The Death And Life Of Bobby Z

Don Winslow never fails to deliver.This is a fast evolving caper that gets your attention.Just a good,well written thriller.

Who doesn’t love a chase book, with plenty of jeopardy, and a host of situations where you can’t see the way out! Essentially, this is Stephen King’s Firestarter, with an even weirder story, more threats from different angles, and a protagonist who you really end up getting behind! A great story, well worth a read! Another page-turner by Mr. Winslow!

This novel is much much better than the film. The author is a firm favourite and I whole heartedly recommend any of his stand alone or series.

I like Don Winslow's books, but this is a bit of a lazy one. Impossible situations avoided by unfeasible twists. Fun while it lasted (not long), but not in the same class as the 'Cartel' stories.

Don Winslow with another winner. The only reason it isn't 5* is because I reserve that for the very greatest masterpieces of writing. I love Don's writing and this is another intricate and beautifully worked plot. Reading his books I'm transported: I can feel the Californian sun on my back, the sand between my toes and the menace that is present in the story. Really cracking storytelling.

Another great book from Don. Easy reading and the pages turn themselves. Looking forward to the next one ! !

Fast moving, well written, all action, another masterpiece from Mr Winslow.

Good read its not an epic like day of the dog or cartel but a good fast paced enjoyable book enjoy

サーフィンをこよなく愛する主人公とその仲間が織りなす人間模様。と書くといかにもありきたりだけど、実際にありきたりの物語。 しかしこの筆者特有の軽く冷めた文体が物語に良く合っている。 犯罪サスペンスではあるが｢犬の力｣とは趣が大分異なる。｢フランキーマシーンの冬｣・｢ボビーＺの優雅な生活｣が好きな読者には特にお勧め。

E un libro interessante e avvincente, come lo sono in genere i gialli di Winslow, a mio avviso, meno di altri e forse un po’ troppo corto, ma si legge tutto d un fiato, inoltre vorrei dire ad amazon che questa storia di scrivere almeno 20 parole é una gran palla e io, spesso, non scrivo le recensioni perché mi stufo!

Like the great Texas author, Joe R. Lansdale, California writer Don Winslow has to be the best-kept secret in the literary community. Up until a few months ago, I'd never heard of him. Now, I've read four of his novels, The Drawn Patrol, The Winter of Frankie Machine, California Fire & Live, The Death and Life of Bobby Z, and I've just started his five-hundred-page book, The Power of the Dog, which is proving to be one of the best thrillers I've ever read. So far, all of his novels have been excellent books straight across the board, and why this author isn't on everybody's bestseller list with the publication of each new novel is a complete mystery to me. In fact, I consider it to be one of the grand mysteries of the Universe, right up there with super strings and black holes and what the hell happened to the other black sock in the dryer. Since I've already reviewed the first three of the above books, I now want to talk abut Bobby Z, which is certainly one of the fastest reads I've ever encountered and not because it's short in length. As readers are so fond of saying, I literally couldn't put this book down, and I read it in just two days, which is a record at my age and with my poor eyesight and lack of reading time. I also just found out that Bobby Z was turned into a movie and is out on DVD. I don't know if the film is any good or not, but because I enjoyed the novel so much, I'm going to take a chance with the movie and rent it. Now, on to the story! Tim Kearney considers himself a three-time loser. Well, in fact, he kind of is. He's been in and out of prisoner for minor crimes and is now facing life without parole for killing a Hell's Angel named Stinkdog with a homemade knife in self-defense, that's if the other bikers in the joint don't get to him first in retaliation. Everything unexpectedly turns around for Tim when two DEA agents offer him a way out with the possibility of living a somewhat longer life, if he can pull off what they want him to do. Hell, all Tim has to do in order to get his free pass out of prison is impersonate a Southern Californian drug dealer named Robert Zacharias, who's better known as the legendary Bobby Z. You see, Tim looks a lot like Bobby Z, and no one's seen Bobby in years as he's traveled around Southeast Asia, setting up his drug connections. Bobby's been handling all of his business through cutouts, and there's even a rumor that he might have been betrayed while in Thailand and arrested by the Thai police. The DEA agents want to exchange Tim for one of their own people, whose being held prisoner by Mexican drug-kingpin, Don Huertero. Huertero is willing to trade the agent for Bobby Z because he wants to kill Bobby very slowly and painfully for what the young man did to his daughter. Tim doesn't know any of this. Not having a lot of choices, however, he agrees to be Bobby Z, but everything quickly falls apart the night of the exchange when one of the DEA agents is murdered and Tim finds himself in the hands of Huertero's people, waiting to be tortured and killed. The one thing that nobody seems to know about Tim is that he's not a total loser. In fact, he was a Marine in the Gulf War and won the Navy Cross for saving his recon unit from an Iraqi armored division. These fighting skills are going to be all that stands between Tim and certain death as he tries to figure out how to turn everything around to his advantage and to come out ahead of the game. Don Winslow has created a thrill ride of action, suspense, and humor in The Death and Life of Bobby Z. He grabs the reader in a chokehold during the first few pages and doesn't let him up for air till the very last sentence. The author has also managed to create a lead character in Tim Kearney, who's more of a hero in the choices that he later makes than an actual bad guy. This is certainly someone that you root for throughout the novel, hoping the he'll get away in the end to start a new life with those he loves. But more than that, this is a book filled with stand-out characters, more action than you hope for, fast-paced writing, a look at the Mexican/United States drug trade, and a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain. The Death and Life of Bobby Z is what reading for fun and entertainment is all about. This is the type of novel that you can't put down, wanting to finish each chapter as quickly as you can to find out what happens at the end. A fantastic read that clearly displays the utter craftsmanship of Don Winslow. A true winner!

Disappointing, far fetched, tried to be funny, not succeeded. I should have read more reviews before buying it. This novel is soooo different from anything else written by this author.

Very disappointed cos the pages are loose and kept coming off