Disintegration A Windy City Mystery by Richard Thomas

259 Pages
Publisher Random House – Alibi
Release Date: May 26, 2015

Fiction, Horror, Gritty, Drugs, Raw Sexual Encounters, Road Rage, Very Violent

An assassin in the Chicago area is losing his humanity. There are glimpses into his past to his worst day. The day his family was in a car accident. He is asked to identify the bodies. What if it wasn’t an accident? He has no one and seeks revenge from pent up rage.

The story moved back and forth from his memories to present. The characters are not very developed, and it was written in the first person point of view. It was gritty and there was quite a bit of drug use and sexual encounters. It was very violent and had episodes of road rage.

It's easy for writers who write noir, or thrillers, to suffocate the heart of a good story under layers of violence and brutality. Thomas dodges this trope wisely and gives his readers a story that resonates long after you close that final page. Recommended for anyone wishing for a quick, but enthralling read.

DISINTEGRATION - Richard Thomas

DARK - 3 stars

Plot - 2.5 stars - The plot summary is intriguing, which is why I picked up this book in the first place. However, without that bit of information, I wouldn't have had any clue what was going on for most of the book. There is very little background provided, and what there is is sketchy, so I had a hard time finding my way through this plot.

Writing - 3 stars - I understand the concept of the book, and I appreciate that the writing certainly matches it. The writing is disjointed, with very short chapters, lots of gaps, and little information provided. We clearly get a sense of the main character's state of mind and must simply let go and follow along wherever he takes us. I felt off-kilter throughout, however, and while I felt as though it all made a sick sort of sense, it also made me uncomfortable.

Characters - 2.5 stars - This was a difficult character to grasp. It's obvious that he is in pain and "acting out," but it's hard to sympathize with him without more background or more understanding. I found him odd and unfeeling, constantly searching for something but unable to find it or to even know what he was searching for. He felt too much, but even so, he just let things happen to him, and I found that frustrating.

Title - 4 stars - The title is right on, setting us up for the story.

Cover - 4 stars - The cover is a fascinating look at pieces of a person, with him trying to hold on.

Overall - 3 stars - Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. I could appreciate the format and the writing style, certainly setting the dark and uncomfortable mood for the story and the character's dilemma. It was like a car wreck that you couldn't stop watching--having some sort of empathy for the man, but still feeling frustration about his apathy. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love the darkness and hopelessness of the story.

Time wanders with the protagonist on his occasional trips into the world. He is a Hitman and spends his spare time at bars getting drunk or listening voice messages from his dead ex-wife. Most of the novel is him actually on his missions or contemplating about his life and what it means. Snippets of the voicemail appear, showing us where his head's at. Other characters appear in this bloodbath, but they function more as plot devices. Overall the story is very glum and morose, and the drunken, boozy, stoned out reality of the main character was a real bummer. It was hard to tell what was hallucination or real events. This book was more work to read than I would have liked.