Roger Hobbs (1988–2016)

[Cross-posted to Knite Writes]

Plot

A nameless "ghostman" who occasionally goes by Jack gets a call from a former "employer" he spectacularly failed during a heist-gone-wrong several years ago: the man, Marcus, hired a couple of thugs to steal a ton of money being delivered to an Atlantic City casino, but sometime during the robbery, a third gunman showed up and killed one of the robbers while the other one made off with the money in a panic.

The surviving robber, Ribbons, is missing and hasn't show more contacted Marcus. Worst of all, the money still has the "federal payload" attached, meaning a hundred ink packets will explode in 48 hours, ruining the money and tipping off the police via GPS. Marcus tells "Jack" that in order to wipe out his past failure, he has to do Marcus the favor of fixing this little problem.

Jack flies to Atlantic City disguised as an insurance man, where's he immediately confronted by a suspicious FBI agent, whom he brushes off. He's introduced to Alexander Lakes, a "concierge," who gets him everything he needs, cars and clothes and what not, to tackle his mission. After scoping out the crime scene, Jack manages to find the abandoned airfield where Ribbons switched getaway cars. He has Lakes contact a "wheelman," who knows everything about cars, and the wheelman is able to identify the car Ribbons left in.

Unfortunately, Jack realizes that he's being followed by someone, and though he manages to evade them once, he gets caught the second time as he's leaving his hotel room. He surrenders a chase to figure out who they are, and they take him to meet the Wolf, Atlantic City's most notorious Drug Lord.

The man reveals that he knew about Marcus' plot -- Marcus was going to trade the Wolf the money with the federal payload attached and pin the robbery on him -- and that he (the Wolf) sent the third gunman. He says he wants Jack to double cross Marcus. But because Jack has some shred of integrity, he declines. And when the Wolf's men try to murder him, he turns the tables, kills them, and escapes.

Jack realizes he needs a plan to tie up all the loose ends, so he involves the FBI agent he met earlier, Rebecca Blacker, and concocts a clever setup to take down the Wolf and appease Marcus.

First, he locates the money and Ribbons. The injured man fled to a secret safe house, where he's been slowing dying from a gunshot wound to the chest. Jack puts the poor guy out of his misery and takes the money. He stashes it on a beach for the time being and arranges a meeting with the Wolf, promisinh to trade him the federal payload money for $150,000. Naturally, the Wolf tries to double cross him, but Jack gets the upper hand again and all but forces the Wolf to make good on the deal.

They arrange to trade money in a penthouse at the casino where the robbery took place.

Meanwhile, Jack has to deal with a problem: Alexander Lakes turns out to be working for the Wolf, which is how the drug lord kept tracking Jack down. He forces Lakes into the trunk of a car at gunpoint and keeps the "concierge" there for hours while he drives to the casino to meet the Wolf.

The money exchange (finally) goes as planned, and Jack walks out of the casino $150,000 richer. The Wolf gets a poor deal, seeing as Jack had a bug on the Wolf's men during the entire exchange and the FBI bursts in minutes after Jack leaves and catch the Wolf red-handed with the stolen money. Rebecca Blacker, satisfied at catching the Wolf, lets Jack leave Atlantic City undisturbed.

Jack calls Marcus one last time, telling him that his job is done and that Marcus is never to contact him again. Then he throws away his identity once more and becomes a true ghost, vanishing into the night.

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My Take

This was a pretty enjoyable read all around. It's action-packed, exciting, contains a lot of interesting information about the criminal underworld, and sports a colorful cast of characters who are each pretty well-characterized despite having limited screen time. This is one of those fast-paced books that, while still being fairly long, manages to keep your eyes glued to the page, anticipating the twists and turns coming around the bend. There was always something going on, always a tide turning, always an unexpected shift in the story's direction.

In terms of the pacing and plot of this book, I can't really complain. It's exactly what it says on the tin: a fast-paced action thriller.

That being said, I can tell you that if you're looking for any sort of deep thematic elements or lessons or complex, multi-layered story lines, you're not going to get that in this book. Despite its array of twists, most of them are fairly standard and predictable for the genre, and none of them particularly shake up the overall idea of the novel. This book is a bit of fun and excitement for the adrenaline-loving crowd -- shootouts, fist-fights, and a few clever tricks from a wily protagonist are the fare.

Not to say that's a bad thing -- I did enjoy this novel -- but it lacks a level of thematic depth I've come to enjoy from other major authors in the crime thriller genre.

Overall, this was a fun ride, and really, it never purported itself to be anything but, so there's not a whole lot to complain about.

It shaped up into a pretty good read in the end.

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Is It Worth Reading?

If you like high-octane, adrenaline-pumping thrillers full of action but a little light on the depth, then this is certainly you're kind of book.

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Rating

3.5/5 show less

Readers may learn a little more about robbery than they should in this fast-paced crime thriller. Roger Hobbs' ghostman is an expert at disappearing after a crime. So, when a major Atlantic City casino heist goes bad and the only survivor vanishes - with the money - Ghostman (let's call him Jack) is called upon to repay a debt by finding the missing man and money. The clock is ticking, not only because others are looking but because the stacks of bills are federal payload and ink packs show more hidden within will explode in 30-some hours. As he works out what went wrong at the casino and how he would have reacted, Jack reveals the crafts of his trade as well as the details of the botched job 5 years ago that left him owing a favor to a very dangerous man. We shouldn't like Jack - he is a violent criminal after all - but his skills are so admirable, the reader can't help but hope he succeeds, even while realizing that the life Jack leads is exciting, yes, but lonely. show less

Learn from my mistakes. It was almost bedtime, but I thought I would sample a few chapters of Ghostman by Roger Hobbs before calling it a night. Yeah, good plan - didn't work. And I was very bleary eyed at work the next morning.

Atlantic City. The perfect heist, perfectly planned- treasury bills on their way to a casino. But.....the best laid schemes of mice and men....

When things go horribly wrong, Marcus, the orchestrator (jugmarker) of the heist gets in touch with 'Jack' (aren't all the show more best anti-heroes named Jack?!) in hopes of salvaging part of his plan. Jack owes Marcus for something that happened on another job. Since that job Jack has disappeared - like a ghost.

"My name isn't really Jack. My name isn't John, George, Robert, Michael or Steven, either. It isn't any of the names that appear on my drivers licenses and it isn't on my passports or credit cards. My real name isn't anywhere, except maybe on a college diploma and a couple of school records in my safety-deposit box. Jack Delton was just an alias, and it was long since retired. I'd used it for a job five years ago and never again since......Only two people in the world knew that name."

Jack is caught between warring criminals, his own proclivity for living on the edge and the past. We slowly learn what happened in the botched robbery five years ago and how Jack came to be the Ghostman.

Hobbs had me hooked from page one. The opening scenes are action filled, addictive and set the pace for the rest of the book. The story never falters or stalls and had me enthralled until I (reluctantly) turned the last page. The plot twists and turns in unexpected directions, taking the reader on a thrill packed ride.

Hobbs has obviously done a great deal of research into the criminal underworld of robberies, casinos, security and more. (Who knew you could kill someone with nutmeg?) The details included are fascinating and really add depth to the story. This is not a glossed over paint by the numbers plot. In fact, I stopped at one point to go online and read about the author. I really could not believe this was a debut novel.

"Roger Hobbs graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 2011, where he majored in English. His first book, GHOSTMAN, was written during the summer between his junior and senior years at Reed. He spent the school year rewriting it and editing. The manuscript was sent off on the day he graduated​. A few weeks later it caused an uproar at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair, and has since sold in more than fifteen countries around the world."

Who is going to love this book? Well, in my opinion, everyone. But if you're a fan of Reacher and the 'Oceans' heist movies, then this is one for you. I absolutely loved it - Five stars all the way.

Roger Hobbs: "My protagonist may be on the other side of the law from Lee's (Childs) heroic Jack Reacher, but he's just as smart, rough and principled. If I can get anyone to stay up all night reading, then I've done my job." Job done, Roger - in spades. More please. show less

I just hate reviews that go on and on telling you every detail about the plot except the ending. Why read the book? Just go to the last chapter after reading the review and you are done. I loved this book. It lets me learn something (and the author has done his research), keeps me reading without skipping parts, is intelligent enough to keep me engaged and generally entertained, just like a good mystery thriller should be.