Hardcase, Dan Simmons
Hardcase, Dan Simmons
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Hardcase

Author: Dan Simmons

Narrator: Fred Filbrich

Unabridged: 6 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/16/2014


Synopsis

Once Joe Kurtz needed revenge -- and revenge cost him eleven years in Attica prison. Now Kurtz needs a job, and the price is going to be higher. Out of prison, out of touch, Kurtz signs on with the Byron Farino, Don of a Mob family whose son Kurtz had been protecting on the inside. Farino enlists Kurtz's help to track down the Family's missing accountant -- a man with too much knowledge of Family business to have on the loose.

But someone doesn't want the accountant found -- and with enemies inside the Family vying for his throne, and turf warfare just around the corner, Farino needs an outsider like Kurtz to flush out who's really behind this latest affront. As the story twists and turns and the body count rises, Kurtz no longer knows who he can trust. Everyone seems to be after something, from the mob boss's sultry yet dangerous daughter, to a hit man named The Dane, an albino killer who is good with a knife, and a dwarf who is armed to the teeth and hell-bent on revenge. Kurtz has always been an ace investigator. Now he's about to discover that to get at the truth, sometimes you have to go after it -- hard.

About Dan Simmons

DAN SIMMONS is a recipient of numerous major international awards, including the Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award. He is widely considered to be one of the premier multiple-genre fiction writers in the world. His most recent novels include the New York Times bestsellers The Terror and Drood, as well as Black Hills. He lives along the Front Range in Colorado and has never grown tired of the views.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dave on February 21, 2023

"Our contest is not against flesh and blood, but against powers, principalities, against the world-rulers of this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places." Initial Thoughts The Dan Simmons Deep-dive continues with the first in his hard crime, 'Joe Kurtz' trilogy.......more

Goodreads review by Kemper on January 07, 2011

If you have any doubts that this one was inspired by the Parker novels, just check out the dedication: “This book is for Richard Stark, who sometimes writes under the wussy pseudonym of Donald Westlake.” Joe Kurtz may be a private detective instead of a professional thief, but he can match Parker for......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on November 08, 2022

Rip roaring homage to Donald Westlake's (AKA Richard Stark) classic Parker series which is best described as Parker on steroids, with all the hardboiled ingredients cranked up to eleven. Certainly over the top compared with Parker, but not necessarily by today's standards.......more

Goodreads review by Corey on May 13, 2021

Well, that was a crazy fun novella-length book. The plot basically revolves around the main character, Joe Kurtz, settling some scores when he gets released from prison while investigating a disappearance for a local mafia Don. The book then proceeds to introduce us to every kind of psychopath, frea......more

Goodreads review by Syaza on August 05, 2024

Dan Simmons as a writer is one hard to pin down, what with having written heavily researched horror historical fiction in The Terror and Drood, heavy duty sci-fi in the Hyperion series while also a fair bunch of normal horror, sci-fi, drama novels and short stories. They're all very, very good but v......more


Quotes

"A cinematic story."—Chicago Tribune

"A hardcore full-tilt rocket ride."—Rocky Mountain News

"The toughest dark 'hero' in crime fiction since Parker."—Denver Post

"HARDCASE is very tough, with a high body count...Simmons writes better than most, and his ex-PI. Joe Kurtz, who tries to hold onto a semblance of ethics while working for a semi-retired Mafia don, is an interesting character. ..there are some nifty Chandleresque twists and some nicely done upstate New York scene layering."—Boston Globe

"An exceptional tale...there's no letdown from the explosive start to hell-for-leather finish in this hard-as-nails detective story. Watch out, bad guys! Kurtz is here!Enthusiastically recommended."—Library Journal

[Simmons'] narrative is all sinewy blood and gristle...hard to beat for a pulp-fiction beach read."—Publishers Weekly

"[Simmons] handles the carnage here as confidently as if he'd teethed on a .45."—Kirkus Reviews