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Lucas Page #1
City of Windows
During the worst blizzard in memory, an FBI agent in a moving SUV in New York City is killed by a nearly impossible sniper shot. Unable to pinpoint where the shot came from, as the storm rapidly wipes out evidence, the agent-in-charge Brett Kehoe turns to the one man who might be able to help them--former FBI agent Lucas Page.
Page, a university professor and bestselling author, left the FBI years ago after a tragic event robbed him of a leg, an arm, an eye, and the willingness to continue. But he has an amazing ability to read a crime scene, figure out angles and trajectories in his head, and he might be the only one to be able to find the sniper's nest. With a new wife and family, Lucas Page has no interest in helping the FBI--except for the fact that the victim was his former partner.
Agreeing to help for his partner's sake, Page finds himself hunting a killer with an unknown agenda and amazing sniper skills in the worst of conditions. And his partner's murder is only the first in a series of meticulously planned murders carried out with all-but-impossible sniper shots. The only thing connecting the deaths is that the victims are all with law enforcement--that is until Page's own family becomes a target.
To identify and hunt down this ruthless, seemingly unstoppable killer, Page must discover what hidden past connects the victims before he himself loses all that is dear to him.
Page, a university professor and bestselling author, left the FBI years ago after a tragic event robbed him of a leg, an arm, an eye, and the willingness to continue. But he has an amazing ability to read a crime scene, figure out angles and trajectories in his head, and he might be the only one to be able to find the sniper's nest. With a new wife and family, Lucas Page has no interest in helping the FBI--except for the fact that the victim was his former partner.
Agreeing to help for his partner's sake, Page finds himself hunting a killer with an unknown agenda and amazing sniper skills in the worst of conditions. And his partner's murder is only the first in a series of meticulously planned murders carried out with all-but-impossible sniper shots. The only thing connecting the deaths is that the victims are all with law enforcement--that is until Page's own family becomes a target.
To identify and hunt down this ruthless, seemingly unstoppable killer, Page must discover what hidden past connects the victims before he himself loses all that is dear to him.
388 pages, Hardcover
First published August 6, 2019
683 people are currently reading
5046 people want to read
About the author
Robert Pobi
14 books365 followersROBERT POBI has fished for great whites off Montauk, chased coyotes with a dune buggy in the Mojave, and spelunked caves in the former Yugoslavia. He is a renowned expert in English period furniture and makes a mean coq au vin. He spends most of his time in Montreal, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 668 reviews
June 24, 2019
New York City is in the grip of an arctic freeze, but the chills are not merely due to the inclement weather. An off duty FBI agent is killed by a sniper who, despite the adverse conditions, pulls off a seemingly impossible shot. This isn’t a one off killing though, as law enforcement officers across the city appear to be a target. Make no mistake, this killer is frighteningly efficient, the likes of which the FBI haven’t seen before.
Scientist and teacher Lucas Page is persuaded to join the investigation. Lucas is a former G Man, and the bureau are fully aware of his unique ability to accurately read a crime scene, and regardless of the fact that he wants nothing to do with it, ( he barely escaped with his life last time) this case is personal - someone he knows, so he feels obliged to help.
This is a really intense page turner of a thriller - there was a scene about half way through that literally had my heart pounding, well let’s be honest, there were plenty of scenes like that! The plot was completely gripping, and the main protagonist Lucas is both a fascinating yet frustrating character, but I could see this making a great series - one that I would happily follow. Brilliant!
* Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton, Mulholland Books for my ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
Scientist and teacher Lucas Page is persuaded to join the investigation. Lucas is a former G Man, and the bureau are fully aware of his unique ability to accurately read a crime scene, and regardless of the fact that he wants nothing to do with it, ( he barely escaped with his life last time) this case is personal - someone he knows, so he feels obliged to help.
This is a really intense page turner of a thriller - there was a scene about half way through that literally had my heart pounding, well let’s be honest, there were plenty of scenes like that! The plot was completely gripping, and the main protagonist Lucas is both a fascinating yet frustrating character, but I could see this making a great series - one that I would happily follow. Brilliant!
* Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton, Mulholland Books for my ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
July 17, 2019
Robert Pobi's fast paced, action packed crime thriller is intense, and so gripping that it will have you turning the pages frantically right through to the nail biting finale. It's central protagonist is the gifted atsrophysicist professor at Columbia University, Dr Lucas Page, an ex-FBI agent who quit after losing his leg, arm, eye and almost his life. This part metal man is not a man to suffer fools gladly and makes no bones about it, there are few people he chooses to interact with. He is married to Erin, with a houseful of traumatised foster children they have taken on and which have become their family. Arctic storms and freezing temperatures have brought New York to a standstill when a sniper kills an FBI agent in a moving SUV in what should have been an impossible shot. There is zilch in the way of evidence, and the crime scene is surrounded by high rise buildings, and no amount of tech can pinpoint where the sniper was located fast enough, so NYC FBI Chief, Brett Kehoe calls in the human magic eye, Lucas, the one time partner of the victim.
The reluctant Lucas is blessed with a gift with his highly evolved mathematical brain that can work out the position of the sniper. Kehoe assigns FBI agent, Whitaker, to Lucas, she is an intelligent black woman with the smarts, curiosity and fearlessness, qualities that tend to make the best FBI agents, she also has disconcerting and uncanny ability to often read peoples' minds. They have an awkward relationship initially that grows in strength through time, despite Lucas's unabashed and direct hostility to others and his disinclination to converse at all. As the unprecedented big freeze and snow continue, the sniper continues to kill, with the only connection between the victims being they are in law enforcement. Other than that, it all looks random, with Washington certain they know the identity of the sniper, a wealthy French national, deemed to be a terrorist, but they have no evidence whatsoever. Page does not buy into this theory at all, in fact he is convinced the sniper is a home grown American. Kehoe under political pressure to go after the Frenchman, leaves Lucas and Whitaker free to carry out their own investigation, one which brings deadly danger far too close to Lucas's family.
Robert Pobi's thriller speaks of the state of the US with its political and social commentary, the troubling political administration, its tendency to arrange so called facts that support their political narrative. Lucas operates from a well informed perspective but real life facts and actual realities are not what drive politics or peoples' opinions, such as those who unequivocally argue for the 2nd Amendment, underpinning the growth in private militias upon Obama becoming president. He shows nothing but disdain for those people and for him the FBI buckling under political pressure is a source of alarm. This is a hugely entertaining and riveting read, effortlessly holding the attention of the reader and with a fascinating central character in Lucas. I hope Pobi resurrects Lucas for future outings. Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.
The reluctant Lucas is blessed with a gift with his highly evolved mathematical brain that can work out the position of the sniper. Kehoe assigns FBI agent, Whitaker, to Lucas, she is an intelligent black woman with the smarts, curiosity and fearlessness, qualities that tend to make the best FBI agents, she also has disconcerting and uncanny ability to often read peoples' minds. They have an awkward relationship initially that grows in strength through time, despite Lucas's unabashed and direct hostility to others and his disinclination to converse at all. As the unprecedented big freeze and snow continue, the sniper continues to kill, with the only connection between the victims being they are in law enforcement. Other than that, it all looks random, with Washington certain they know the identity of the sniper, a wealthy French national, deemed to be a terrorist, but they have no evidence whatsoever. Page does not buy into this theory at all, in fact he is convinced the sniper is a home grown American. Kehoe under political pressure to go after the Frenchman, leaves Lucas and Whitaker free to carry out their own investigation, one which brings deadly danger far too close to Lucas's family.
Robert Pobi's thriller speaks of the state of the US with its political and social commentary, the troubling political administration, its tendency to arrange so called facts that support their political narrative. Lucas operates from a well informed perspective but real life facts and actual realities are not what drive politics or peoples' opinions, such as those who unequivocally argue for the 2nd Amendment, underpinning the growth in private militias upon Obama becoming president. He shows nothing but disdain for those people and for him the FBI buckling under political pressure is a source of alarm. This is a hugely entertaining and riveting read, effortlessly holding the attention of the reader and with a fascinating central character in Lucas. I hope Pobi resurrects Lucas for future outings. Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.
August 14, 2022
City of Windows (Lucas Page #1)
by Robert Pobi, Stephen Graybill (Narrator)
This story was interesting but there is so much preaching and so many speeches that I eventually just got worn down by it all. The preaching and speeches made it easy to guess where things were going so that took away a lot of the suspense. And some decisions that were made seemed unwise when there is a killer out there targeting certain people. I won't say more because to mention the unwise decisions would give things away. I guess this story and this series are just not for me.
by Robert Pobi, Stephen Graybill (Narrator)
This story was interesting but there is so much preaching and so many speeches that I eventually just got worn down by it all. The preaching and speeches made it easy to guess where things were going so that took away a lot of the suspense. And some decisions that were made seemed unwise when there is a killer out there targeting certain people. I won't say more because to mention the unwise decisions would give things away. I guess this story and this series are just not for me.
April 1, 2019
I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars.
When I was reading Robert Pobi's upcoming thriller City of Windows , I could hear what I imagined the movie trailer voice-over would be in my head. "Just when he thought he was out...they pulled him back in!"
New York City is hit by the worst blizzard in history. As a black sedan stops to allow a pedestrian to cross in front of it, an almost-impossible sniper shot hits the driver of the car in the head, killing him instantly, not to mention creating a grisly scene on the road in front of it. Given the car was at E. 42nd Street and Park Avenue, home to countless high-rise buildings, it is almost impossible to pinpoint the building from where the shot was fired, and the weather is wiping away any trace evidence that might help.
The FBI needs a miracle worker to help them figure out where to look. They turn to former agent Lucas Page, who left the Bureau after losing an arm, a leg, and an eye, and nearly his life. Given what he went through, he has no love for the FBI, and he has put that phase of his life behind him. He's tried to rebuild, as a college professor and an author, and he and his wife are foster parents to a fairly large brood of children.
The last thing Page wants to do—or his wife wants to allow him to do—is help the FBI. But he can't fight it, especially when he learns that the victim was his former partner, Doug Hartke.
Page has an uncanny ability to see trajectories, angles, and view the city landscape as a sort of geometrical landscape. His brain works in ways mysterious even to him, rapidly calculating figures, algorithms, and helping him solve the riddle of where the bullet was fired from. It's an ability he didn't lose, even after his injuries and the grueling recovery he endured.
"Lucas stood in the intersection, lifted his arms, and slowly rotated in place, absorbing the city in a numerical panorama that pulsed and danced and flashed through his head. He took in the numbers around him, feeding the data into a series of instinctive algorithms that even he did not understand. It was an immediate process, fired up with an automaticity he could not explain. It was like being at the center of a vortex, and the lines of code carpeting the landscape swirled around him at a speed too fast to absorb in any conscious way."
Hartke's murder is, sadly, just the tip of the iceberg. It seems as if every time Page solves a piece of the puzzle, everything changes again, leaving the FBI bringing up the rear, seemingly powerless to stop yet another murder with yet another miraculous sniper shot. Even though there are obvious similarities between the victims—each was in law enforcement—there has to be something more than that dooming them.
A reluctant man, hampered by the after-effects of serious injuries and immense resentment, is the FBI's only hope against a killer that seems to be taunting them. But the deeper Page digs, the more he uncovers, the more at risk he puts his family and himself. It's a race against time and the elements, and it could wind up with Page the victim once again.
I thought this was such a cool concept for a thriller. This was like a mash-up of that old television series Numb3rs with a touch of A Beautiful Mind (just the math genius part, not the schizophrenia) and a little bit of Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series thrown in for good measure, but in the end, this was a creation all Pobi's own.
Page is an absolutely fascinating character, and I was mesmerized by how Pobi described the way he thought and the way he worked. While there are certainly some clichés thrown in here, there is a tremendous amount of suspense, and the setting of the book definitely worked in its favor. Even though I joked about hearing the movie trailer voice-over in my head, I can absolutely see this being adapted into a fantastic movie.
At times I felt the book was a little more cerebral than I would have liked, but I still couldn't get enough of this story and Page's character. Just when I feel like so many thrillers feel like every other one, I find a book that proves me wrong. City of Windows is definitely one of those books.
NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
This book will be published August 6, 2019.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yrralh/.
When I was reading Robert Pobi's upcoming thriller City of Windows , I could hear what I imagined the movie trailer voice-over would be in my head. "Just when he thought he was out...they pulled him back in!"
New York City is hit by the worst blizzard in history. As a black sedan stops to allow a pedestrian to cross in front of it, an almost-impossible sniper shot hits the driver of the car in the head, killing him instantly, not to mention creating a grisly scene on the road in front of it. Given the car was at E. 42nd Street and Park Avenue, home to countless high-rise buildings, it is almost impossible to pinpoint the building from where the shot was fired, and the weather is wiping away any trace evidence that might help.
The FBI needs a miracle worker to help them figure out where to look. They turn to former agent Lucas Page, who left the Bureau after losing an arm, a leg, and an eye, and nearly his life. Given what he went through, he has no love for the FBI, and he has put that phase of his life behind him. He's tried to rebuild, as a college professor and an author, and he and his wife are foster parents to a fairly large brood of children.
The last thing Page wants to do—or his wife wants to allow him to do—is help the FBI. But he can't fight it, especially when he learns that the victim was his former partner, Doug Hartke.
Page has an uncanny ability to see trajectories, angles, and view the city landscape as a sort of geometrical landscape. His brain works in ways mysterious even to him, rapidly calculating figures, algorithms, and helping him solve the riddle of where the bullet was fired from. It's an ability he didn't lose, even after his injuries and the grueling recovery he endured.
"Lucas stood in the intersection, lifted his arms, and slowly rotated in place, absorbing the city in a numerical panorama that pulsed and danced and flashed through his head. He took in the numbers around him, feeding the data into a series of instinctive algorithms that even he did not understand. It was an immediate process, fired up with an automaticity he could not explain. It was like being at the center of a vortex, and the lines of code carpeting the landscape swirled around him at a speed too fast to absorb in any conscious way."
Hartke's murder is, sadly, just the tip of the iceberg. It seems as if every time Page solves a piece of the puzzle, everything changes again, leaving the FBI bringing up the rear, seemingly powerless to stop yet another murder with yet another miraculous sniper shot. Even though there are obvious similarities between the victims—each was in law enforcement—there has to be something more than that dooming them.
A reluctant man, hampered by the after-effects of serious injuries and immense resentment, is the FBI's only hope against a killer that seems to be taunting them. But the deeper Page digs, the more he uncovers, the more at risk he puts his family and himself. It's a race against time and the elements, and it could wind up with Page the victim once again.
I thought this was such a cool concept for a thriller. This was like a mash-up of that old television series Numb3rs with a touch of A Beautiful Mind (just the math genius part, not the schizophrenia) and a little bit of Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series thrown in for good measure, but in the end, this was a creation all Pobi's own.
Page is an absolutely fascinating character, and I was mesmerized by how Pobi described the way he thought and the way he worked. While there are certainly some clichés thrown in here, there is a tremendous amount of suspense, and the setting of the book definitely worked in its favor. Even though I joked about hearing the movie trailer voice-over in my head, I can absolutely see this being adapted into a fantastic movie.
At times I felt the book was a little more cerebral than I would have liked, but I still couldn't get enough of this story and Page's character. Just when I feel like so many thrillers feel like every other one, I find a book that proves me wrong. City of Windows is definitely one of those books.
NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
This book will be published August 6, 2019.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yrralh/.
August 2, 2019
4.5 stars rounded to 5 stars
OK everyone, listen up because this one is really really really GOOD! It’s different, it’s clever, and it’s got a great protagonist in Dr. Lucas Page. Dr. Page is not a medical doctor, but a university professor who happens to be a former FBI agent. He also is half metal with arm and leg prostheses thanks to a disastrous event while earlier serving in the FBI. And not only that, but he is a savant with special mathematical mental skills that can come in quite handy. Lucas is being recruited back to the FBI for a “guest stint” in order to help track an ultra talented sniper who is knocking off law enforcement personnel.
Lucas is a curmudgeon, but a likeable one. He is paired with Whitaker, a talented African American agent who knows how to get along with curmudgeons. I liked Whitaker and hope to somehow see her again in another book, though I believe this novel is a stand alone. I can’t help but mention that Whitaker has her own interesting little mental talent. We have a fairly large cast of characters that forced me to seek out the SEARCH button on a few occasions to refresh my memory of who was who, but that didn’t bother me too much. The plot is nicely complex and had me totally baffled. I love it when I can’t even think of a single scenario to explain the situation.
I was especially impressed by the fact that there is fabulous edge-of-your-seat stuff going on at less than 50%. And it kept on going. Even when it all seemed wrapped up. As I say, very clever writing. I was so happy with this read that less than half way through I was digging through Goodreads to see what else this author has written. I was pleased to see that he has two or three other novels that are calling my name.
I picked this one off Net Galley in a moment of weakness, a whim, really. And I’m glad I did. After devoting most of the last 8 months to historical fiction, I am reminded just how much I love my thrillers and crime fiction. And for that, this book gets rounded up to 5 stars. Highly recommended to all thriller fans!
Thank you Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Robert Pobi for granting me an ARC. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
OK everyone, listen up because this one is really really really GOOD! It’s different, it’s clever, and it’s got a great protagonist in Dr. Lucas Page. Dr. Page is not a medical doctor, but a university professor who happens to be a former FBI agent. He also is half metal with arm and leg prostheses thanks to a disastrous event while earlier serving in the FBI. And not only that, but he is a savant with special mathematical mental skills that can come in quite handy. Lucas is being recruited back to the FBI for a “guest stint” in order to help track an ultra talented sniper who is knocking off law enforcement personnel.
Lucas is a curmudgeon, but a likeable one. He is paired with Whitaker, a talented African American agent who knows how to get along with curmudgeons. I liked Whitaker and hope to somehow see her again in another book, though I believe this novel is a stand alone. I can’t help but mention that Whitaker has her own interesting little mental talent. We have a fairly large cast of characters that forced me to seek out the SEARCH button on a few occasions to refresh my memory of who was who, but that didn’t bother me too much. The plot is nicely complex and had me totally baffled. I love it when I can’t even think of a single scenario to explain the situation.
I was especially impressed by the fact that there is fabulous edge-of-your-seat stuff going on at less than 50%. And it kept on going. Even when it all seemed wrapped up. As I say, very clever writing. I was so happy with this read that less than half way through I was digging through Goodreads to see what else this author has written. I was pleased to see that he has two or three other novels that are calling my name.
I picked this one off Net Galley in a moment of weakness, a whim, really. And I’m glad I did. After devoting most of the last 8 months to historical fiction, I am reminded just how much I love my thrillers and crime fiction. And for that, this book gets rounded up to 5 stars. Highly recommended to all thriller fans!
Thank you Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Robert Pobi for granting me an ARC. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
January 3, 2021
Hold on tight, major turbulence ahead! Robert Pobi is about to take you on a full-throttle action ride!
Having book two Under Pressure sitting on my shelf, I chose to go back to the beginning of the series for a more complete picture. Wise choice on my part!
Lucas Page is retired from the FBI after an accident that nearly cost him his life, leaving him without an arm and a leg. (No…really!) Since then he’s been quietly living a far different life, teaching at the University while helping to raise foster children alongside his new wife.
But after a targeted killing of an F.B.I. agent in midtown Manhattan, the F.B.I. comes knocking on Lucas’ door pleading for his help.
As advertised, the action was non-stop, as Lucas and the F.B.I. race against time to find the assassin before he strikes again.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lucas as the lead character. There’s a great deal lot of depth revealed about him personally and professionally.
My only draw-back was the author got overly technical involving Lucas’ expertise as my eyes stared glazing over as I became lost in all those facts and figures.🤪
I’m now ready to dive into book two!
Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
A buddy read with Susanne!
Having book two Under Pressure sitting on my shelf, I chose to go back to the beginning of the series for a more complete picture. Wise choice on my part!
Lucas Page is retired from the FBI after an accident that nearly cost him his life, leaving him without an arm and a leg. (No…really!) Since then he’s been quietly living a far different life, teaching at the University while helping to raise foster children alongside his new wife.
But after a targeted killing of an F.B.I. agent in midtown Manhattan, the F.B.I. comes knocking on Lucas’ door pleading for his help.
As advertised, the action was non-stop, as Lucas and the F.B.I. race against time to find the assassin before he strikes again.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lucas as the lead character. There’s a great deal lot of depth revealed about him personally and professionally.
My only draw-back was the author got overly technical involving Lucas’ expertise as my eyes stared glazing over as I became lost in all those facts and figures.🤪
I’m now ready to dive into book two!
Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
A buddy read with Susanne!
November 9, 2020
Clever, clever, clever. I knew from early on who the shooter must be but not the how! And I had to wait the whole book to find out. It was very well done indeed!
I accidentally read book 2 first and enjoyed it enormously so coming to book 1 I knew to expect something good. I also thought I would discover how the MC, Dr. Lucas Page, had ended up with only one leg, one arm and one eye, but that was not to be. There were many references to a past event but no details. I guess the whole story will come out eventually in a future book.
Lucas is a mathematical savant and it was very interesting to watch the workings of his mind even if it was not possible to understand most of it. The author appeared to have done plenty of research into living with prostheses. At least it all sounded realistic to me, especially the glass eye which does not move in tandem with the real one.
That's all minor detail though. The important thing is that the story is great, the action continuous, and the police work realistic. Lucas's abilities are a bit out of this world but it makes the whole book much more fun. As do his family especially Lemmy the dog. All good and definitely worth five stars. I hope there will be a book 3.
I accidentally read book 2 first and enjoyed it enormously so coming to book 1 I knew to expect something good. I also thought I would discover how the MC, Dr. Lucas Page, had ended up with only one leg, one arm and one eye, but that was not to be. There were many references to a past event but no details. I guess the whole story will come out eventually in a future book.
Lucas is a mathematical savant and it was very interesting to watch the workings of his mind even if it was not possible to understand most of it. The author appeared to have done plenty of research into living with prostheses. At least it all sounded realistic to me, especially the glass eye which does not move in tandem with the real one.
That's all minor detail though. The important thing is that the story is great, the action continuous, and the police work realistic. Lucas's abilities are a bit out of this world but it makes the whole book much more fun. As do his family especially Lemmy the dog. All good and definitely worth five stars. I hope there will be a book 3.
April 22, 2019
Ok thriller lovers, listen up. There’s a lot of buzz around this book & I’m here to say you can believe it. This is a cracking read that delivers. Tense action, intricate plot lines, a frighteningly efficient killer & suspense that builds to a hair raising finish. It may sound like a stock recipe for any thriller but the reason this one succeeds so well is down to two things…..how the author blends those ingredients then tosses in a compelling & charismatic MC.
Dr. Lucas Page is a brilliant man with a unique ability. Once upon a time he was an FBI agent with a partner named Doug Hartke. That was before “the event” that ended his career & resulted in him losing a leg, an arm & one eye. Now he’s a mix of man & metal who spends his days teaching at Columbia University. The rest of his time is devoted to wife Erin & the 5 kids they foster. Until NYC Special Agent Brett Kehoe comes knocking.
Hartke is dead. He was sitting in downtown traffic when killed by a sniper. Kehoe needs Lucas’ brain & is willing to play the guilt card to get it. No one “sees” like Lucas. HIs gift is the ability to shut out the noise & reduce his surroundings to a series of vectors, angles & numbers to pinpoint where a shot originated. But when he visits the crime scene it becomes clear they’re not dealing with your garden variety sniper. The shot came from a distant roof top & should have been impossible.
As far as Lucas is concerned, it’s a one & done job. He’s well aware Erin is less than thrilled about him working with the FBI again & besides, he promised to devote the Xmas season to their herd of kids. Then another member of law enforcement is taken out in similar fashion. More will follow, each shot more unbelievable than the last. Lucas helps out but resists an official return to service until his family is targeted. Now it’s personal.
Holy Cats, buckle up people. This one will keep you on your toes. What follows is a riveting tale of the hunt for a highly skilled killer. Lucas & his colleagues must dig deep to discover motives & connections. There is a large & diverse cast of characters that add colour, humour & drama to the story. One standout is Whitaker, the agent assigned to Lucas. She’s a whip smart woman whose quiet demeanour masks a spine of steel. Good thing because while she may find Lucas’ abilities fascinating she’s less enamoured with his complete lack of social skills. Watching their relationship develop was one of the things I enjoyed most about this book.
But everything revolves around Lucas & he’s up for carrying the story. At work he’s terse, impatient & antisocial, sometimes with unintentionally humorous results. At home we get to see his softer side & through a series of childhood flashbacks we come to understand why he & Erin have created their unique family. It turns out he was once just like them, unwanted & moved around at the whim of social services. Another thing that is very well done are descriptions of his prosthetics & how they affect daily life.
It’s a great example of what sets this book apart from other thrillers. Yes, there’s plenty of action but it’s the personal details & characters’ histories that add the human element necessary for a reader to become truly invested. I ripped through this in a day & sincerely hope it’s not the last we’ve heard from Dr. Lucas Page. Recommended for fans of Daniel Cole or Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series.
4.5 stars
Dr. Lucas Page is a brilliant man with a unique ability. Once upon a time he was an FBI agent with a partner named Doug Hartke. That was before “the event” that ended his career & resulted in him losing a leg, an arm & one eye. Now he’s a mix of man & metal who spends his days teaching at Columbia University. The rest of his time is devoted to wife Erin & the 5 kids they foster. Until NYC Special Agent Brett Kehoe comes knocking.
Hartke is dead. He was sitting in downtown traffic when killed by a sniper. Kehoe needs Lucas’ brain & is willing to play the guilt card to get it. No one “sees” like Lucas. HIs gift is the ability to shut out the noise & reduce his surroundings to a series of vectors, angles & numbers to pinpoint where a shot originated. But when he visits the crime scene it becomes clear they’re not dealing with your garden variety sniper. The shot came from a distant roof top & should have been impossible.
As far as Lucas is concerned, it’s a one & done job. He’s well aware Erin is less than thrilled about him working with the FBI again & besides, he promised to devote the Xmas season to their herd of kids. Then another member of law enforcement is taken out in similar fashion. More will follow, each shot more unbelievable than the last. Lucas helps out but resists an official return to service until his family is targeted. Now it’s personal.
Holy Cats, buckle up people. This one will keep you on your toes. What follows is a riveting tale of the hunt for a highly skilled killer. Lucas & his colleagues must dig deep to discover motives & connections. There is a large & diverse cast of characters that add colour, humour & drama to the story. One standout is Whitaker, the agent assigned to Lucas. She’s a whip smart woman whose quiet demeanour masks a spine of steel. Good thing because while she may find Lucas’ abilities fascinating she’s less enamoured with his complete lack of social skills. Watching their relationship develop was one of the things I enjoyed most about this book.
But everything revolves around Lucas & he’s up for carrying the story. At work he’s terse, impatient & antisocial, sometimes with unintentionally humorous results. At home we get to see his softer side & through a series of childhood flashbacks we come to understand why he & Erin have created their unique family. It turns out he was once just like them, unwanted & moved around at the whim of social services. Another thing that is very well done are descriptions of his prosthetics & how they affect daily life.
It’s a great example of what sets this book apart from other thrillers. Yes, there’s plenty of action but it’s the personal details & characters’ histories that add the human element necessary for a reader to become truly invested. I ripped through this in a day & sincerely hope it’s not the last we’ve heard from Dr. Lucas Page. Recommended for fans of Daniel Cole or Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series.
4.5 stars
October 5, 2019
Loved the opening of this book it started out as a solid five-star read. Alas, then it started to disintegrate.
For me the story opens with a hint of Indiana Jones. And the relationship between Whitaker and Page reminds me a little of The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver; the disabled investigator assisted by a sharp, highly motivated female character.
Love the prose, and the Vocabulary is a notch above. This also reminds me of the great book The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd, who would’ve been a huge success, maybe bigger than all the greats right now had cancer not taken him too soon.
Two chapters are fluff, or filler. The scene with the old prejudice woman, who sees two men on the roof of the apartment. Then the cops shoot them. Those scenes can be excised and the story will still stand on its own. Although well written and dynamic, they didn’t have the five things a scene needs to work and the story churned along in place while they played out.
There is a huge chunk of backstory that is meted out throughout the book. This backstory is interesting but it’s mostly told in narrative and not shown. One time in particular, it came at the most inopportune time, (It was really annoying). For me this is where the book started falling. One section of backstory of how Lucas became Lucas…as a little boy, was dropped into the story disrupting an intense assault on Lucas’ home and family. Definitely a cheesy move meant to do nothing else but extend the tension in the sequence of jeopardy scenes. It made me feel cheated.
And I do get tired of clues coming from somewhere other than the hero. To me it’s always a cheat when the hero enlists a computer geek (now a cliché’) to ferret out the clues needed to solve the crime.
But the big one that knocked this solid five star down to a four was how Lucas’ family was twice used for tension and jeopardy. It not only stretched the limits of credulity but seemed like a convenient way to end the story with a bang. As if the author got tired and just wanted to end it and used the similar sequence from earlier in the book. There is also three MAR’s, motivation action reaction. The first was why the family was attacked by the detectives? The second: The ending wasn’t motivated well enough, why did the primary killer go after Lucas’ family when she was motivated differently for all the other killings? And third: Why didn’t Erin kick Lucas’ butt the second time it happened for putting her kids in such peril. Three big ones in an otherwise stellar novel.
This author has great writing craft and wonderful perspective with different, unique way of saying things that is refreshing. I marveled at the craft and voice. I will definitely pick up his next book.
I recommend this book.
PS. Didn’t like the parallel to Ruby Ridge, (the whole story in the novel was based on this event). The bad guy’s (girl’s) name was even Ruby. Might have meant to have been cheeky but came off more as an insult to intelligent readers when any other setup would’ve worked just as well.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series
For me the story opens with a hint of Indiana Jones. And the relationship between Whitaker and Page reminds me a little of The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver; the disabled investigator assisted by a sharp, highly motivated female character.
Love the prose, and the Vocabulary is a notch above. This also reminds me of the great book The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd, who would’ve been a huge success, maybe bigger than all the greats right now had cancer not taken him too soon.
Two chapters are fluff, or filler. The scene with the old prejudice woman, who sees two men on the roof of the apartment. Then the cops shoot them. Those scenes can be excised and the story will still stand on its own. Although well written and dynamic, they didn’t have the five things a scene needs to work and the story churned along in place while they played out.
There is a huge chunk of backstory that is meted out throughout the book. This backstory is interesting but it’s mostly told in narrative and not shown. One time in particular, it came at the most inopportune time, (It was really annoying). For me this is where the book started falling. One section of backstory of how Lucas became Lucas…as a little boy, was dropped into the story disrupting an intense assault on Lucas’ home and family. Definitely a cheesy move meant to do nothing else but extend the tension in the sequence of jeopardy scenes. It made me feel cheated.
And I do get tired of clues coming from somewhere other than the hero. To me it’s always a cheat when the hero enlists a computer geek (now a cliché’) to ferret out the clues needed to solve the crime.
But the big one that knocked this solid five star down to a four was how Lucas’ family was twice used for tension and jeopardy. It not only stretched the limits of credulity but seemed like a convenient way to end the story with a bang. As if the author got tired and just wanted to end it and used the similar sequence from earlier in the book. There is also three MAR’s, motivation action reaction. The first was why the family was attacked by the detectives? The second: The ending wasn’t motivated well enough, why did the primary killer go after Lucas’ family when she was motivated differently for all the other killings? And third: Why didn’t Erin kick Lucas’ butt the second time it happened for putting her kids in such peril. Three big ones in an otherwise stellar novel.
This author has great writing craft and wonderful perspective with different, unique way of saying things that is refreshing. I marveled at the craft and voice. I will definitely pick up his next book.
I recommend this book.
PS. Didn’t like the parallel to Ruby Ridge, (the whole story in the novel was based on this event). The bad guy’s (girl’s) name was even Ruby. Might have meant to have been cheeky but came off more as an insult to intelligent readers when any other setup would’ve worked just as well.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series
August 31, 2019
It starts with the shooting of an FBI agent in New York City. Not just a shooting, this, but the shot of marksman who picked out a moving target during the worst blizzard anyone could recall. It’s not clear where the gunman was sited and given the number of possible vantage points in this high rise city it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. The lead agent investigating the murder, Brett Kehoe, turns to a former colleague (now retired), Lucas Page. We’re to learn quite a bit about the strange gift Lucas possesses – and it’s all done with numbers. Somehow he’s able to compute angles and distances by studying the small elements available to the human eye and then using this metadata to extrapolate not just a theory but to identify the reality of where the shooter pulled the trigger. Quite a trick.
Then there’s a second shooting and the reluctant Page is dragged out again to do his thing. It’s not as if the killer is leaving any clues, there’s enough there to confirm that Page’s work is on the money but it’s not getting the FBI any closer to identifying the perpetrator. And by now Page has had enough, he’s retired and he has no interest in working further with Kehoe and his colleagues. We have also learned that Page had been badly injured in an incident some years back and that the history between he and Kehoe isn’t a good one.
But there's more to come. There's a lot more to come.
Three elements grabbed me here:
1. The writing is excellent, with Pobi showing not only that he’s a master storyteller but also that he can develop interesting characters. Just about all of the key players here are expertly drawn, though Page particularly stands out. His sentences are crisp and clever and smile inducing. And the dialogue is brilliantly executed, hitting all the right notes.
2. In Page, the author has created one of the most interesting and unique characters I’ve come across in years. Ok, his gift might seem a bit hard to swallow, but swallow it I did. Page’s back story is woven into the main narrative and a picture is gradually painted of an unusually gifted boy who, despite a difficult start to life, grew into an unusually gifted man. And I love his gruff manner, the way he talks to everyone so bluntly - though he does seem to possess a bone dry sense of humour. I really want to see more of this man.
3. The tale itself is complex thing indeed. But it’s so well told I was able to stay with it (something I certainly can’t always claim to do) and it was satisfyingly twisty, delivering a decent punch at the end. I believe it’s a story that will grip most lovers of this genre.
Only one way to go here – 5 glorious stars!
Then there’s a second shooting and the reluctant Page is dragged out again to do his thing. It’s not as if the killer is leaving any clues, there’s enough there to confirm that Page’s work is on the money but it’s not getting the FBI any closer to identifying the perpetrator. And by now Page has had enough, he’s retired and he has no interest in working further with Kehoe and his colleagues. We have also learned that Page had been badly injured in an incident some years back and that the history between he and Kehoe isn’t a good one.
But there's more to come. There's a lot more to come.
Three elements grabbed me here:
1. The writing is excellent, with Pobi showing not only that he’s a master storyteller but also that he can develop interesting characters. Just about all of the key players here are expertly drawn, though Page particularly stands out. His sentences are crisp and clever and smile inducing. And the dialogue is brilliantly executed, hitting all the right notes.
2. In Page, the author has created one of the most interesting and unique characters I’ve come across in years. Ok, his gift might seem a bit hard to swallow, but swallow it I did. Page’s back story is woven into the main narrative and a picture is gradually painted of an unusually gifted boy who, despite a difficult start to life, grew into an unusually gifted man. And I love his gruff manner, the way he talks to everyone so bluntly - though he does seem to possess a bone dry sense of humour. I really want to see more of this man.
3. The tale itself is complex thing indeed. But it’s so well told I was able to stay with it (something I certainly can’t always claim to do) and it was satisfyingly twisty, delivering a decent punch at the end. I believe it’s a story that will grip most lovers of this genre.
Only one way to go here – 5 glorious stars!
July 26, 2020
5★
“We have a dead federal agent in that car and a civilian stapled to a lamppost. I won’t accept can’t.”
A sniper in New York City. Nobody knows who, where, why, but the what and the when are grimly obvious. Lucas Page is an astrophysicist who teaches at Columbia University. Christmas break is just starting, and he’s looking forward to time with his wife, Erin, and their assorted foster kids.
But as it does, the news worms its way into their evening as they see the live cross to the sniper story. Lucas recognises one of the officers, Erin sees this, and realises his past as a federal agent is going to catch up with him again.
It’s New York City, winter, blisteringly cold, and Lucas is a bionic man, with many mechanical parts. We think it’s rough when we get cold, but at least we (mostly) keep functioning. Imagine “hopping” in icy conditions.
“His ankle always stiffened up in low temperatures. The prosthetic itself was mostly aluminum, but the joint pins were stainless steel and some of the other hardware was titanium or carbon fiber, and each alloy contracted at a different rate, which hampered mobility. To compensate, he added a hop to his good leg, giving his gait an idiosyncratic signature in the cold.”
I mention this because I'm giving you a trigger warning for cold. This story starts out in the cold . . . and then gets even colder, as it moves to a place I have been when it was minus 38 degrees, and that, dear reader, is almost exactly the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius. Unbelievably chilly.
But I digress – a bit. The weather does play an important part in the hunt for the sniper. We eventually learn little Lucas’s childhood background and how he became both an astrophysicist and a cop, an unusual combination.
It wasn’t his love of the stars that took him into law enforcement, but his uncanny ability to visualise geometry and understand the relationship of things in the scene around him without needing rulers and maps. You know, like where a sniper might have been positioned to make a shot. I’d say it’s unusual, but not impossible. (Personal note under spoiler)
Obviously, he’s called back on the job by the FBI, who don’t seem to take No for an answer, and we’re on the hunt. There’s politics and possible international involvement, but Lucas is determined to follow his own instincts. When he first saw agent Whitaker, he described her as “a black chick who moved with the slow, deliberate patience of a badass.”
He asked that she be the one to pick him up (“Send Whitaker—she doesn’t talk too much.”) to drive him back to the FBI offices where he would make a decision and be briefed.
“For the next few minutes, she expertly negotiated the sometimes-plowed, sometimes-not roadways of the city. She drove well, using third and even second gear to best harness the laws of physics. Lucas began to wonder where she had learned to drive in the snow like this.
Whitaker said, ‘Illinois.’
Illinois what?’ He glanced over at her.
‘You were wondering where I learned to drive like this.’
Whitaker’s speech pattern was compact, with a slow, deliberate delivery. Lucas knew there was no such thing as mind reading, telepathy, or clairvoyance, but he found her response a little weird.
‘If you say so.’
‘It’s something I do. It helps with interrogations.’”
This adds another layer to the story without dipping into fantasy. He’s not a magician and she’s not a mind-reader, but they do have different abilities which the author uses sparingly. I have to admit I enjoyed her knowing how to drive on icy roads, since I grew up learning that way, too, and find it horrifying to see people skidding everywhere because they don’t know what to do.
But I digress again. It’s enough to say that this was terrific, exciting, and had enough human interest to keep me caring about the people and enough sniping to make me worried for them. Did I mention the cold? Mm, yeah, think so.
“Not only did his nostrils close up, but the cold was so aggressive that when he blinked his lashes froze together, only to come apart like crazy-glued zippers. He couldn’t understand how anyone could take this weather.”
Loved it! This was published in August 2019, and #2 is due out in August 2020. Thanks to the publisher for copies of both to read and review. Moving right along now!
“We have a dead federal agent in that car and a civilian stapled to a lamppost. I won’t accept can’t.”
A sniper in New York City. Nobody knows who, where, why, but the what and the when are grimly obvious. Lucas Page is an astrophysicist who teaches at Columbia University. Christmas break is just starting, and he’s looking forward to time with his wife, Erin, and their assorted foster kids.
But as it does, the news worms its way into their evening as they see the live cross to the sniper story. Lucas recognises one of the officers, Erin sees this, and realises his past as a federal agent is going to catch up with him again.
It’s New York City, winter, blisteringly cold, and Lucas is a bionic man, with many mechanical parts. We think it’s rough when we get cold, but at least we (mostly) keep functioning. Imagine “hopping” in icy conditions.
“His ankle always stiffened up in low temperatures. The prosthetic itself was mostly aluminum, but the joint pins were stainless steel and some of the other hardware was titanium or carbon fiber, and each alloy contracted at a different rate, which hampered mobility. To compensate, he added a hop to his good leg, giving his gait an idiosyncratic signature in the cold.”
I mention this because I'm giving you a trigger warning for cold. This story starts out in the cold . . . and then gets even colder, as it moves to a place I have been when it was minus 38 degrees, and that, dear reader, is almost exactly the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius. Unbelievably chilly.
But I digress – a bit. The weather does play an important part in the hunt for the sniper. We eventually learn little Lucas’s childhood background and how he became both an astrophysicist and a cop, an unusual combination.
It wasn’t his love of the stars that took him into law enforcement, but his uncanny ability to visualise geometry and understand the relationship of things in the scene around him without needing rulers and maps. You know, like where a sniper might have been positioned to make a shot. I’d say it’s unusual, but not impossible. (Personal note under spoiler)
Obviously, he’s called back on the job by the FBI, who don’t seem to take No for an answer, and we’re on the hunt. There’s politics and possible international involvement, but Lucas is determined to follow his own instincts. When he first saw agent Whitaker, he described her as “a black chick who moved with the slow, deliberate patience of a badass.”
He asked that she be the one to pick him up (“Send Whitaker—she doesn’t talk too much.”) to drive him back to the FBI offices where he would make a decision and be briefed.
“For the next few minutes, she expertly negotiated the sometimes-plowed, sometimes-not roadways of the city. She drove well, using third and even second gear to best harness the laws of physics. Lucas began to wonder where she had learned to drive in the snow like this.
Whitaker said, ‘Illinois.’
Illinois what?’ He glanced over at her.
‘You were wondering where I learned to drive like this.’
Whitaker’s speech pattern was compact, with a slow, deliberate delivery. Lucas knew there was no such thing as mind reading, telepathy, or clairvoyance, but he found her response a little weird.
‘If you say so.’
‘It’s something I do. It helps with interrogations.’”
This adds another layer to the story without dipping into fantasy. He’s not a magician and she’s not a mind-reader, but they do have different abilities which the author uses sparingly. I have to admit I enjoyed her knowing how to drive on icy roads, since I grew up learning that way, too, and find it horrifying to see people skidding everywhere because they don’t know what to do.
But I digress again. It’s enough to say that this was terrific, exciting, and had enough human interest to keep me caring about the people and enough sniping to make me worried for them. Did I mention the cold? Mm, yeah, think so.
“Not only did his nostrils close up, but the cold was so aggressive that when he blinked his lashes froze together, only to come apart like crazy-glued zippers. He couldn’t understand how anyone could take this weather.”
Loved it! This was published in August 2019, and #2 is due out in August 2020. Thanks to the publisher for copies of both to read and review. Moving right along now!
September 24, 2022
New York is in the midst of its worst blizzard that it has seen in years, a sniper guns down a FBI agent on the street it was very tactile done with precision, the local law enforcement was targeted also who would do this & why?
Mathew professor Lucas Page doesn’t want to get involved , but he does as he knew the agent, he has a speciality in reading crime scenes so he teams up with SABrett Kohler to solve the murders.
What happens from here on in is a cat & mouse game which leads them on a wild goose chase.
This is the first in the Lucas Page series it’s written perfectly top notch dialogue & a page turner couldn’t put this down, I also loved pages back story it was riveting & enjoyable to read 5 glowing stars ⭐️
Mathew professor Lucas Page doesn’t want to get involved , but he does as he knew the agent, he has a speciality in reading crime scenes so he teams up with SABrett Kohler to solve the murders.
What happens from here on in is a cat & mouse game which leads them on a wild goose chase.
This is the first in the Lucas Page series it’s written perfectly top notch dialogue & a page turner couldn’t put this down, I also loved pages back story it was riveting & enjoyable to read 5 glowing stars ⭐️
January 18, 2020
This sounded interesting until I listened. The story dragged and bored. 2 of 10 stars
Read
November 29, 2024Someone's read How to Write A Thriller. Hero with amazing genius but tortured past and damage, check. Sassy black woman sidekick with no actual role, check (introduced by the hero as 'the black chick' wtf). Unbelievably stupid opponent in the FBI who endlessly repeats he thinks the hero is wrong even though he's just been right 400 times in a row, check. Series of strawmen mouthing political views to which the author is opposed, just so we can see what bad people they are, check.
re the last...depicting all your opponents as either moronic, corrupt, or insane is not the great rhetorical strategy for winning the argument that this author thinks. I'm quite strongly in agreement with his political stances as expressed here and I still found it aggressively hectoring. There were also a lot more sequences than necessary of baddies thinking or saying disgustingly racist things at far greater length and detail than would have made the point.
The writing is clunky, the plot machinery obvious and frequently wildly implausible, the hero's equally implausible collection of traumatised foster children really annoyed me, and to conclude, no.
re the last...depicting all your opponents as either moronic, corrupt, or insane is not the great rhetorical strategy for winning the argument that this author thinks. I'm quite strongly in agreement with his political stances as expressed here and I still found it aggressively hectoring. There were also a lot more sequences than necessary of baddies thinking or saying disgustingly racist things at far greater length and detail than would have made the point.
The writing is clunky, the plot machinery obvious and frequently wildly implausible, the hero's equally implausible collection of traumatised foster children really annoyed me, and to conclude, no.
April 23, 2024
Super solid mystery featuring one of the most interesting lead characters since I met Jeffrey Deaver’s retired NYC detective, Lincoln Rhymes.
Smart (okay, brilliant since a few times I definitely realized I hadn’t a clue what I’d read in relation to mathematic equations to determine direction and scope) writing and a great fusion of gun politics, vigilantism and revenge all in less than 390 pages.
Gripping plot lines, great use of both technology and old fashion detecting make for a really great read. Dr Lucas Page (and hopefully his extremely competent FBI partner Alice Whitaker) is a character I look forward to reading more about. Especially more of his background and the “Event” that defines his present life.
A quick note- one of my GR friends called this preachy. While I completely agree, it didn’t turn me off. Because of this country’s obsession with gun rights at all costs, I was impressed with some of the discussion surrounding the endless shooting instances and the reactions from media and both sides of the issue.
Take some of the editorializing away and you still have a really stellar mystery with twists and turns. And an ending that mystery/thriller fans would cheer!!
(Reviewed 8/21/22)
Smart (okay, brilliant since a few times I definitely realized I hadn’t a clue what I’d read in relation to mathematic equations to determine direction and scope) writing and a great fusion of gun politics, vigilantism and revenge all in less than 390 pages.
Gripping plot lines, great use of both technology and old fashion detecting make for a really great read. Dr Lucas Page (and hopefully his extremely competent FBI partner Alice Whitaker) is a character I look forward to reading more about. Especially more of his background and the “Event” that defines his present life.
A quick note- one of my GR friends called this preachy. While I completely agree, it didn’t turn me off. Because of this country’s obsession with gun rights at all costs, I was impressed with some of the discussion surrounding the endless shooting instances and the reactions from media and both sides of the issue.
Take some of the editorializing away and you still have a really stellar mystery with twists and turns. And an ending that mystery/thriller fans would cheer!!
(Reviewed 8/21/22)
January 2, 2021
Dr. Lucas Page thought his days working for the FBI were over. Then his former partner is murdered in broad daylight, killed by a near impossible sniper shot. Now the FBI needs Dr. Page’s help pinpointing where it came from. Dr. Page, now a University Professor, left the FBI a decade ago after losing several limbs in a horrific accident. Even though Dr. Page, who has an extraordinary ability to figure out a crime scene and break down the angles, agrees to help this one time, all that changes when the murdering spree continues.
Now it’s up to Dr. Page and the rest of the team at the FBI to find the killer before it’s too late.
If only Dr. Page’s new “gig” with the FBI didn’t upset the status quo at the ‘ole homestead where Lucas’s wife and their adopted children are waiting to prepare for the Christmas Holiday! It all comes down to priorities!
“City of Windows” by Robert Pobi is a fast paced, thrilling mystery / suspense that kept me on my toes throughout. Though this novel was a tad too intellectual for my liking and had me reaching for my dictionary a few times, it was still enjoyable. My favorite parts of this novel were Lucas’s interactions with his family, which I feel kept him grounded. I really enjoyed his character and look forward to seeing how it develops upon reading the next book in the series, “Under Pressure.” 3.65 Stars.
A buddy read with Kaceey!
Published on Goodreads on 1.2.2021.
Now it’s up to Dr. Page and the rest of the team at the FBI to find the killer before it’s too late.
If only Dr. Page’s new “gig” with the FBI didn’t upset the status quo at the ‘ole homestead where Lucas’s wife and their adopted children are waiting to prepare for the Christmas Holiday! It all comes down to priorities!
“City of Windows” by Robert Pobi is a fast paced, thrilling mystery / suspense that kept me on my toes throughout. Though this novel was a tad too intellectual for my liking and had me reaching for my dictionary a few times, it was still enjoyable. My favorite parts of this novel were Lucas’s interactions with his family, which I feel kept him grounded. I really enjoyed his character and look forward to seeing how it develops upon reading the next book in the series, “Under Pressure.” 3.65 Stars.
A buddy read with Kaceey!
Published on Goodreads on 1.2.2021.
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July 8, 2024
4Stars - I really liked it
Audiobook - 11:05 Hours - Narrator: Stephen Graybill
A well-written and very well narrated thriller that required some serious lifting of the believability veil to accept the notion of an incredibly accurate sniper being pursued by a uniquely talented university professor/former FBI agent. I happily stretched the veil to its maximum and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Audiobook - 11:05 Hours - Narrator: Stephen Graybill
A well-written and very well narrated thriller that required some serious lifting of the believability veil to accept the notion of an incredibly accurate sniper being pursued by a uniquely talented university professor/former FBI agent. I happily stretched the veil to its maximum and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
October 20, 2022
Book Blog | Bookstagram
You want to read this book.
If I could tie you up, for completely non-sexual sexual reasons, and force you to read this, I wouldn't because I am a strong supporter of consent. But you should still read this.
You get blood, guts, impressive sniper shots and lots of action. There's a retired FBI agent with one eye, a prosthetic leg, five foster children, dead old rich lady flashbacks and Page's dope ability to solve crimes using mathematical algorithms that he does in his head just by looking at things. Seriously, he mental-MacGyver's the fuck out of some crime scenes. There's a terrible blizzard, right-wing anti-government bad guys that I love to see get bitch-slapped, lots of striking political commentary and current-as-hell themes tying the whole thing together.
Booknerds, you have to hear the words coming out of my metaphorical mouth right now: Robert Pobi is a firecracker writer!
I'm beating myself up that I've not read him sooner.
The prose are clever, colourful and unique, touched with subtle humour and social commentary that elevate the novel to that often sought place in crime fiction - a place where the story feels human, not just dark and surreal.
Dr. Lucas Page is a retired FBI agent. Though still a younger man, he was in a mysterious "event" while on the job and it scarred him for life, taking his leg, arm and one of his eyes. He's now a professor, living out his days adopting kids as I dream of adopting dogs, and trying to be the best dad and husband he can be after learning firsthand that life is just too goddamn short.
But when a sniper turns the streets of NYC into a game of whack-a-mole, taking shots that are impossible to determine where they came from, the FBI comes calling on Page to use his big math brain to figure out how to stop this unseen madman. Page resists until he learns the first victim was his former partner at the Bureau, and then he's sucked back in because there would be no book otherwise, obv.
The story takes us across NYC and then into the Wyoming mountains. The settings are so vibrant and well-written that they feel like secondary characters.
By nature of the plot, there is a lot of talk about political issues. The idea of "sovereign citizens" is explored. Gun control is explored. The Trump administration is explored, though not by name, which I appreciated because I'm not sure how much more of Orange Mussolini I can actually take. Even CNN and Fox are not spared from Pobi's commentary.
There are a few moments in the book where it felt more like the author was preaching from a soapbox, instead of reading two characters having an opinionated conversation. While I agreed with mostly everything Pobi had to say, I was lifted out of the fiction of the novel and plopped down into a personal essay a couple of times.
In between those heavier, political themes (which might not appeal to everyone), there is a tense plot, really interesting characters and a tone that reads as genuine and exciting and different.
Honestly, everything about this was just extra as hell. Pobi's writing is full of flare and snark and sparkle, but it does dance on the border of occasionally trying too hard to be edgy. His characters feel new and strange and so wonderfully crafted that they are basically real people.
I enjoyed the fuck out of this.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½ | 4.5 stars rounded up
You want to read this book.
If I could tie you up, for completely non-sexual sexual reasons, and force you to read this, I wouldn't because I am a strong supporter of consent. But you should still read this.
You get blood, guts, impressive sniper shots and lots of action. There's a retired FBI agent with one eye, a prosthetic leg, five foster children, dead old rich lady flashbacks and Page's dope ability to solve crimes using mathematical algorithms that he does in his head just by looking at things. Seriously, he mental-MacGyver's the fuck out of some crime scenes. There's a terrible blizzard, right-wing anti-government bad guys that I love to see get bitch-slapped, lots of striking political commentary and current-as-hell themes tying the whole thing together.
Booknerds, you have to hear the words coming out of my metaphorical mouth right now: Robert Pobi is a firecracker writer!
I'm beating myself up that I've not read him sooner.
The prose are clever, colourful and unique, touched with subtle humour and social commentary that elevate the novel to that often sought place in crime fiction - a place where the story feels human, not just dark and surreal.
Dr. Lucas Page is a retired FBI agent. Though still a younger man, he was in a mysterious "event" while on the job and it scarred him for life, taking his leg, arm and one of his eyes. He's now a professor, living out his days adopting kids as I dream of adopting dogs, and trying to be the best dad and husband he can be after learning firsthand that life is just too goddamn short.
But when a sniper turns the streets of NYC into a game of whack-a-mole, taking shots that are impossible to determine where they came from, the FBI comes calling on Page to use his big math brain to figure out how to stop this unseen madman. Page resists until he learns the first victim was his former partner at the Bureau, and then he's sucked back in because there would be no book otherwise, obv.
The story takes us across NYC and then into the Wyoming mountains. The settings are so vibrant and well-written that they feel like secondary characters.
By nature of the plot, there is a lot of talk about political issues. The idea of "sovereign citizens" is explored. Gun control is explored. The Trump administration is explored, though not by name, which I appreciated because I'm not sure how much more of Orange Mussolini I can actually take. Even CNN and Fox are not spared from Pobi's commentary.
There are a few moments in the book where it felt more like the author was preaching from a soapbox, instead of reading two characters having an opinionated conversation. While I agreed with mostly everything Pobi had to say, I was lifted out of the fiction of the novel and plopped down into a personal essay a couple of times.
In between those heavier, political themes (which might not appeal to everyone), there is a tense plot, really interesting characters and a tone that reads as genuine and exciting and different.
Honestly, everything about this was just extra as hell. Pobi's writing is full of flare and snark and sparkle, but it does dance on the border of occasionally trying too hard to be edgy. His characters feel new and strange and so wonderfully crafted that they are basically real people.
I enjoyed the fuck out of this.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½ | 4.5 stars rounded up
September 30, 2019
This is an intense, action packed thriller as the FBI try to track down the highly skilled sniper who is killing law enforcement officers in a snow bound New York city. Dr Lucas Page, an astrophysics professor and ex-FBI, prior to a terrible accident that cost him an arm, a leg and an eye, has been called in to use his uncanny mathematical skills to pinpoint where the sniper was when he shot his victims.
Lucas Page makes for a most unusual protagonist. He has an unusual backstory as a foster child taken in by a wealthy woman and he's incredibly smart and thinks outside the box. While Washington is pushing the line that a French radicalised terrorist is the most likely suspect for the sniper, selecting victims at random, Lucas thinks their culprit will be found much closer to home and the targets are very specific. He's been assigned a female FBI agent as his partner, Agent Whitaker, a tall African American who drives superbly and has her own special skill. Not happy about being called in by the FBI over Christmas when he had organised time off with his wife and children, Lucas is somewhat taciturn and prickly with Whitaker, but soon realises that she's a smart agent with an open mind and they eventually work well together.
The plot is complex but plausible and well written with the suspense never letting up. The winter is one of the worst New York has seen and the icy cold can almost be felt as the characters battle the constant snow and ice. Pobi makes his stance on the Second Amendment and gun control in the US quite clear, with comments on the NRA, survivalists,'gun nuts' and the fact that more Americans are gunned down by fellow Americans than by terrorists. Lucas himself refuses to carry a gun or accept the dogma that the 'only thing that stops a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun'. The tension ramps up as Lucas and Whitaker start to close in on the sniper and the plot races to a stunning climax. This looks like the start of what is going to be an interesting series and I look forward to meeting Lucas Page again (and hopefully Agent Whitaker).
Lucas Page makes for a most unusual protagonist. He has an unusual backstory as a foster child taken in by a wealthy woman and he's incredibly smart and thinks outside the box. While Washington is pushing the line that a French radicalised terrorist is the most likely suspect for the sniper, selecting victims at random, Lucas thinks their culprit will be found much closer to home and the targets are very specific. He's been assigned a female FBI agent as his partner, Agent Whitaker, a tall African American who drives superbly and has her own special skill. Not happy about being called in by the FBI over Christmas when he had organised time off with his wife and children, Lucas is somewhat taciturn and prickly with Whitaker, but soon realises that she's a smart agent with an open mind and they eventually work well together.
The plot is complex but plausible and well written with the suspense never letting up. The winter is one of the worst New York has seen and the icy cold can almost be felt as the characters battle the constant snow and ice. Pobi makes his stance on the Second Amendment and gun control in the US quite clear, with comments on the NRA, survivalists,'gun nuts' and the fact that more Americans are gunned down by fellow Americans than by terrorists. Lucas himself refuses to carry a gun or accept the dogma that the 'only thing that stops a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun'. The tension ramps up as Lucas and Whitaker start to close in on the sniper and the plot races to a stunning climax. This looks like the start of what is going to be an interesting series and I look forward to meeting Lucas Page again (and hopefully Agent Whitaker).
September 16, 2020
4.5 rounding up!
Wow this was good. I mean, really good. I want to mention at the top that this is not a 5 star book (in my opinion of course), BUT this is NOT a 4 star book either. I am firmly of the mindset that this belongs in the middle - however, whenever I am in these situations I always round up.
So, with that out of the way - commence review!!
I was so kindly granted an early review copy of the second book in this series from Minotaur Books. It sounded really good, but I prefer to start at the beginning and I only missed one book so I thought I'd start here. I'm really, glad I did. This book checked a lot of boxes for me: mystery/crime fiction, political fiction, very up to date on current events and well researched. It only took me so long to read this because I had some other books I needed to read in between.
I want to caution those who are considering this as their next read or a read in the future: If you're a big fan of the Trump Administration - don't read this. The author makes it very clear where all the characters stand and it is not in favor. It was really kind of over the top at the beginning that it even started to bother me (like okay, we get it - and I am not a Trump fan what so ever), but thankfully it stopped and I was able to really enjoy it. My other slight critique (although this is not responsible for lowering the rating), is that I wish it had a little more backstory into Lucas Page's character, but its quite possible that will be included in the second book. The parts you did learn definitely made you want to find out more - so hopefully its covered in the second book.
Overall, if you heed my warnings, this is a great book to enjoy as a palate cleanser or just something to read if you really enjoy books in this genre. I absolutely cannot wait to read the second book and I hope a third book is being worked on now!
Thanks to the Buffalo Library for the copy I read.
Review Date: 09/16/2020
Publication Date: 08/06/2019
Wow this was good. I mean, really good. I want to mention at the top that this is not a 5 star book (in my opinion of course), BUT this is NOT a 4 star book either. I am firmly of the mindset that this belongs in the middle - however, whenever I am in these situations I always round up.
So, with that out of the way - commence review!!
I was so kindly granted an early review copy of the second book in this series from Minotaur Books. It sounded really good, but I prefer to start at the beginning and I only missed one book so I thought I'd start here. I'm really, glad I did. This book checked a lot of boxes for me: mystery/crime fiction, political fiction, very up to date on current events and well researched. It only took me so long to read this because I had some other books I needed to read in between.
I want to caution those who are considering this as their next read or a read in the future: If you're a big fan of the Trump Administration - don't read this. The author makes it very clear where all the characters stand and it is not in favor. It was really kind of over the top at the beginning that it even started to bother me (like okay, we get it - and I am not a Trump fan what so ever), but thankfully it stopped and I was able to really enjoy it. My other slight critique (although this is not responsible for lowering the rating), is that I wish it had a little more backstory into Lucas Page's character, but its quite possible that will be included in the second book. The parts you did learn definitely made you want to find out more - so hopefully its covered in the second book.
Overall, if you heed my warnings, this is a great book to enjoy as a palate cleanser or just something to read if you really enjoy books in this genre. I absolutely cannot wait to read the second book and I hope a third book is being worked on now!
Thanks to the Buffalo Library for the copy I read.
Review Date: 09/16/2020
Publication Date: 08/06/2019
March 18, 2019
The star of this fast-paced thriller is Lucas Page, a retired FBI specialist who now sports a prosthetic eye, arm, and leg and thought he’d be left alone to quietly raise his house full of foster kids. When a sniper is targeting law enforcement officers, making impossible shots on moving targets, Page is reluctantly called back into the line of duty. Page was a precocious child who performed graduate-level math at an age when he should have been racing Big Wheels. His unique mathematical skills are needed to analyze the few scant clues in these shootings.
A fast-paced read that might be the start of a new series. Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.
A fast-paced read that might be the start of a new series. Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.
July 10, 2019
Genre: Crime Thriller
Type: Standalone book from Lucas Page series
POV: Third Person
Rating:
(3.75 stars)
For years Dr. Lucas Page lived a contented quiet life. But a past he gladly left behind came knocking on his door. A sniper incident forced him back with the FBI. Working together with a new partner and a few from the past, he must figure out who was the shooter before the time ran out.
Lucas was an interesting hero. He was selfless with his gift/ability. His past and his prickly personality were endearing in his own way. I loved how different he was with his family versus others. However, there were some major questions about his past with the FBI that were never addressed. It was hinted, but never properly explained.
The story started off a little slow for me. But once it turned personal, it became more engaging. There were several heart thumping moments in the book that made me felt invested in some characters. The revelations were not unexpected but it didn’t take away my enjoyment.
City of Windows is a story of hate and entitlement. It would appeal to readers looking for an intriguing crime thriller.
🏙 🔫 🏙 . . . (F)BR With Twinsie CC . . . 🏙 🔫 🏙
For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:
Type: Standalone book from Lucas Page series
POV: Third Person
Rating:
(3.75 stars)For years Dr. Lucas Page lived a contented quiet life. But a past he gladly left behind came knocking on his door. A sniper incident forced him back with the FBI. Working together with a new partner and a few from the past, he must figure out who was the shooter before the time ran out.
Lucas was an interesting hero. He was selfless with his gift/ability. His past and his prickly personality were endearing in his own way. I loved how different he was with his family versus others. However, there were some major questions about his past with the FBI that were never addressed. It was hinted, but never properly explained.
This guy was the post office motto come to life—they’d be talking about him for years. He’d make it into the textbooks at Quantico. Leonardo DiCaprio would play him in the movie. He’d live forever. But who was he?
The story started off a little slow for me. But once it turned personal, it became more engaging. There were several heart thumping moments in the book that made me felt invested in some characters. The revelations were not unexpected but it didn’t take away my enjoyment.
Welcome to America, Land of the Free, Home of the Afraid.
City of Windows is a story of hate and entitlement. It would appeal to readers looking for an intriguing crime thriller.
🏙 🔫 🏙 . . . (F)BR With Twinsie CC . . . 🏙 🔫 🏙
For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:
August 11, 2019
Just when you think you’ve seen every incarnation of FBI investigation you can possibly imagine, one comes along that surprises you...
Dr. Lucas Page, astrophysicist, professor, writer, got out of the FBI after the ‘Event’ that lost him a couple of limbs and an eye. But now a sniper is loose in NYC and it’s a complex enough case to draw him right back in. And there’s no doubt that they need him. He’s got a very particular talent: the ability to see the world in numbers. It’s all framed as a result of his brilliance but it works more like magic, with the (psychic?) ability of his assigned partner, Agent Whittaker, to anticipate questions before they’re asked adding to the supernatural tone. Either way, it provides a genuinely fresh investigatory style. Page himself is a bit of a dick, or ‘grumpy’ as the book would have it, made appealing by both his intellect and the clear love he has for friends and family. Plus, he has a dog. One that has a definite enthusiasm for protection.
The writing is hyperbolic, largely high energy and fun, well suited to the fast pace, but sometimes edging into the realm of trying that bit too hard. Same goes for the commentary about gun control in the US. Even though I agreed with almost everything Page says, it sometimes seemed more like he was preaching to the reader rather than holding a conversation with other characters. An FBI thriller about a sniper seems like a strange place for social/political commentary but it would have worked much more effectively if it hadn’t been shouted from a soap box.
Despite that, it’s a book that takes you on one hell of a ride. I’d definitely read another.
ARC via Netgalley
Dr. Lucas Page, astrophysicist, professor, writer, got out of the FBI after the ‘Event’ that lost him a couple of limbs and an eye. But now a sniper is loose in NYC and it’s a complex enough case to draw him right back in. And there’s no doubt that they need him. He’s got a very particular talent: the ability to see the world in numbers. It’s all framed as a result of his brilliance but it works more like magic, with the (psychic?) ability of his assigned partner, Agent Whittaker, to anticipate questions before they’re asked adding to the supernatural tone. Either way, it provides a genuinely fresh investigatory style. Page himself is a bit of a dick, or ‘grumpy’ as the book would have it, made appealing by both his intellect and the clear love he has for friends and family. Plus, he has a dog. One that has a definite enthusiasm for protection.
The writing is hyperbolic, largely high energy and fun, well suited to the fast pace, but sometimes edging into the realm of trying that bit too hard. Same goes for the commentary about gun control in the US. Even though I agreed with almost everything Page says, it sometimes seemed more like he was preaching to the reader rather than holding a conversation with other characters. An FBI thriller about a sniper seems like a strange place for social/political commentary but it would have worked much more effectively if it hadn’t been shouted from a soap box.
Despite that, it’s a book that takes you on one hell of a ride. I’d definitely read another.
ARC via Netgalley
August 27, 2020
Some years ago, I read, “Mannheim Rex,” by Robert Pobi, and it still lurks, happily, on my shelves, as one of the books I kept, when I weeded my books some time ago. However, for some reason, I didn’t read anything else by Pobi until now, but I am glad that I have become reacquainted with his writing.
“City of Windows,” is listed as the first in a series and I sincerely hope that there will be further books. It begins in New York, with a federal agent shot through the head, while driving in a city in the midst of a blizzard. It turns out that the man killed used to be the partner of Dr Lucas Page, who is now a University lecturer, after having lost an arm, a leg and an eye. Page is mathematically brilliant and his skills are needed, as he can assess where the sniper shot from.
Page had promised to spend Christmas with his wife, Erin, and their home of fostered and adopted children. Now, though, his skills are needed and, against his better judgement, he finds himself back as a Special Agent. Page is not a man to suffer fools gladly and picks the confident Whitaker to be his driver. Their relationship grows as the novel continues and is a joy to read.
This is a fast paced, intelligent thriller, with more than a little comment on the current state of America. If you enjoy really exciting thrillers, with good characters as well as a fast plot, this is the novel for you. I am delighted to have re-discovered Robert Pobi and look forward to reading more by him.
“City of Windows,” is listed as the first in a series and I sincerely hope that there will be further books. It begins in New York, with a federal agent shot through the head, while driving in a city in the midst of a blizzard. It turns out that the man killed used to be the partner of Dr Lucas Page, who is now a University lecturer, after having lost an arm, a leg and an eye. Page is mathematically brilliant and his skills are needed, as he can assess where the sniper shot from.
Page had promised to spend Christmas with his wife, Erin, and their home of fostered and adopted children. Now, though, his skills are needed and, against his better judgement, he finds himself back as a Special Agent. Page is not a man to suffer fools gladly and picks the confident Whitaker to be his driver. Their relationship grows as the novel continues and is a joy to read.
This is a fast paced, intelligent thriller, with more than a little comment on the current state of America. If you enjoy really exciting thrillers, with good characters as well as a fast plot, this is the novel for you. I am delighted to have re-discovered Robert Pobi and look forward to reading more by him.
March 20, 2019
Brilliant!
Brilliant!
Brilliant!
What can I say? I don't want to compare Lucas Page to any other of the great characters like Lincoln Rhyme. Lucas Page is someone special and I'm happy he is nót as any of the other great characters. He is unique. I really loved his sense of humor; I think his love for his wife and children is a great thing and he may be a little grumpy sometimes, it makes him all the more likable.
Solving the shooting of his former partner and subsequently other people, Lucas is forced to go to the limits of his extraordinary mind.
Yes, it is possible to write a fast pacing story, with lots of dead people and twists and turns in the plot, and still use a beautiful flowing style, with sharp observations ánd humor.
This was my first Pobi title but I will certainly try and read more of him.
Thank you Netgalley and Hodder for this book.
Brilliant!
Brilliant!
What can I say? I don't want to compare Lucas Page to any other of the great characters like Lincoln Rhyme. Lucas Page is someone special and I'm happy he is nót as any of the other great characters. He is unique. I really loved his sense of humor; I think his love for his wife and children is a great thing and he may be a little grumpy sometimes, it makes him all the more likable.
Solving the shooting of his former partner and subsequently other people, Lucas is forced to go to the limits of his extraordinary mind.
Yes, it is possible to write a fast pacing story, with lots of dead people and twists and turns in the plot, and still use a beautiful flowing style, with sharp observations ánd humor.
This was my first Pobi title but I will certainly try and read more of him.
Thank you Netgalley and Hodder for this book.
March 24, 2019
LOVED this.
A genuinely thrilling thriller
Main protagonist Lucas Page see's things from a unique perspective- so cool.
Proper page turner.
Also the last bit was so tense I've just had to tell my brain to relax my shoulders.
Full review to follow nearer publication.
A genuinely thrilling thriller
Main protagonist Lucas Page see's things from a unique perspective- so cool.
Proper page turner.
Also the last bit was so tense I've just had to tell my brain to relax my shoulders.
Full review to follow nearer publication.
August 2, 2019
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi thriller eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
I picked up this book based on two ideas: 1) that NYC is stuck in an apocalyptic type snow storm and 2) that the main character, Lucas Page, has an uncanny ability to view the world in mathematical vectors and angles. The sci-fi element of seeing the world in this way combined with hunting down an extraordinary sniper appealed to me. While this was a fast read, it ended up only being okay.
I think part of the issue is that these special abilities of Page really come across more like magic than anything else. While they seemed awesome the first time they were used, eventually this talent seemed almost arbitrary in how it was used and how it worked. Also what Page used these skills for became repetitive. I didn't expect this small sci-fi element to be the focus of the book given the thriller nature but I was disappointed by it.
Additionally, I was also annoyed by elements of the plot. While I loved the introduction of the mystery surrounding why law enforcement personnel were being targeted, the resolution was completely lackluster. A random group of Page's grad students help solve the question in under 48 hours. The entire answer of who the mystery sniper is and the motivations behind the crimes were so cliché and ridiculous. I didn't mind, at first, that many of the characters in this were anti-government but the eventual politics involved were just super over-the-top. I didn't like the cult aspects, the Muslim hatred aspects, or the silly red herring aspects. And I especially hated the entire ending.
I did like that Lucas Page was a curmudgeon and snarky. I really enjoyed his antagonistic relationship with the lead FBI agent. I thought the many of the elements of his disabilites were interesting in terms of the practicalities of dealing with them. I also loved his driver, Whittaker, and thought she would have made a better main character. I did not like how Page's relationship with his wife was portrayed. She seemed so pissed at him no real reason other than to add "drama" to the plot. Also I thought the entire subplot involving the sniper and Lucas's family was dumb.
This is apparently the first book of a series starring Lucas Page. As the book was a fast read, I don't mind having read it but I won't be continuing with the series.
So lastly . . .
Thank you St. Martin's Press!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
I picked up this book based on two ideas: 1) that NYC is stuck in an apocalyptic type snow storm and 2) that the main character, Lucas Page, has an uncanny ability to view the world in mathematical vectors and angles. The sci-fi element of seeing the world in this way combined with hunting down an extraordinary sniper appealed to me. While this was a fast read, it ended up only being okay.
I think part of the issue is that these special abilities of Page really come across more like magic than anything else. While they seemed awesome the first time they were used, eventually this talent seemed almost arbitrary in how it was used and how it worked. Also what Page used these skills for became repetitive. I didn't expect this small sci-fi element to be the focus of the book given the thriller nature but I was disappointed by it.
Additionally, I was also annoyed by elements of the plot. While I loved the introduction of the mystery surrounding why law enforcement personnel were being targeted, the resolution was completely lackluster. A random group of Page's grad students help solve the question in under 48 hours. The entire answer of who the mystery sniper is and the motivations behind the crimes were so cliché and ridiculous. I didn't mind, at first, that many of the characters in this were anti-government but the eventual politics involved were just super over-the-top. I didn't like the cult aspects, the Muslim hatred aspects, or the silly red herring aspects. And I especially hated the entire ending.
I did like that Lucas Page was a curmudgeon and snarky. I really enjoyed his antagonistic relationship with the lead FBI agent. I thought the many of the elements of his disabilites were interesting in terms of the practicalities of dealing with them. I also loved his driver, Whittaker, and thought she would have made a better main character. I did not like how Page's relationship with his wife was portrayed. She seemed so pissed at him no real reason other than to add "drama" to the plot. Also I thought the entire subplot involving the sniper and Lucas's family was dumb.
This is apparently the first book of a series starring Lucas Page. As the book was a fast read, I don't mind having read it but I won't be continuing with the series.
So lastly . . .
Thank you St. Martin's Press!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
June 7, 2020
Don't flame me; looking at the ratings here I know I am truly outlier. I might give it a 2.5 stars but I could never round it up.
The writing is at times jumpy and also at the same time convoluted. It's meant to trigger "crisis"- but all it triggered in me was irritation.
But that wasn't my primary turn off. It was the too too smarty pants "eyes" and sarcasm, snark and mire pits that this constantly traipses through. By Page 200 I just couldn't stand the elite superiority hubris almost all around the block- so much of it coupled with extreme violence as the window in which to view it. The combination began to revolt me. So many stereotypes and cartoon-like evil characters or peons copy met in the dozen. Meeting each for about 5 or 10 pages each. UGH!
The first quarter was a fast pull and I was embedded. That's why the 2 stars. One star alone for the posit of Lucas being able to do those incredible spatial relationship "numbers" reveals so accurately. But after the first half- I was always on the ropes to pull a DNF or not. But I returned to it because of its high ratings between several other reads.
There are entire genre, and in particular a few very rich authors, who use politico in fiction ways that I dislike. Distorting and conflating entire basics. And especially when they add the consistent pace of foul language/ violent throngs of high body count in which you seldom get to know the depth of any deceased character beyond their physical appearance. Like movie fare under characters. This is highly apt in that mode, a 5 star possibly for one of those exact types of films. It might make a highly commercial book series or/and film. Think bionic "Die Hard" with a side of Pravda running the news feed in a pretend world accuracy. They are highly popular. But not for me. They never have been. I'll refrain from naming the several authors (huge best seller) I have never been able to swallow that have about 20 to 40 books each in this similar mode.
This type of "thriller" is just not for me. I would not be interested in any other by this author. He's just too much of a smart aleck. Holding a huge side of mean and offensive judgments within an ego-blown voice.
The writing is at times jumpy and also at the same time convoluted. It's meant to trigger "crisis"- but all it triggered in me was irritation.
But that wasn't my primary turn off. It was the too too smarty pants "eyes" and sarcasm, snark and mire pits that this constantly traipses through. By Page 200 I just couldn't stand the elite superiority hubris almost all around the block- so much of it coupled with extreme violence as the window in which to view it. The combination began to revolt me. So many stereotypes and cartoon-like evil characters or peons copy met in the dozen. Meeting each for about 5 or 10 pages each. UGH!
The first quarter was a fast pull and I was embedded. That's why the 2 stars. One star alone for the posit of Lucas being able to do those incredible spatial relationship "numbers" reveals so accurately. But after the first half- I was always on the ropes to pull a DNF or not. But I returned to it because of its high ratings between several other reads.
There are entire genre, and in particular a few very rich authors, who use politico in fiction ways that I dislike. Distorting and conflating entire basics. And especially when they add the consistent pace of foul language/ violent throngs of high body count in which you seldom get to know the depth of any deceased character beyond their physical appearance. Like movie fare under characters. This is highly apt in that mode, a 5 star possibly for one of those exact types of films. It might make a highly commercial book series or/and film. Think bionic "Die Hard" with a side of Pravda running the news feed in a pretend world accuracy. They are highly popular. But not for me. They never have been. I'll refrain from naming the several authors (huge best seller) I have never been able to swallow that have about 20 to 40 books each in this similar mode.
This type of "thriller" is just not for me. I would not be interested in any other by this author. He's just too much of a smart aleck. Holding a huge side of mean and offensive judgments within an ego-blown voice.
August 14, 2025
By-the-numbers commercial fiction. There's a sequence of plot elements to get through, and between unplanned naps while trying to read this, I made it through them. I've heard it said that Western art prizes originality while Asian art prizes fidelity to long-established rules of composition. In which case, this book should have been called 窗户之城.
The author's politics mirror my own, generally. I know this because he trotted them out at several points during the story. Perhaps he's unaware that people read this sort of stuff to escape from all of that. And most of his attempts to be clever with language fell flat: at one point, they visit a paranoid person who has a "litany of locks" on his door, which sounds cute but makes no sense whatsoever.
Alongside this book, I snagged a smart-alecky crime novel and a true-crime nonfiction book, and will now attempt to read the other two, hoping for something better. Fans of this genre would probably rate this 3.5 - 4 stars.
The author's politics mirror my own, generally. I know this because he trotted them out at several points during the story. Perhaps he's unaware that people read this sort of stuff to escape from all of that. And most of his attempts to be clever with language fell flat: at one point, they visit a paranoid person who has a "litany of locks" on his door, which sounds cute but makes no sense whatsoever.
Alongside this book, I snagged a smart-alecky crime novel and a true-crime nonfiction book, and will now attempt to read the other two, hoping for something better. Fans of this genre would probably rate this 3.5 - 4 stars.
October 27, 2022
I loved this book. It was exciting and engaging from almost the first page until the last. Pobi created a nearly believable story that was fun to read and difficult to put down.
People connected with law enforcement are being shot to death in and around New York City and there seems to be nothing connecting the cases other than the law enforcement connection. The FBI's bigshot guy in charge (BGIC) of the New York City office approaches Lucas Page, an ex-FBI agent, to take on the investigation. Prior to being a professor of astrophysics, Page was an FBI agent until he was mutilated and nearly killed while working on a case. He has prosthetics for one arm and hand, one leg, and one eye. He also has the extraordinary ability to pull together hundreds of data points in order to answer apparently unanswerable questions. This ability becomes particularly useful at crime scenes.
After much trepidation, he agrees, much against the wishes of his wife. He then teams up with a young, black, female FBI agent and they take on the case while other FBI agents pursue a parrallel investigation. Chaos ensues.
I found Pobi's writing style and somewhat twisted mind absolutely delightful and will, without question, read the remaining two Lucas Page books. City of Windows seemed very well-researched and thoughtfully written. It has enough action to satisfy all but the most demented action junkies and I found it tons of fun to read. I strongly recommend it to those who enjoy a police investigation novel that is a bit out of the ordinary. (I truly dislike the expression ¨Police Procedural.¨)
Fini
People connected with law enforcement are being shot to death in and around New York City and there seems to be nothing connecting the cases other than the law enforcement connection. The FBI's bigshot guy in charge (BGIC) of the New York City office approaches Lucas Page, an ex-FBI agent, to take on the investigation. Prior to being a professor of astrophysics, Page was an FBI agent until he was mutilated and nearly killed while working on a case. He has prosthetics for one arm and hand, one leg, and one eye. He also has the extraordinary ability to pull together hundreds of data points in order to answer apparently unanswerable questions. This ability becomes particularly useful at crime scenes.
After much trepidation, he agrees, much against the wishes of his wife. He then teams up with a young, black, female FBI agent and they take on the case while other FBI agents pursue a parrallel investigation. Chaos ensues.
I found Pobi's writing style and somewhat twisted mind absolutely delightful and will, without question, read the remaining two Lucas Page books. City of Windows seemed very well-researched and thoughtfully written. It has enough action to satisfy all but the most demented action junkies and I found it tons of fun to read. I strongly recommend it to those who enjoy a police investigation novel that is a bit out of the ordinary. (I truly dislike the expression ¨Police Procedural.¨)
Fini
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