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Good Day in Hell (Jack Keller Series) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The first blow split Stan's lip and knocked him into a stack of recapped tires at the back of the repair bay..." (more)
Key Phrases: Laurel Marks, Jack Keller, Ellen Marks (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Rhoades's well-crafted second novel to feature Jack Keller (after 2005's The Devil's Right Hand), the North Carolina bounty hunter and his new girlfriend, sheriff's deputy Marie Jones, discover that the two suspects for whom each has been searching—a troubled young woman who skipped bail on an assault charge and the likely perpetrator of the brutal murder of a gas station owner—have taken the gas station owner's teenage son and in short order pulled off senseless mass murders at a local church and factory. When the media-savvy killers contact an amoral local news personality, guaranteeing her exclusive access in exchange for the chance to tell their tale, the situation escalates and the lives of all are put in danger. Fast-paced and rich in regional color, this satisfying thriller is notable for its empathetic portrayal of the two emotionally damaged protagonists, each struggling with past trauma—his sustained in the first Gulf War, hers resulting from the killing of her partner—in order to form a trusting relationship.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist

Rhoades follows up his scorching debut, The Devil's Right Hand (2005), with another high-voltage thriller starring bounty hunter Jack Keller. This time Keller, his Gulf War nightmares on simmer, thinks he's ready to take a stab at a committed relationship with North Carolina state cop Marie Jones, but that's before he starts tailing a bail jumper turned serial killer and her equally deranged partner in crime. As before, this one is all about the chase, but Rhoades lets us follow the action from the points of view of both hunters and hunted. Unlike Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, who humanize their bad guys by giving them senses of humor, Rhoades portrays unrepentant, psychotic killers but manages to make us feel, almost against our will, the human hearts that beat within their violent souls. Keller's own violent soul remains in turmoil, loving the hunt even as it threatens his new-found stability. Drawing from a half-dozen thriller formulas used by such masters as Lee Child and Stephen Hunter, Rhoades shuffles the deck skillfully and deals an altogether new hand. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 21, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312334214
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312334215
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,432,312 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

J. D. Rhoades
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The first blow split Stan's lip and knocked him into a stack of recapped tires at the back of the repair bay. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Laurel Marks, Jack Keller, Ellen Marks, Grace Tranh, Mister Keller, Agent Sanderson, Oscar Sanchez, Roy Randle, Social Services, Marie Jones, Bail Bonds, Barbara Shelby, Barnwell Foods, Frank Jones, Fort Bragg, Manuel Olivera, Van Damme, Amber Alert, Channel Ten, Duplin County, Lucas Berry, Miss Tranh, Mister Marks, News Ten, Where's Jack
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5 Reviews
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4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Vacation Reading, August 4, 2006
By D. Smith (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A great guilty pleasure for anyone who enjoys a lightning-fast read. I started "The Devil's Right Hand" wondering if it would be TOO graphic, but both of Rhoades' books are unoffensive in their depiction of sex, drugs and violence. The seductive and sadistic female killer stood out in this one.

Looking forward to the next one.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An exciting thriller filled with interesting, multidimensional, and painfully real characters, April 5, 2006
By Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
J. D. Rhoades is quickly becoming the master of "redneck noir," a classic description for dark thriller fiction set in the deep or rural south. William Faulkner arguably is the godfather of this genre and James Lee Burke is his heir, but there are such authors as Ace Atkins, Jack Kerley, Jim Born and Jonathon King who also can be counted among its practitioners.

Rhoades is one of the most recent additions to this list. His latest novel, GOOD DAY IN HELL, is but his second, yet his voice is as steady, confident and strong as a seasoned journeyman with a groaning shelf of books to his credit. Rhoades's primary protagonist is Jack Keller, a bail enforcement officer who travels the rural areas that lie between North Carolina's growing urban centers, resulting in an uneasy and often deadly mixture of old and new South.

Keller's target in GOOD DAY IN HELL is Laurel Marks, a good girl gone bad who is wanted on a parole violation. His girlfriend, Deputy Sheriff Marie Jones, is simultaneously investigating the robbery of a gas station and the murder of its proprietor, as well as the apparent abduction of the proprietor's son. Neither Keller nor Jones anticipates that their respective assignments are about to intertwine into what is only the beginning of an explosive, angry and senseless rampage, reminiscent of the Starkweather/Fugate murders in the late 1950s.

What results is a dark character study of individuals on opposite sides of good and evil who are alike in that they are drawn to their inner, dangerous darkness even as their actions spring from opposing motivations. The ending, which ironically takes place in an area far removed --- geographically and socially --- is perhaps inevitable, but carries with it a hope, however faint, of redemption.

Rhoades's main strength is his ability to imbibe his characters with subtle and conflicting complexities that by turns make them interesting and extremely, almost painfully, real. Keller in particular has miles of bad road within him that undoubtedly could be explored for however many books Rhoades chooses to write about it. Keller's venue of North Carolina is in such a state of change and growth that he should have plenty to keep him busy in the years to come. And the winner, of course, will be the reader of this fine series. Recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Jack Keller shines again in this superb thriller, April 1, 2006
By Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
Jack Keller, stressed out war veteran and bail enforcement officer, is back. He's still subject to terrifying flashbacks of his harrowing war experience, still boils over with murderous rage now and then and still has trouble establishing normal human relationships. Overall, a very satisfying kind of action oriented guy.

Author Rhoades must be described as a brilliant writer. His plots are meticulously constructed, his characters come alive with only a few words and the story literally leaps from one page to the next. "Good Day In Hell" is great evening reading if you don't mind staying up late: it's that hard to put down.

This story opens with Stan, a 16 year old, being beaten by his abusive step-father in the latter's gas station. While Stan is repairing his battered face, a car pulls in with a young woman and an older man. The girl, Laurel Marks, encounters Stan and says she understands his situation. A few moments later, Laurel and her older boyfriend each put a bullet into the stepdad's head. Stan is given an invitation he can't refuse: get in the car himself or die.

Within a few moments, Stan is possessor of every teenage boy as Laurel "entertains" him in the back of the van.

Gotta admit: Rhoades knows how to start a story.

Jack Keller in the meantime is chasing down a bail jumper. His girlfriend, Marie Jones, a county cop, is called to the station where the murder occurred.

It doesn't take long before Keller and Marie Jones are pursuing the same goal together in their own distinctive styles. Jones is always the cop. Keller simply wants the financial reward from apprehending his next bail jumper, none other than Laurel Marks.

Laurel is a character and a half. Young, drug addicted, allegedly abused by her father, she has teamed with Randle, twice her age. Randle is a failed small-time player in the movie business. Together they intend to gain fame in a simple way.

The beginning of their quest is murder and mayhem. It takes a while and a lot more corpses before the police, FBI, Keller and Jones figure out who they are after.

Rhoades, as noted, doesn't let the action slow for a moment. He doesn't need to resort to super-hero trickery. Jones, Keller, Stan, Laurel, Randle are all human, perhaps too much so as I explain below.

The tension mounts with every page with a series of near-misses. Grace Tranh, an anchor on the local TV station (and a real piece of work, which is not a compliment) becomes involved. The FBI agents, overbearing and oppressive, stick their noses in.

I don't like to give away too much of a story and I won't here. Rhoades packs a lot of twists and surprises into his story and it's better to encounter them in the book, not in a review.

Suffice it to say that this is a smash-bang thriller and could very well be one of the best to be released in the past several months. If you like complex plots, fully developed characters and action that never lets up, have a "Good Day In Hell."

Jerry

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Character Studies In A Bounty Hunter Thriller
This was my first Jack Keller novel and I found it a worthy addition to my predilection for thrillers featuring tough guy loners. Read more
Published on October 4, 2007 by TMStyles

4.0 out of 5 stars gory regional thriller
North Carolina bounty hunter Jack Keller and sheriff's deputy Marie Jones are dating. Marie likes Jack and even wonders if her squeeze would be a good step-father for her son,... Read more
Published on April 4, 2006 by Harriet Klausner

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