Alan J. Vitello

Twists, Turns, More Twists, More Turns.

Revisado: 07-15-16

Good gravy! This short novel features so many twists and turns it's like driving on a curvy mountain road full of switchbacks. Who is the protagonist in this book? No one, but that's the essence of this genre, isn't it.
Hot dogs? A beer garden? Jungle cats? A crooked lawyer named Katz? A strumpet? A drifter? A swarthy Greek? Car accidents? Check, check and double check! They're all here...and MORE!
It's as hard boiled and noir as can be. In fact, it just might define both of those categories. Surprisingly, a lot of rather graphic sexual imagery, too, especially since it was originally published in 1934.
Stanley Tucci's performance is spot on. His voice ties this twisty-turny plot together perfectly. If you don't expect a straight line, beginning-middle-end story, you'll find this audio book well worth your 2-1/2 hours.

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A Little Bit o' This..A Little Bit o' That...

Revisado: 06-10-16

Take a wee little pinch of the crazed Nazi dentist, from Marathon Man...throw in a heaping cup of anything by Dan Brown...add in a teensy bit of pretty much anything by Paulo Coehlo, sprinkle in a bit of the Millennial tech-savvy generation, to taste...and you've got yourself "Hands Across the Sky."
This is one fast-paced, 21st Century, espionage adventure novel, featuring, quite possibly, one of the most naïve protagonists that I have ever experienced. (I mean, honestly, wouldn't you at least ASK what your new job responsibilities are, and what you new employer actually does BEFORE you pack up everything and move to a very, very, very politically unstable part of the world?)
Nevertheless, other than an incredibly unsatisfying ending, which absolutely leads the listener and/or reader to conclude that this book MUST be the first in a series, "Hands Across the Sky" is an engaging and thought-provoking novel, that raises many questions about who actually writes the history we all accept as true, as well as, the role of our US government in the Middle East quagmire. It also offers a compelling narrative regarding the ancient conflict between our dark and our light; the will-to-power vs the desire to share, help, protect and nurture each other; the closed hand vs the Open Hand.

Performer Collene Curran's reading is spot-on. She have a very lyrical and pleasant voice which renders the softer parts of the story all the better. Her way of describing food (of which there are many, in this book) are hunger-inducing, and a visceral, sensory experience for the listener. Listening to the scene where Ezra Quinn is taken far out into the desert, and (Wait! I can't say that SPOILER ALERT!)...well suffice to say, Curran's expert reading turns this horrifying scene up to "11."

All-in-all, a great listen on your commute.
Recommended.

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A Masterpiece from Two Masters and Great Narration

Revisado: 01-29-16

Just finished listening to, "Kill Me, Darling," by Max Allan Collins, from an unfinished manuscript by Mickey Spillane, read by Stacy Keach.
If you've never read, or heard a hard-boiled, noir, crime detective novel this book would be a fantastic place to start.
This work has it all: a hard-as-nails, hard drinking, cynical, yet soft, all-masculine, ladies' man protagonist prone to both violence, vengeance and murder, the inimitable PI Mike Hammer, Dames, dames, dames (some of whom are cops, some of whom are strippers, some of whom...well, I won't spoil THAT), cops, grizzled cops, good cops, bad cops, dirty cops, drugs, alcohol, lots and lots of alcohol, gangster, Italian gangsters, Jewish gangsters, drugs (did I mention drugs?), double/crosses, fists, lots of hard-punching fists, guns, sharks, boats, death, LOTS of death, more dames, fedoras, shoulder holsters, Miami, Miami Beach, New York City, classy joints, seedy joints, whiskey-soaked, ink-stained, cynical journalists (my favorite part!), an incredible narrator in Stacy Keach (he played Hammer for several years on TV, and he has the perfect world-wearily voice to bring life and depth to the character), and one helluva surprise ending that completely explains the title, but one that you will never see, or hear, coming, just like the bright orange sunburst flash of a silenced .22!
This is a modern masterpiece.

Highly recommended!!

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