Dead Hand Control

by Tim Stutler

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1403383030
• ISBN13: 9781403383037
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Authorhouse
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Gripping Reading

I cannot recall the last time I enjoyed a novel as much as this one. This mystery/thriller/action-filled/human interest tale, which is set in the San Diego legal community, moves effortlessly through each episode leaving the reader itching to discover what the next page has to offer. Russell White, a young attorney, leads us through hard-ball law practice, gun-filled drama, tribulations of a handicaped son, interpersonal relationships, and his own desperate fight for survival. All of these developments coalesce in the final chapters bringing together personalities and particulars from the very first pages of the book. Use of the word "spell binding" cannot be under utilized in describing this book. The characters are so well developed and the settings, events, and dialogues paint such a vivid picture that one visualizes the story rather than simply reading words. While reading the book I felt like I was an invisible observer actually physically on the scene. I anxiously await the author's next production.

Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous!

This is the first thriller I've read whose main character has a deforming disability. Bravo! Although the protagonist is a lawyer named Russell White, it is his son Graham who carries the story -- and captures the imagination. Graham is born with a condition called symbrachydactyly, which leaves him with only a couple tiny, deformed fingers. Those who know children with this condition will understand the enormity of it. But the author doesn't treat Graham as some mere object of pity or curiosity. I don't want to give it away, but Graham is a truly heroic figure who leaves you laughing and crying at the same time (even if you're not a teacher like me). The beautiful prose and intricate plot of this exceptionally well-written novel left me wondering when it will become a movie -- and when we can expect the next book! Well done, Tim Stutler!

Fantastic!

I just couldn't put this book down and I enjoyed it from cover to cover. Not since reading Pat Conroy have I run across an author who can make the printed word jump off the page and become a near-real experience. By this I mean that this author was able to tell a story that actually made my heart beat faster, my adrenaline flow faster, and often caused me to laugh out loud. I could feel the gritty mud on White's shirt, the wet tears on his son's face and smell the smoke from Murphy's cigarette. The story line was great and always kept me turning pages to see what was going to happen next. I was never disappointed. I especially enjoyed the unlikely relationship between White and Murphy. If this is Mr. Stutler's first book...I can't wait to see what's next!

A Thinking Person's Thriller

My wife told me this was a wonderful book, but as an attorney who prefers traditional novels to modern legal thrillers, I had my doubts. Turns out she was right (as usual). I loved it. Although the protagonist is a lawyer, and the book offers plenty of suspense and intrigue, it is definitely not the legal thriller I expected. I'm not quite sure how to classify Dead Hand Control -- except to say it is a first-rate work in the tradition of the great American novel. The book was entertaining from the first page, but once I got acquainted with the characters, it became irresistible. Russell White, the main character, is someone with whom I (and many of my colleagues) can identify. That's not necessarily a flattering comparison. Although Russell shows flashes of brilliance and great courage, he is at times controlling, myopic and self serving. But he is a familiar and completely understandable personality, which is what makes his story so compelling. Standing in stark contrast to Russell is his long-suffering wife Ellen. They produce a disabled son, Graham, who is the most admirable - and ultimately surprising - character in the book. The story revolves around Russell's desire to mold his son into the attorney's concept of a perfect person. This turns out to be a tough task for a less-than-perfect role model. Along the way, Russell must fight off kidnappers, murderers, and his own private demons. He is aided by his best friend/sidekick Johnny Murphy, an irrepressible and hilarious former Navy commando. I don't have much time for reading fiction, and this book monopolized far more than its fair share of my free hours. But guilt notwithstanding, I have to admit I actually read it again - something I never do. In my eagerness to learn the fate of Russell and his family, I raced through much of it the first time. I needed another reading to digest the layers and nuances written into the book.If I were to pen a novel, Dead Hand Control is the kind I'd want to write. That's about the highest praise I can give any book.

ONE OF THE BEST I'VE EVER READ

ONE OF THE BEST I'VE READI hesitate to call this the best novel I've read by a first-time author; that would do it a great injustice. Dead Hand Control is one of the best contemporary novels I've read -- period. From page one, I was gripped by a master story-teller's wit, imagination and insight into the human predicament. The story is about ambition, angst and immortality -- themes close to the hearts of most of us in modern society. Though I wouldn't describe it as epic, Dead Hand Control brings full circle the life of its main character, Russell White, moving from his youthful bloom through his prime, decline and, ultimately, life-shattering tragedy. The story begins in free-spirited Berkeley, California, where White is a law student. The product of a blue-collar family, he hungers to make it in the elite bar. He has the talent and drive to reach his goal. But White is also a flawed and very human character. After landing a position with a top San Diego firm, he is confronted by temptations and moral dilemmas that might topple a much stronger man. He finds financial success is no longer enough; he wants to build a legacy. In his quest to have it all, White makes choices that lock his young wife and son on an enthralling roller coaster ride, which White is powerless to stop. He becomes obsessed with protecting them, but he never realizes until very late that his own actions are creating the greatest threats.In Dead Hand Control, author Tim Stutler has crafted a work that won't stay closed on the night table. Bedtime readers with full-time jobs (like me) will find themselves staying up long after they should be asleep (like me). Several times after promising myself to close the book at the end of a chapter, I was compelled to keep reading. Besides a facility with story-telling, Stutler's strength is his ability to create realistic characters the reader actually cares about. I found myself so attached to Russell White's family that once or twice I literally held my breath when they were at risk. I was most moved by the courage and vulnerability of White's disabled son, Graham, as he struggled throughout the last two parts of the book (which is in three parts) to understand his place in the strange world created by his ambitious father. I also had to laugh out loud at the predicaments the characters found themselves in -- including one of the oddest but most entertaining sex scenes I have ever encountered, featuring a Jack Russell Terrier with an oversized sex organ.Dead Hand Control's colorful, quirky characters and vivid descriptions remind me of the works of two favorite authors, John Irving (The World According to Garp; The Cider House Rules) and Nicholas Evans (The Horse Whisper; The Loop). If you favor their novels, you'll enjoy Dead Hand Control. Like their novels, this one is disturbing at times, with its share of deviants and miscreants. It is also very funny in places, as well as touching, uplifting and, ultimately,