Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Depressing, but fascinating, April 9, 2009
Some of the characters start off feeling a bit flat, particularly the expectably spunky and tough-talking Tino, but thankfully they grow into their roles, around much the same time that I started finding the book more dark than depressing. I never really could figure out why on earth Sharon was with her current fiancee, however; Levine never succeeds in making him seem charming enough to counterbalance his total jackassery.
The details of the human trafficking in illegals are fascinating, and definitely bring the book alive. We get to see plenty of sides to the issue under many different circumstances. The author never tries to reduce the issue to some platitude or provide a magical solution. Instead, he allows it to simply act as an incredible backdrop for his story.
Make no mistake--whether you agree that this book is depressing or not, it's definitely dark. There are themes and often scenes of murder, abuse, sexual abuse, rape, attempted rape, attempted pedophilia, and more. Illegal isn't for everyone.
My only other reservation is that some of the details at the end wrap up entirely too neatly. I don't want to give the events away; I'll merely say that there are things that hang over Jimmy's head for most of the novel as dire threats that are swept under the rug with barely an explanation when the time comes to wrap things up, and it broke the ability to suspend disbelief for me.
This is definitely a fascinating thriller, and if you're looking for a peek into the dark world of illegal immigrants and human trafficking then definitely give it a shot. But it does have a few flaws.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Thriller With Breakneck Pacing!, April 6, 2009
Paul Levine's latest thriller is more roller coaster suspense and action than courtroom drama, and I had a blast with the characters and plot. With this novel, Levine just throws his previous playbook out the window, pulls a page from Raymond Chandler's "The Simple Art Of Murder," and plunges his readers through ranks of gunmen, car chases, and crooked cops.
I absolutely fell in love with Jimmy "Royal" Payne as he makes a complete wreck of his life, then struggles to put to rights the life of a twelve-year-old boy that won me over too. When I found out that Payne is the author's new signature character, and that a second book is already in the works, I was a happy reader.
Jimmy is a fantastic character. In this first book, he starts out so close to the bottom that anything he does is going to show as character growth. I kept picturing a young Richard Dreyfuss playing the lead, and I think that's a good fit. Jimmy has been hammered at every turn by life, and in the opening chapters of this book he gets blackmailed into bribing a judge, which results in even harsher circumstances.
Watching Jimmy in action is kind of like seeing a chain reaction car wreck taking place in slow motion. You see it, you know it's coming, and you can't believe the guy can't get out of the way of it. But, miraculously, Jimmy is the kind of guy that racks up a lot of damage and still manages to limp through by sheer force of will, cleverness, and desperation. I'm a sucker for those kinds of characters every time, and it stands to reason that Jimmy's favorite fictional hero is Jim Rockford, of The Rockford Files. Rockford is one of my favorites as well.
After Jimmy puts his life and career in the toilet at the beginning of this novel, things get even more interesting. A 12 year old illegal named Tino comes looking for him after getting separated from his mother during a border crossing. Jimmy's work to get some illegals their paperwork only a short time ago has made him a hero down in Mexico. But after Tino breaks into Jimmy's office and steals money that Jimmy has stolen to get a cop in trouble, neither one of them are exactly enchanted with the other.
However, they need each other to escape from the police. It's this forced symbiosis, this artificial father/son relationship, that takes shape during the course of this novel that is the heart and soul of the story. No matter what they do, they can't escape each other. Especially after Jimmy's ex-wife, whom he's still in love with, forces them to work together to try to find Marisol, Tino's missing mom.
The novel takes a little bit of time setting up all the characters at the beginning. But once the road trip begins, Levine drives the plot full tilt, like an eighteen-wheeler that's just blown the brakeline on a downhill run. I couldn't put the novel down, and I'm betting that any reader who picks it up won't be able to either.
Levine deals with the illegal immigration and employee problems with honesty, and presents both sides. But that's a small part of the entertainment he offers. I never got the impression that this was a politically based book. Levine just uses the California Mexico situation as a great backdrop to the simple father/son redemption story he wants to tell. I can't wait till the second one.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shyster lawyer... Jimmy (Royal) Payne, March 27, 2009
I'm sure Levine's new character, shyster lawyer Jimmy (Royal) Payne, will be around for more adventures. Illegal is fast-paced with plenty of action. I read Illegal in 2 nights.
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