Fear City

September 15, 2014
Set in 1993, the riveting final novel chronicling Repairman Jack’s early years (after 2013’s Dark City) finds the score-settling “fixer” living in Manhattan, straddling the boundary between both sides of the law. A brutal murder catalyzes the collision of several subplots developed in Jack’s two previous outings, notably the Ancient Septimus Fraternal Order’s backing of Muslim extremists, whose passion for bringing jihad to America sets them on course to bomb the World Trade Center. Before the tale’s explosive finale, Jack loses several people dear to him, and is witness to interrogations that come close to being torture porn, discovering just how cruelly the darkness inside him can express itself. Wilson skillfully cross-cuts between characters and their viewpoints as the clock ticks down to the exciting climax. If, as the author’s note suggests, this may be the last Repairman Jack adventure, Wilson has certainly sent the series off with a bang. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House.

October 15, 2014

In 1993 New York City, Jack is after the killers of a young woman, and he uncovers plots and conspiracies with much higher stakes in this final volume (after Cold City and Dark City) of the prequel trilogy showing how Repairman Jack came to be.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
After more than 20 novels for adults and children, here we come finally to the end ofor at least a break fromthe Repairman Jack series. The books started feeling tired a while ago, but the Early Years trilogy, of which this is the third installment, reenergized the series, taking us back in time to the late 1980s and early 1990s, before Jack became Repairman Jack, when he was just a kid with some unique talents. Here, it's early in 1993. Jack's friend and sometime lover, Cristin Ott, has gone missing, and Jack is dumbfounded to discover that Cristin was apparently keeping a lot of secrets from him. Meanwhile a group of terrorists is planning an attack on New York City's iconic twin towers, but their financing has fallen through, and they need a loan from a local mobster, Tony Campisi. We know where the book will end upthis is, after all, the final volume in a trilogy designed to transition plain ol' Jack to Repairman Jackbut that doesn't stop us from enjoying the ride.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)