the effort!

John R. Maxim is hard to write a review for. He is undoubtly one of my favorite authors, possibly my favorite living author (and may he continue to win that contest for a long time). So it's hard not to gush and expell verbs and adjectives of praise. But... let me force myself.

Of course for us harcore Bannerman fans there simply was not enough Bennerman presence, but then he never said it was a Bannerman book. Whistler and Claudia made an intriguing couple, the dialouge was a little 40's dramaish (is that a word?)but the banter was good.

I found myself enjoying the bad guys in this book. They were good comic relief, but were believable bad guys for their own reasons.

I'm hesitent to visit Hilton Head Island now, it seems a little dangerous these days between the goings on in Haven and this book. But I'll probably go anyway, just to see what happens.

John Maxim is the most under rated writer in mystery today. While we all enjoy the adventures of Dirk Pitt and Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warriors, it truly is John Maxim that brings us adventures that we as average ordinary people could possibly find ourselves in.

Is it just me or would anyone else like to see the Bannerman books made into film? If they do just promise me they will try and get Brian Dennehy to play Lesko!

I picked up a copy Whistler's Angel in an airport bookstore when faced with an unexpected flight delay. I had not read any of Maxim's other works and did not know exactly what to expect. This first exposure will have me going back for more. Maxin spins an intriguing story, effectively bouncing back between the present and the past while building to an exciting climax. The book follows Adam Whistler, an ex-special forces soldier and government assassin who is fighting the realities of his past and the corruption of his superiors, and Claudia (who believes she has been tasked with being Adam's guardian angel following her own brush with death) as they come to grips with events that have brought them together. Whistler's Angel is packed with action, suspense, plot twists and good character development. I suspect, however, that the book would have been better is I was more familiar with some of the characters that clearly had been part of Maxim's previous works. I suppose it is time to go back to the early Maxim, starting with the Bannerman series.

This book was close to being another Paul Bannerman book. In this book Adam Whistler plays the role of a young professional
killer.Whistler has stolen a ledger from Felix Aubrey.This ledger
has documentation of misdeeds by Aubrey.Whistler is wanted dead or alive by Aubrey's hired guns.Whistler also has a lover named Claudia. She is near fatally shot and returns as Whistler's guardian angel.All of these characters combine to make an interesting book. You also have the reemergence of Bannerman's group as protectors of Adam Whistler. This all makes for gun battles on several continents.The action is nonstop.You will
enjoy this book.

Mr. Maxim is one of my favorite authors, so any new volume is a treat. His style of writing is compelling, no matter what the subject matter. When you combine that with his ability to develope living, emotional, well-rounded characters, and high-intense action his books become legends you pass on to other readers. "Whistler ..." is no exception. He's continued Bannerman's story a step further, showing how even the "bad guys" can be human. If someone is looking for stories about what ex-spies do afterwards, or what happened after the cold war ended, or how theycan lead a normal life, then the Bannerman Series is the place to go.
"Whistler" continues the series by showing life from a different view. Strong characters and an intrigueing plot make it a good read!
Congratulations, Sir, you've done it again!