Hard as Nails

By Dan Simmons

Book Overview

Ex-PI Joe Kurtz's survival is on the line when an ambush leaves him badly wounded and his parole officer Peg O'Toole barely clinging to life. Their respective professions have ensured that neither suffers from a shortage of enemies so discovering which of them was the intended target isn't easy. But Kurtz knows who's at the head of his list: Angelina Farino Ferrara, the lethal beauty who leads the Farino crime family, as well as her mob rival, ice cold Toma Gonzaga, who has his own dark history with Kurtz. The odd thing is, each wants to hire Joe Kurtz to find out who's been waging war beneath the cold gray skies of western New York. Until now, the casualties have been heroin junkies and their dealers. But now, the shootings of Kurtz and O'Toole have drawn the notice of both the newspapers and Buffalo PD Detective Rigby King, who shared Kurtz's tough childhood in a Buffalo orphanage, and who wants to put Kurtz back in prison-or back in her bed. Even Kurtz's jaded past cannot prepare him for what he's about to learn as he finds himself caught in an ever-tightening vise between the wounded and warring mob families and the cops, unaware that a maniac is waiting for his chance to strike...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312994680
• ISBN13: 9780312994686
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

entertaining

Super entertaining along the lines of Repairman Jack and Jack Reacher novels. Never a dull moment, well written detective fiction. All three Joe Kurtz novels are good and it's really too bad Simmons has decided to end the series. Oh well, put all three in your beach bag and enjoy.

The best Kurtz novel yet

This is Simmons' third Joe Kurtz novel and they just keep getting better and better. These pulp style 'detective' novels are reminiscent of Chandler and others. However Simmons takes the genre to an all new level. From page one you are drawn in and eagerly wanting to turn that next page but never wanting the book to end. Each of the novels builds on the last but they grow with each new story. Start at the beginning of the series, you'll be glad you did. I can never recommend the books enough times. For anyone who wants a novel that will keep you guessing from the first page to the last, these are the ones you want. I didn't see the end coming in this one it sure was quite a surprise! Buy this book, you'll be glad you did!!

Flawed hero, unflawed writing!

Joe Kurtz, ex PI, ex con is one of the most interesting antiheros currently being written about. Simmons blends the atmosphere and mood of western New York into a modern noir canvas, and Kurtz and his former lover Rigby inhabit that world in a gray area of law and order that is both disturbing and realistic. Even after getting shot in the head, Kurtz displays the almost herculean toughness that would make Spenser wince - hence the title. The plot moves from place to place with a randomness that seems incongruous, but ultimately is very satisfying in the end. One of the best mystery/detective novelists working today. I highly reccommend going to Simmon's back list and catching up with the rest of his fans. He seldom has disappointed.

Hardcore, Two-Fisted, Take-No-Prisoners Fiction

These are just some of the descriptions used in reviews for the Joe Kurtz series. And I have to agree. Not since Donald Westlake's (aka. Richard Stark) Parker series have I enjoyed reading crime fiction so much. Dan Simmons knows how to, excuse me here ladies, grab you by the balls and take you on a ride.In his latest entry in this series Mr. Simmons puts Kurtz in a bad position from the beginning. Within the first three pages Kurtz is shot in the head, along with his parole officer, and has to deal with a migraine, caused by a concussion, for damn near the rest of the book. Kurtz isn't given a break by any means after being shot. He's blamed for the shooting of the parole officer, has to deal with a family member, is threatened by the mob, chased by a psychopath and has to worry about the Dane. We also get a look at Joe's past in this book, through an ex-girlfriend who also happens to be a cop investigating him, and his feelings for his daughter become more apparent. If you've read the other books in this series I can't recommend this one enough. If you haven't you should really start with Hard Case. You could read and understand this book without reading the others but I don't know why you'd want to.