Hard as Nails (A Joe Kurtz Novel)

By Dan Simmons

Book Overview

Somewhere in Western New York, there's a remote mountaintop in the moonlight, its dark forests and moon-dappled meadows populated only by corpses. If ex-PI Joe Kurtz doesn't unravel the secret of that place in five days, he'll be one of them. Everyone seems to want a piece of Kurtz these days and most succeed in getting one. Unknown assailants gun down Kurtz and his female parole officer, giving Kurtz the headache of a lifetime but putting pretty Peg O'Toole on life support. Working his own case through a haze of concussion migraine, Kurtz has to deal with Toma Gonzaga, the gay don who owes Kurtz a blood debt, and Angelina Farino Ferrara, the female don who is after Kurtz's body-or maybe just his head. And while someone is murdering all the heroin addicts in Buffalo and hauling away the bodies, a serial killer called the Artful Dodger hatches his twisted plan. In Kurtz's corner is police detective Rigby King, a beautiful woman who had been his young lover when they were both rebellious teenagers in Father Baker's Orphanage. Rigby also has designs on Joe Kurtz, but whether they're aimed at bedding or abetting him, helping him stay alive or simply putting him away for life, Kurtz will have to discover the hard way. Lightning fast pace and unrelenting action are the hallmarks of this series, but the epic struggle portrayed in this book sets a new standard for crime fiction. Saturated with the ragged-edged aggression of the Buffalo streets, Dan Simmons's Hard As Nails comes down like a hammer smashing a thumb on a cold day.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312305281
• ISBN13: 9780312305284
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"

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.