Semiautomatic: A Novel

By Robert Reuland and Robert Reuland

Book Overview

The follow-up to Reuland's critically acclaimed debut novel Hollowpoint."Rob Reuland writes beautifully-about sadness and cities and injured dreams. First with Hollowpoint and now with Semiautomatic,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375505024
• ISBN13: 9780375505027
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.9" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Funny, moving, heartfelt--far more than an "action thriller"

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At no point did I sense that the author was trying to put one over on me, playing for a reader reaction, or throwing in standard thriller plot elements for effect, cleverly disguised. Reuland has written a book that matters, and he's written it in a fully natural, entertaining, and flowing style. He's in a class with Robert B. Parker, only better, because Reuland knows the world he describes, and cares about the people. Above all, it's an expansive book--a very rare quality among legal thrillers and crime novels; that is, the characters actually grow. Thus, the book is subtly moving; this is more than entertainment, though it is superbly that, too.

Shavng with a Badger

Reuland's first book Hollowpoint hooked me with the throw-away line, he was so tough, 'he saved with a badger'. Reuland's dialogue works so well that one feels himself at the bottom of the same hole his hero with the heart of dread, Gio is looking up from. You don't read about the someone's state of mind in a Reuland book, you feel it. That time when your girl left you and you couldn't eat for a whole day; that's what Semiautomatic makes you feel. The ketchup seen and reference to Coney Island whitefish had me laughing for hours. Just when you feel bottomed out, he describes someone as being 'dropped into the chair with a spatula' and the plot drags you back from the brink. The jacket says Chandler and Hemingway but it should say James Joyce written by Ed McBain.Semiautomatic is a must read for those pilgrims looking for the new noire classic. It is full or great throw away lines and my favourite this time is "There are only wrong moves left"Great read, Reuland deserves more readers and better support from his publisher. This is a guaranteed come back to next year.

Real, well written and could actually happen

It would be a mistake to call this a legal thriller, just as it would be a mistake to believe that what happens in most American courtrooms is legally thrilling. This is taut, believable urban crime drama from someone batting .1000 right out of the box on his first two novels. It's not plot-crazed Grisham. It's a story and characters to think about and a protagonist you can actually buy. I loved it, just as I loved Hollowpoint, his first. The second is more enjoyable if you read HP and got the setup but Semiautomatic also stands on its own as a first-rate urban crime novel. Very good stuff.Can't waint for the next one.

fabulous legal Noir

Following his bungled prosecution of a homicide case (see HOLLOWPOINT) Assistant District Attorney Andrew Giobberti toils in the surreal Brooklyn Appeals Office, the Siberia where those whose careers are over are exiled until they retire, quit, or die. His personal life feels as if he is at rock bottom but also still in freefall as he still mourns the death of his daughter and the separation from his wife.However, he is given a second chance at redeeming himself and a return to the Homicide 0ffice if he prosecutes the suspect in the murder of a Brooklyn bodega owner. Elation turns to distrust and he wonders if he is being paranoid as he ponders why this particular case was given to him. No one will say a word to him especially why him, not even Laurel Ashfield, who had the prosecution before Giobberti received his so-called reprieve.SEMIAUTOMATIC is a fabulous legal Noir that gives the audience an intriguing taste of Brooklyn, home of "the dumbest killers in the world". Andrew is a marvelous lead character as he struggles with a horde of maggots that eat away at his heart and soul. Still the key to this unique story line is that the plot hits the audience on three fronts. The obvious legal thriller is enhanced by the in-politics of the DA Office and by a human salvation story all tied together by Andrew.Harriet Klausner

A legal thriller with character

Rob Reuland's Semiautomatic is the follow-up to his excellent 2000 debut Hollowpoint. The author has brought back hard-bitten Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Andrew Giobberti for another go-around on the borough's mean streets and in its grim halls of justice.A bodega owner has been murdered in what seems to be an open-and-shut case. As Gio digs deeper, though, he senses that something is rotten underneath the surface. There's a reason he was assigned to this murder and, once he learns it, his outrage leads him to take on his corrupt bosses.There are times when Semiautomatic suffers from an excess of personality, with machinegun sentences and clipped dialogue assaulting readers so fast they hardly have a chance to catch their breath. That is also part of the book's charm, though, as Reuland breaks out of the typical urban crime mold with his fresh, compelling protagonist and idiosyncratic style.Semiautomatic is recommended to anyone who is tired of the usual, run-of-the-mill legal thriller and wants to read something that tells it a little more like it really is.Reviewed by David Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times