The Accident Man

by Tom Cain

Book Overview

Breathlessly paced and featuring one of the most intriguing heroes in recent fiction, The Accident Man surprises at every turn. For a certain sum of money, Samuel Carver will arrange a death. But when a job in a Paris tunnel goes wrong, Carver must execute his most daring feat yet.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067001849X
• ISBN13: 9780670018499
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Explosive Thriller in Off/Record Territory

I waited a long time for a thriller writer with "tradecraft" knowlege to BOLDY step into persona non grada territory. The plot boldy tells that the "accident" of Pricess Diana was very well orchestraded, but for one caveat, the accident man supposed to die/lives. This novel has so much going for it. For instance, have you heard of a "dazzler"? It just like a long barreled flashlight but is actually a portable diode pump laser that emits a green beam of light with a frequency of 532 nanometers that when anyone looks at it they become disorientated and temporarily immobolized. The human brain cannot process the overload of data generated through the optic nerve: your brain crashes. An accident man's tool personified. There are just too many pluses to mention w/o giving away something that is just best left best unsaid. I hope the author will continue to tread where he is not welcome by establishment's "proven" formulas. Ironically, you would think more fiction authors would be going there/where the mainstream press is not even allowed to think about: 9/11 inside job(David Ray Griffin)(Zogby Poll has close to 50% doubting official story), Russian KGB blowing up their own citizen's apartment buildings(Blowing Up Russia), Gary Webb in his expose of the CIA's selling crack in L.A.(Dark Alliance), Karen Borjesson on Flight 800 being shot down by missle(Into the Buzzsaw)- all of these in NON Fiction format!. I could go on but you get the point. The public knows. The reader of this novel will be thoghtfully challenged and highly entertained. I'am now orderring "No Suvivors", which is the sequel.

Unique thriller!

Looking for a unique thriller? The Accident Man by Tom Cain may be just what you need! I don't think I've ever read a thriller quite like this book. It's a work of fiction, a 'what if' surrounding the death of Princess Diana. What if one of the conspiracy theories actually happened - what would it look like? Who would be involved? The best part is it doesn't really focus on the princess but rather on the Accident Man: Carver. On his skills and his vulnerabilities. On the people he works for - the ones he knows about and the ones he doesn't, and how he finds out who they are. The book is thoughtful - we know Carver's worries and desires about doing his job. And we get to see how he deals internally about the consequences of his actions and being double-crossed. I completely bonded with Carver. However, this book is not for the faint of heart. It does contain quite a bit of killing and various other items that one would see in an action movie. However, the details are not lengthy and don't overwhelm the story - which is Carver trying to come to terms with what he did and figuring out how to fix what he can. I highly recommend this book to other thriller readers out there. If you like a good spy novel or a unique conspiracy theory, The Accident Man will be a book you won't want to put down.

PHENOMENAL SOPHISTICATED THRILLER!!!

THE ACCIDENT MAN grabs you with the first page and never lets go until the very last page. This is a sizzling thrill ride....compelling, mesmerizing with breath-taking non-stop action!!! Tom Cain is the master of chapter endings....just one more...just one more....suddenly it's one in the morning!!! It's the sign of a really good book when you cannot stop thinking about it after several days of ending it and it's difficult to even start reading another book as everything seems so boring in comparison!!! When was the last time you had to cover up parts of the page so your wandering eyes wouldn't discover what was happening until it was time? Those despicable Russians .....seems like we get rid of one group of miscreants only to expose yet another batch. What a wild and crazy ride!!! I could have finished it in just a couple of sittings when I got it but I wanted to savor each and every delicious word as it is so rare to find an incredible book such as THE ACCIDENT MAN.....what a jewel!!! Talk about heart-pounding action...chilling... shocking... and so well written....it's really amazing that this is Tom Cain's first novel as he truly writes like a veteran. He's mastered his craft through his investigative reporting and it has translated into such a powerful debut thriller. Not to be missed!!! I'm thrilled to know that this is the first of a series as I, for one, cannot wait for the next Samuel Carver adventure. If optioned for the movies, I pictured Daniel Craig as Carver!!!

Great Action Thriller

Samuel Carver eliminates those who pose a threat to society for a fee.Each of his "hits" are designed to look like accidents,so when he's offered 3 million to eliminate a top ranked terrorist he accepts the deal.It's a job he will come to regret,because the target is not who he was led to believe.Soon he is on the run from Russian gangsters,(his nemesis is Grigori Kursk a stone cold killer)MI-6,and the mysterious group the Consortium.This book has everything a James Bond movie has fights,chases,and a beautiful woman at his side.True the book does slow down in the middle,but it's not enough to ruin the flow,becouse the action hits full steam again.Accident Man reminds me of the early Robert Ludlum novels and in a way Jack Higgins.This was enjoyable from start to finish.I'm just looking to be entertained and this book delivered.Hopefully this is the start of a new series.

Rushed Ending Lets Down a Very Very Fast Paced Action Novel

The journalist writing under the pseudonym Tom Cain has done a remarkable job of keeping a really fast pace non stop action thriller for the first half of the book. This half of the book is really impressively written, I can't remember ever reading a book that has been able to maintain that pace for so many pages, and its high quality writing too, it's brilliant. The quality does start to drop a little bit in the second half, as does the pace of the storyline, along with the believability factor of the main character Samuel Carver who seems to be able to pull out all kinds of hidden skills. The final chapters were a big disappointment with characters not keeping to what they've been throughout the former chapters, especially Samuel who seems to have forgotten all his training to get himself in the predicament he is for the final 70 pages or so. A lot of convenient things also have to happen for these final pages storyline to work. It's still an enjoyable read but it's a pity the quality of the first half is not there for the final scenes. Accident Man is follows Samuel Carver a hit man who enjoys what he is good at, killing terrorists, drug cartel leaders and other deserving of death villains. His latest task is to take out a high ranking terrorist's Mercedes in a Paris road tunnel which he pulls of smoothly. Problem is he has been made a target himself and barely escapes a hit on himself. Sam pretty quickly learns his victim was not a terrorist at all but instead one of the world's most loved and kind people. He puts two and two together that he is being set up and was never supposed to be around to expose the death as nothing more than an accident. The only ally he has is a beautiful young Russian woman named Alix who is in the same boat as him but sometimes a beautiful woman can make you drop your guard. Cain could have put a bit more work into the final chapters but if you are after a fast read The Accident Man won't disappoint. I'll definitely read his or her next book.