Forgiving Solomon Long

by Chris Well

Book Overview

Fat Cat Catalano doesn't need troublemakers rocking the boat. So he hires a cleaner to fly in to make sure the local churchies and storeowners get the message. Meanwhile, detective Tom Griggs is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0736914056
• ISBN13: 9780736914055
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Humorous Mob Entertainment

This was a neat book--and yes, that is a compliment. I was hooked from the first line. "On the last day of Father Michael's life..." The main character Solomon Long is a professional killer with some interesting little quirks. While Solo is connected to the overall story, his part is a story within the story. The supporting cast of mobsters, cops, FBI, and ordinary people all make for a very interesting mix of the good the guys versus the bad guys. Like most mobster related entertainment, the book has a pretty high body count, but is not excessive and is not gory in its details. The story moves along well and is filled with action, drama, and decisions. My only complaints were, the leak in the police department was given away disappointingly early and I wish a little bit more time had been spent on little Frankie. He was a very likable character and it would have been nice to see him more involved in the story over all. Wells' story telling style is unique and very enjoyable. If you're looking for Christian fiction with a sense of humor, look no further.

*WELL* written!

A great read, intriguing, a book that I didn't want to put down! I have given it as a gift twice already. Chris Well has an incredible way of getting into the minds and personalities of his characters. Highly recommended!

A terrific "hardboiled" read about the power of forgiveness

If you like comic books, Shakespeare, and Pop TV, and if you like a spiritual theme in your genre fiction, you're going to have fun with the story of a tormented Hit Man who meets his Damascus Road when he takes out a true-believer preacher. Allusions and echoes of King Lear, Macbeth, Julius Caesar (loved his use of an iconic scene and utterance) abound. There is clearly an homage to Raymond Chandler, too. At least, that's what The Mir thinks. What happens when someone who's had a messed-up childhood and vicious adulthood comes face to face with a logic-defying human act of benevolence? Well...when God intervenes, you cannot remain the same. Forgiveness of this sort, of the kind Corrie Ten Boom--holocaust survivor-- offered a Nazi, of the kind some Rwandans offer the killers of their kin, of the kind the parents of murdered children offer some death row inmates...the kind Christ offered from the cross. This is not a power one can dismiss lightly. This novel follows one man's life-and-soul changing encounter with forgiveness. A book doesn't have to be perfect to be enjoyable. I give this 4 1/2 stars in terms of technique, because there is a pacing issue and less emphasis on the snappy style toward the latter part, and here and there I hit some rather jarring jumps in POV (from third to omniscient and back) that will irritate those of you who are POV purists. (I know many of y'all, so if you're one, calm down. Buy the book. Enjoy it.) Those are really very minor quibbles. The start and middle of the novel are entirely crisp and snappy and energetic and wholly enjoyable. The ending is awesome. I give it 5 stars in terms of premise and style and freshness. This is some good writing! Other reviewers have told you about the story--neighborhood anti-crime effort, cops trying to break the local mob, a hit man taking out activists, a detective with marital woes and a big "don" to bring down, treason of various sorts, mayhem and self-discovery. I just want to tell you to buy this book and read it now, because Chris Well has another one coming out this year, and you really want to enjoy this debut novel before his next one hits the shelves. This is a CBA author to watch. He's got a blog you might want to check out (especially if you're interested in Christian fiction in general) at http://chriswellnovelist.blogspot.com And, if I recall correctly, this book was chosen as one of the Top Ten Booklist Christian Novels of the year. Not too shabby. Mir http://mirathon.blogspot.com

Think of this as an offer you can't refuse. (quote-unquote)

The year is 2005, but I go back to the beginning of the year, checking out what new releases might be of interest to myself. My favorite authors all had new stuff coming out. But then you look to some of the new titles and you can clearly one thing. These guys have taken a chance. They have their first published novel out in the market. Chris Well was one of a few that I chose to take a chance with. Chris Well is one that is very well (yeah, hence the last name, amen?) worth taking a risk reading. Chris Well will be on my list in the future! I can easily say that early on the title, cover, EVERYTHING attracted my attention. There was one thing standing in the way. This isn't my first choice normally. And the way it was presented, I had to wonder, "Will this actually work in the Christian market?" Yes! I even wondered if it would be interesting with the short chapters, but it was. Made you keep turning the page! You take a contract killer, add a few BAMS! Take a detective, Tony Griggs, and add some good stuff, along with a message that delivers grace. And once I got into it, it was easy to accept that cusswords weren't a necessity to make this a good read! I could see a few times where Well kind of had to improvise, but he did it without compromising his message. So, you take some comic books, add a few Jolly Rancher candies to liven up the flavor, and sit back, and enjoy this read. You know you'll run into some good surprises as the smoke clears, and you won't be sorry. As you hear in some gangster clips, this is an offer you can't refuse! Oh yeah, Chris Well put his chips on the table, and it payed off.

So Clean, So Deep

It's a simple, yet profound, premise: When a contract killer makes a move to kill an innocent preacher, the preacher offers unconditional forgiveness. The killer, Solomon Long, is rocked by the man's reaction. "Forgiving Solomon Long" is a story of redemption, couched in the organized crime scene of Kansas City. At times, it reads with the vivid focus of a comic book; at others, it delves deeply into the wounds that many violent men carry. We meet Det. Tom Griggs, a man numbed by his job and impotent to change his own marriage. We journey with "Solo" through his ugly childhood, his contract-killer career, and his guilt-driven attempts to come clean. We bump into criminal low-lifes, attractive female cops, and greasy crime lords. In the story's conclusion, most of the pieces come together in a moving, yet understated manner. Although the plot thread concerning Solo's mother seems to unravel, the action never flags, and Chris Well stays true to his characters and their inner struggles. Like a classic comic book (think "Spiderman" and "Batman"), this novel is so cleanly drawn that a non-reader could enjoy it, yet so deeply developed that a voracious biblophile can find numerous things to appreciate. In the growing world of Christian fiction, "Forgiving Solomon Long" proves there is room for new styles, gritty characters, and stories that can move us without sermonizing. Keep bringin' it, Mr. Well. We're ready for more!